National Analyst Names Georgia Tech vs Georgia As One Of The Most Important Games Remaining In the Playoff Race

Could Georgia Tech find a way to keep Georgia out of the playoff?

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart shakes hands with Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key after a NCAA college football game between Georgia Tech and Georgia in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. Georgia won 37-14. News Joshua L Jones / Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

Georgia Tech pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season this past Saturday when they beat Miami and ended their unbeaten season and they also threw a wrench into the College Football Playoff Race. While the Hurricanes still control their own destiny to reach the ACC Title Game and make the College Football Playoff, their margin for error has gone away. This win made Georgia Tech bowl eligible for the second straight season, something that has not happened since 2013-2014.

There is still a lot to accomplish for Georgia Tech this season though. They have two games left, one vs NC State in the final home game of the year and then a trip to Athens on Black Friday to face rival Georgia. In past three games between the in-state rivals, Georgia has been undefeated coming into the game and have been in really strong playoff position. That is not the case this season though.

Georgia suffered their second loss of the season on Saturday at Ole Miss and are No. 12 in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings. If the playoff started right now, the Bulldogs would be left out. They have three games remaining this season and it is possible that one more defeat could knock Georgia out of the playoff for the second straight season.

In a recent article, 247Sports Brad Crawford ranked the ten games with the most playoff impact the rest of the season and had the rivalry game between Georgia and Georgia Tech as No. 9:

What's at stake: The Bulldogs making a final impression on the selection committee.

"Georgia Tech reached bowl eligibility following Saturday's upset win over Miami, the Yellow Jackets' second victory over nationally-ranked competition this fall. They fight to play season-spoiler a few weeks from now in Athens, especially if Georgia faces a must-win situation regardless of next weekend's showdown with Tennessee. At 9-3 overall with a loss to the Vols and win over Georgia Tech, Kirby Smart's team still has a shot. But if Georgia loses both, any paths to the playoff are sealed shut."

Whether Georgia wins or loses against Tennessee this weekend, the game against the Yellow Jackets is going to be huge. If they win, Brent Key's team might be the final obsticle for them to make the playoff and there is nothing more that Key's team would love to do than to knock Kirby Smart and Georgia out of the playoff.

Georgia Tech's focus right now is on NC State and Brent Key has a lot of respect for the Wolfpack.

"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:

Georgia Tech vs Miami Was One of The Most Watched Games In Week 11

Georgia Tech Football: Everything From Brent Key's Tuesday Media Availability