Georgia Tech is headed into next Saturday night in a rough spot, and the betting market has made that clear.
FanDuel Sportsbook opened the Yellow Jackets as a 7.5-point underdog for their road game against Pittsburgh, a number that reflects both Georgia Tech’s latest struggles and the uncertainty surrounding the Panthers after losing starting quarterback Mason Heintschel for the year.
The Yellow Jackets dropped to 2-5 after a lopsided home loss to Boston College, a result that only deepened an already ugly run of setbacks. Georgia Tech has also lost to a Colorado team that is now 2-5, fallen on the road to a Stanford squad picked to finish 17th in the ACC, and nearly slipped against Maine earlier in the season. Against Boston College on homecoming, the Eagles piled up nearly 400 rushing yards.
What makes the Pitt line stand out is that the Panthers have stumbled too. They opened the season 5-0, then lost Heintschel in the win over Virginia Tech earlier this month.
Since then, Pittsburgh has dropped close games to North Carolina and Boston College before getting routed by No. 1 Miami, 52-23, on Saturday.
That leaves Georgia Tech in a tricky spot after such a deflating defeat. The Panthers are not so strong that the Yellow Jackets are out of the game, but if Brent Key’s team carries Saturday’s performance into this one, the afternoon could turn ugly fast against Pat Narduzzi’s group.
Pitt’s defense brings its own problems, especially up front. The Panthers have one of the best run defenses in the country and create plenty of havoc, which means Georgia Tech’s offensive line is staring at a difficult night. Even with Heintschel out, the Yellow Jackets have been so inconsistent on defense that Pitt could get big production from almost anyone.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET next Saturday night, and the game will air on ESPN2.
In Other News...
Georgia Tech Just Reignited A Debate Brent Key Could Not Avoid
Georgia Techs loss to Boston College turned into more than just a rough afternoon on the scoreboard. The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 10-0 lead, only to watch the game swing hard the other way in a 49-27 defeat that left the defense searching for answers after allowing the Eagles to control the ground game and seize momentum for most of the day.
Brent Key pointed to the familiar frustrations afterward, saying Boston College was able to keep leaning on the same concepts and make them work. With 16 players unavailable because of injuries, Georgia Tech was already stretched thin, but the bigger issue was how quickly the game slipped away after that early burst, reigniting the kind of defensive conversation no coach wants to keep revisiting this late in the season. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Tech Bowl Hopes Took A Hit For A Familiar Reason
Georgia Techs margin for error got a lot thinner after a home loss to Boston College, a result that felt painfully familiar for a team trying to keep its bowl path intact. The Yellow Jackets had a halftime lead, 13-12, and looked positioned to control the afternoon before the game slipped away in the second half.
Boston College did the damage on the ground, leaning on Mason McKenzies 170 rushing yards and two touchdowns and Bo MacCormacks 155 yards and three scores. For Georgia Tech, the issue was less about one bad break than a game that got away from them in a way that has too often undercut promising stretches this season. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Techs Promising Season Is Suddenly Slipping Away Fast
Georgia Techs recent slide has turned a once-promising season into a scramble, and the home loss to Boston College only deepened the concern. Around the ACC, the latest week brought a swirl of results that shifted bowl pictures in a hurry, from NC States loss to Stanford to Syracuse, Virginia, Pittsburgh and Duke each dealing with games that carried major postseason implications.
For the Yellow Jackets, the bigger worry is how little margin they now have left to work with as the season enters its stretch run. Brent Keys team has to reverse the trend quickly if it wants to keep any realistic path to the postseason alive, but the conference landscape keeps getting more complicated, and Georgia Techs own setbacks are beginning to look increasingly hard to overcome. [Read more 🡒]