The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets pulled off what many people called a huge upset on Saturday against the Florida State Seminoles in Ireland. It was a great win for a Georiga Tech team that has not had much success recently but is finally starting to show progress under head coach Brent Key who started to lay the foundation for this program last year. This was the marquee win that Key needed to truly jump start and turn around this Georgia Tech Program. But there is one thought that I can’t shake. Was this truly an upset?
According to Vegas and the AP Poll, this win for Georgia Tech is considered a massive upset. I don’t believe it was as massive of an upset as people are making it seem though.
For Starters, Florida State lost way more production from last season's team than they were able to replace. They tried to replace everything they lost on both sides of the ball, but you just knew that the replacements they brought in for the players they lost were not good enough to just fill them in and expect the same results or anything close to last season. Replacing your All-ACC quarterback in Jordan Travis with DJ Uiagelelei who is a very average quarterback is not ideal. That’s the most important position on the field. Also losing two amazing receivers in Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, and replacing them with one guy who sat on the bench at Alabama most of last year and just trying to trust other young guys isn’t going to work. Losing Jared Verse, who was a top edge rusher in the country last season, as well as others from the defensive line did not help either. The defense was supposed to be what they relied upon until their offense caught up to speed, but the way Georgia Tech was able to run the ball all over them and was allowing for big gains, it's obvious that they didn't do enough to replace their defensive starters either
One of the reasons why this upset isn't as significant as it may seem is that the preseason AP Poll overrated Florida State by placing them too high. Although they added several highly-rated transfer players and some decent performers from other teams, these players were not able to match the caliber of those they were replacing. Despite this, Florida State is expected to have a strong season, but they were unlikely to live up to the Number 10 ranking at the beginning of the season. While they are a top-25 team, it was unjustified to place them in the top 10. A ranking in the 20-25 range would have been more appropriate and will likely be their position throughout the season.
Nevertheless, the victory was a significant milestone for Brent Key and his Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. If they can continue to build on this win, perhaps Georgia Tech should be placed in the same category as Clemson, Miami, Florida State, and Virginia Tech as potential contenders to win the ACC. Clemson, Miami, Florida State, and Virginia Tech as potential contenders to win the ACC.
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