Georgia Tech moved up four spots to No. 18 in the College Football Playoff selection committee’s rankings released Tuesday night.
The Jackets, who defeated then-No. 19 Clemson Saturday 28-6, took advantage of eights teams ahead of them losing this past weekend. A most notable loser was then-No. 21 Duke, which fell out of the polls after losing to Virginia Tech. Combined with Tech’s win over the Tigers, that made the Yellow Jackets the second-ranked ACC team behind No. 3 Florida State.
That’s important because, in the event Florida State wins the ACC title and is selected for the College Football Playoff, the Orange Bowl will take the next highest-ranked ACC team. Tech is still alive for a spot in the ACC title game – the Jackets would need Duke to lose either Thursday to North Carolina or Nov. 29 to Wake Forest. But even if Duke wins the Coastal, the Jackets would still be Orange Bowl-bound if they can stay ahead of Duke and Clemson and Florida State is chosen for the playoff. Or, Tech could earn a Orange berth by beating Florida State in the championship game. Tech has this week off and plays Georgia Nov. 29.
It would be Tech’s first Orange Bowl berth since the 2009 season and just its second since 1966, coach Bobby Dodd’s final season.
Tech figures to move up at least one spot after this weekend, as No. 15 Arizona plays No. 17 Utah. No. 16 Wisconsin has a tough test at Iowa, as does No. 12 Kansas State at West Virginia.
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