Georgia Tech inches up to No. 16 in College Football Playoff rankings
Georgia Tech took a step forward in the latest College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday.
The Yellow Jackets, who debuted at No. 17 in the first rankings released Nov. 4, came in at 16 in the second edition of the rankings used to decide the field for the 12-team College Football Playoff, which is scheduled to begin Dec. 19.
“Georgia Tech was idle. Obviously, their last game they certainly didn’t play well on either side of the ball when you think about their loss to North Carolina State,” chair of the College Football Playoff selection committee Mack Rhoades said during a teleconference Tuesday. “Georgia Tech, again, we look at all of the metrics. Their schedule strength is hard for them. When you think about just about any nonconference signature wins, Miami, certainly with the win against Notre Dame, was a key factor for Miami ahead of Georgia Tech.”
Tech (8-1, 5-1 ACC) was off this past weekend after losing 48-36 on Nov. 1 at North Carolina State, its first loss of the season. At 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the Jackets face Boston College (1-9, 0-6 ACC) in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
In Tuesday’s rankings, Tech was the second-highest-ranked team from the ACC in front of Virginia (19), Louisville (20) and Pittsburgh (22). Miami came in at No. 15.
“The conversation with Miami has been about their consistency, especially on offense,” Rhoades said during ESPN’s broadcast of Tuesday’s rankings reveal. “They’ve been really, really good on defense. The head-to-head with Notre Dame comes up. So, lot of conversations about Notre Dame, seven straight, better defensively than what they were at the beginning of the year. All of those things played into it. We’ve got great respect for Miami.
“When you think about the eye test, they’re really talented, both sides of the ball. Just need to be a little bit more consistent on the offense.”
Tech hosts Pitt, which plays No. 9 Notre Dame at home Saturday, on Nov. 22. The Jackets also have No. 5 Georgia left on the schedule. The Bulldogs come to Atlanta on Nov. 28 to face Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Those matchups would hold much weight if coach Brent Key’s team can’t beat Boston College on Saturday.
“We gotta live in truth, right? And right now, all that matters is how we perform, 10 days from now, nine days from now,” Key said Thursday. “That’s the world we have to live in because the rankings don’t mean anything right now to us because it gets us nowhere, it helps us with nothing.
“I’d love to be able to sit back in what, four weeks, three or four weeks, and we’ll be able to sit down and you guys can all come over to the house and we’ll sit down and then we’ll all watch the rankings together and see what happens. How about that?”
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