Georgia Tech Football: Yellow Jackets Receive Expert Prediction To Beat NC State

Will Georgia Tech beat NC State this Thursday?

Nov 9, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Jamal Haynes (11) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Miami Hurricanes in the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech is back in action this Thursday night for their final home game of the season, which just so happens to be the final home game of the year for the Yellow Jackets. Brent Key's team is coming off of a win vs previously unbeaten Miami and Georgia Tech is hoping to build off that.

NC State was supposed to compete for the ACC Championship this season, but injuries and poor play have them at 5-5 and needing to beat either the Yellow Jackets or rival North Carolina to get into a bowl game. While Georgia Tech is favored to win this game, it is not going to be easy. Dave Doeren is one of the best coaches in the ACC and has run one of the best programs since he has been in Raleigh and his team won't go down without a fight.

Not only do the oddsmakers have Georgia Tech favored in this game on Thursday, but Bill Connelly's SP+ does as well. SP+ is projecting a 30-26 win for the Yellow Jackets and gives them a 58% chance to win the game.

WEEK 13 SP+ PICKS

Ohio St 31, Indiana 19
ND 32, Army 18
BYU 27, Ariz St 25
CU 30, KU 29
Ole Miss 35, Florida 19
Penn St 30, Minn 15
Texas 36, UK 13
Huskers 21, Badgers 20
A&M 26, Auburn 22
Cal 39, Stanford 17
USC 34, UCLA 20
Jax St 30, SHSU 24

Full list: https://t.co/VZ0dtDnMDF pic.twitter.com/6V3Ed1nMtQ

— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) November 17, 2024

What is SP+? Here is how Connelly describes it:

"In a single sentence, it's a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. I created the system at Football Outsiders in 2008, and as my experience with both college football and its stats has grown, I have made quite a few tweaks to the system.

SP+ is indeed intended to be predictive and forward-facing. It is not a résumé ranking that gives credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling -- no good predictive system is. It is simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you're lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you're strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise.

The win against Miami got Georgia Tech bowl-eligible for the second straight season and was arguably the signature win of the Brent Key era. Now, Georgia Tech has to avoid complacency, something that has not been easy over the past few seasons following a big win. They can't be looking ahead to the game vs rival Georgia on Black Friday. When speaking with the media this week, Key made it clear how much he respects NC State as a program:

"Yeah, they're a good football team, you know, they've had some, some ups and downs in the season. Dave Doeren is a tremendous football coach. He is someone that I very much respect this league, I respect in the world of college football. He's been good to me as far as becoming a new coach in the league and just kind of, whether it be at different events or different things, show me the ways a little bit. He's just been really good to me in that way. But there's such a mutual respect and respect for how he's built his football program over the last, you know, what is it, 10 years or what not? So many can say, you know, eight win seasons, you know, the development of the players in this program, you know, he truly believes in being a developmental program and in building bringing guys in from the high school ranks and in developing those guys, you know, they play physical and tough at the line of scrimmage, you know, they're gonna be, you know, It's a different defensive front than we've seen as of late. And the quarterback's playing good football, so very similar in a lot of ways, program -wise, identity of a program. So it's gonna be a big challenge for us."

Additional Links

NC State Reveals Uniform Combination for Matchup Against Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech Football: Latest Bowl Projections For The Yellow Jackets After Week 12

ACC Power Rankings: Week 13