What Does ESPN's FPI Say About Georgia Tech's Week Two Matchup With Syracuse?

Will Georgia Tech defeat Syracuse on Saturday and reach 3-0?

IMG_4929.jpg / Photo Via Arvon Bacon (SI)

Georgia Tech is going to be a ranked team heading into their matchup against Syracuse on Saturday at 12:00 PM on the ACC Network. The AP Poll ranked the Yellow Jackets as the No. 23 team in the country after their win over Georgia State and it is the first time Georgia Tech has made the AP poll since 2015.

ESPN's FPI is giving the Yellow Jackets a 62% chance to win on the road against Syracuse on Saturday. Georgia Tech won last year’s matchup 31-22 in Atlanta, a game that clinched their first bowl bid since 2018. 

There is a slight difference between the betting lines as Georgia Tech is a slight favorite at -3 but ESPN FPI is giving the Yellow Jackets a slightly better chance to come out on top. 

The Yellow Jackets have also climbed two more spots to No. 35 on the FPI Index after their win against Georgia State Georgia Tech is also ranked as the No. 6 team in the ACC after their win last week moving up a spot. Georgia Tech was ranked No. 25 in the latest ESPN Power rankings and Analyst David Hale commented on the start of the season for the Yellow Jackets:

"It might not be the most stylish way to win games, but Georgia Tech is a perfect mirror of its coach, former O-lineman Brent Key. The team has 16 former linemen on its staff, and physicality is the foundation of everything Key wants to do on both sides of the ball. So far, it has worked.

In upsetting Florida State in Week 0, the Jackets dominated the line of scrimmage. In a win over Georgia State on Saturday night, Tech ran for 225 yards and three scores. It's exactly the recipe Key thinks can carry the program to the next level."

ESPN uses its FPI (Football Power Index) as an advanced analytical model to help look at matchups and predict outcomes. In ESPN's own words: "FPI is a predictive rating system designed to measure team strength and project performance going forward. The ultimate goal of FPI is not to rank teams 1 through 128; rather, it is to correctly predict games and season outcomes. If Vegas ever published the power rankings it uses to set its lines, they would likely look quite a lot like FPI.