Georgia Tech had another ACC win against rival North Carolina State, snapping a four-game losing streak. The Yellow Jackets were in control until the fourth quarter, but the Tarheels scored 10 points without answer to tie the game. As you may already know, Jamal Haynes scored the game-winning 68-yard touchdown run, pushing Georgia Tech to 5-2 overall and its third win in conference play.
Georgia Tech beats UNC and needs just one win to qualify for a bowl. Another challenge awaits this week, as the Yellow Jackets will give it their all when they take on No. 12 Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Yellow Jackets’ defense just had its most promising performance in key areas where it has struggled in the past: sacks and turnovers. In the win over North Carolina, he had 3.5 sacks and two turnovers. To pull off an upset, they will need to display their destructive power once again.
Notre Dame has won four straight since losing 16-14 to Northern Illinois in Week 2. Defense has become a key element for the Irish. In three of the four contests, Notre Dame has held opponents to fewer than 10 points. The Fighting Irish just had their best game of the season against Stanford, holding them to just 200 yards of offense and seven points. In the win over the Cardinal, Howard Cross III had two sacks, Riley Mills had one sack, Ben Minnich had a half sack and Rohan Thomas had a half sack. The Fighting Irish are good at going after quarterbacks and forcing opposing offenses into mistakes.
Georgia Tech is a big underdog against Notre Dame, with the spread currently at 11.5 favoring the Fighting Irish by a touchdown or more. According to ESPN’s FPI, the Yellow Jackets have just a 16.7% chance of winning the game. The Yellow Jackets moved up four spots in the rankings after the win against North Carolina and are now No. 42. The probability of reaching six wins also increased to 92.7%. Despite their recent wins, Georgia Tech is still the No. 8 team in the ACC despite falling behind Miami, Clemson, Louisville, SMU, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and California. Notre Dame leads the series all-time with a record of 30-6-1 and has won three straight since 2021. Georgia Tech’s last win against Notre Dame was in 2007.
A win for the Yellow Jackets would go a long way in building momentum and confidence heading into the remainder of their tough schedule until the end of the season. Georgia Tech is playing a team that has a great defense and is in the College Football Playoff. They are good in every position and have a good depth of players. It would be a huge win in the Brent Key era.
ESPN uses FPI (Football Power Index) as an advanced analytical model to examine matchups and predict outcomes. In ESPN’s own words, “FPI is a predictive rating system designed to measure team strength and performance for upcoming projects. The ultimate goal of FPI is to rank teams from 1 to 128. Rather, it’s about accurately predicting the outcome of games and seasons. Las Vegas has published power rankings that it uses to set lines, but they’re probably very similar to FPI. ”