Phil Steele predicts where Georgia Tech will finish in the ACC standings in 2024

You’ll know when football season is approaching when Phil Steele’s predictions start rolling in. Steele is one of the leading voices in the sport and fans across the country tune in and read his predictions every offseason.

So where does Steele have Georgia Tech finishing in this year’s ACC? Everyone expects Georgia Tech to field a good team for the 2024 season, but a tough schedule makes it difficult to predict where the Yellow Jackets will end up.

Steele has the Yellow Jackets tied for 10th in the ACC, tied with 2021 ACC champion Pitt. Steele is tied for first place between Clemson, Florida State and Miami, tied for fourth place in a four-way tie between SMU, Virginia Tech, NC State and Louisville, North Carolina finishing in 8th place, and Cal in 9th place. , just one spot above Georgia Tech.

I don’t think this is an unfair projection for Georgia Tech, although I think they will be better than North Carolina and Cal, and I’m not as high on SMU in their first season in the ACC as others are. Given their projected finish of 10th, that would likely mean a record of 6-6 or 7-65 this season.

Their projected win total is 5.5 to start the year, but 247Sports analyst Grant Hughes wrote earlier this week that he thinks the Yellow Jackets will exceed that win total and finish with a 7-5 record and in 9th place will end up in the ACC.

Wins: Georgia State, VMI, Duke, at Louisville, UNC, at Syracuse, at Virginia Tech

Losses: Florida State, Notre Dame, at Georgia, Miami, North Carolina State

“This is one of the best Georgia Tech teams in years, but it faces an uphill battle to qualify to bowl against an absolute gauntlet in 2024. The Yellow Jackets project to win toss-ups against Louisville, UNC and Virginia Tech. But Brent Key’s The Crew will face CFP contenders in the first five weeks and will face several ACC title contenders shortly after in Miami and NC State. Georgia Tech is the only ACC team in our toughest overall schedule and state in sixth place in the overall rankings.

I think this is a fair analysis and going 7-5 against this schedule should be considered a win in my opinion. Eleven of Georgia Tech’s twelve opponents made bowl games last year and I think as many as seven of their opponents could start the year in the top 25.

Although the schedule is very tough, I don’t think the Yellow Jackets will get enough recognition for the upcoming season.

Last season saw a number of first-year head coaches in the sport and despite leading his program to a bowl game for the first time since 2018 and a bowl win for the first time since 2016, Brent Key didn’t get the kind of attention he did . that coaches like Deion Sanders did in Colorado and Matt Rhule in Nebraska. They both failed to make a bowl appearance and had no significant wins. Key beat Miami, North Carolina, played Georgia harder than almost anyone, and then beat UCF in the bowl game. He took over a program that had become an afterthought under former head coach Geoff Collins (now at North Carolina) and made them competitive during his first season. I bet most don’t realize that if Georgia Tech hadn’t had a double-digit lead against Louisville in the season opener, the Yellow Jackets could have made it to the ACC Championship.

Yes, that almost happened. The Yellow Jackets finished in 4th place in the ACC behind Florida State, Louisville and NC State. A few games went the Yellow Jackets’ way and they would have faced the Seminoles in Charlotte for a shot at the ACC crown.

That fact is lost on people when it comes to this year’s ACC race and other ACC teams, especially Virginia Tech, are getting more love in the early top 25 rankings this season despite not beating quality opponents like Georgia Tech did last year and the offensive firepower they use.

On a recent episode of the Late Kick, Pate called the Yellow Jackets one of the most underrated teams in the country to enter the year:

“I would also say Georgia Tech is a little underrated. The difference with Georgia Tech is that the schedule is pretty stiff, I’m not going to lie and they have Georgia every year. Last year they were 7-5 and their win total is 5.5, I think a lot of this is due to how tough it is, Haynes King is still there, that’s their quarterback, their offense is top ten in returning production this year, deep wide receiver room was bad in yards last year. that were allowed last year, I believe, but they’ve overhauled their defensive staff, they’ve overhauled their roster on the defensive side. They’re the opposite of Nebraska in the sense that if I get C+ or B- defensive play, that’s good should be to get more than 5.5 wins”

Georgia Tech is by no means a perfect team, but the progress they’ve made under Key and the amount of talent they’re returning this season isn’t talked about nearly enough. It may not be long before the Yellow Jackets make their presence felt this season. They have a nationally televised game on ESPN against Florida State in week zero and the whole country will be watching. It could be a chance to show why they are one of the most underrated teams in the country in 2024.