After dropping early games against Clemson, Miami and Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech was essentially eliminated from the Coastal Division race by mid-October. The Yellow Jackets could still reach a bowl game, though.
A challenging stretch lies ahead, with back-to-back Coastal Division matchups at North Carolina and Virginia Tech leading up to a showdown with Georgia on Nov. 26 in Athens. Tech’s two remaining home games are Saturday against Duke and on Nov. 19 against Virginia.
The Yellow Jackets could get trounced by the Tar Heels, Hokies and Bulldogs but still play in a 13th game in late December if they can knock off Duke and Virginia.
At 6-6, Georgia Tech’s résumé wouldn’t blow anyone away. But with a .500 record and victories over Boston College, Mercer, Vanderbilt, Georgia Southern, Duke and Virginia, the Yellow Jackets would be bowl eligible.
Heading into Week 9, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach projected Georgia Tech to the St. Petersburg Bowl for a matchup with South Florida, while ESPN colleague Brett McMurphy projected the Yellow Jackets to the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit for a showdown with Indiana. SB Nation projects the Yellow Jackets to go to Annapolis for a Military Bowl date with Houston.
Paul Johnson’s squad is also predicted to play Indiana in Detroit in CampusInsider.com’s bowl projections, while Sports Illustrated pencils in the Yellow Jackets to face Maryland in the Quick Lane Bowl.
Given what happened last season in Atlanta, returning to a bowl wouldn’t be a bad thing for Georgia Tech.