Georgia Tech’s slide back toward the bottom of the ACC power rankings came fast and ugly. After briefly digging out of the cellar, the Yellow Jackets were hammered at home by Boston College, a result that puts them at 2-5 and leaves Brent Key’s team staring at what could be its first season without a bowl game under him.
The loss wasn’t just another bad Saturday. Georgia Tech gave up nearly 400 yards rushing and allowed the Eagles to rip off more than 8 yards per carry.
For a team already dealing with injuries, that kind of defensive collapse was never going to be survivable. The final margin was 22 points, and the opponent was a Boston College team that could barely beat Maine.
At this stage, the Jackets look headed for heavy underdog status the rest of the way.
Boston College keeps climbing because the formula is working. Give Bill O'Brien a lot of credit, he has his football team playing above expectations and they are just two wins away from getting to an unexpected bowl game.
The offense racked up 399 yards rushing vs Georgia Tech on Saturday and quarterback Mason McKenzie continues to be one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the ACC. A road test at Duke is up next for the Eagles.
The Blue Devils are also still moving in the right direction after a big road win over Virginia. Maybe this is a little high for Duke, but they are one victory away from bowl eligibility and now have to navigate a red hot Boston College team to get there.
North Carolina looked like it was on the verge of a 5-2 start and a major home showdown with Miami next weekend, but Syracuse stole that game in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels had been trending upward, yet the loss changes the mood fast, and the schedule does not soften with the Hurricanes coming in on Halloween.
Miami, meanwhile, keeps handling business and staying on a roll through the league. The Hurricanes continue to roll through the ACC and quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Malachi Toney continue to make Heisman level statements with their play. While North Carolina should not be able to compete with Miami, it is a road trip and a look ahead spot before Miami travels to Notre Dame for one of the most anticipated games of the season.
Syracuse earned one of the weekend’s more important wins by finally getting its first ACC victory of the season, taking down North Carolina in overtime. The Orange have lived in tight games all year, and this one turned on a play by former five star recruit Calvin Russell. That win gives Syracuse a shot to stir things up even more when SMU comes to town.
SMU had to settle in before taking control against Cal, but once the Mustangs found their rhythm, the Golden Bears had no answer. The second half turned into a torching, and SMU finished with 59 points in the win. The challenge now is avoiding a letdown on the road at Syracuse.
Cal fought early at SMU, then watched the game slip away as its defense got shredded after halftime. The season has stayed rough for the Golden Bears, and a bowl game looks unlikely, though the trip to NC State is one they can realistically target.
NC State’s season took another hit with a road loss at Stanford, and the aftermath was even bigger when long-time head coach Dave Doeren lost his job on Saturday. The Wolfpack now head home to face Cal, and the question is whether they can still push toward bowl eligibility or if this becomes a team on quit watch.
Stanford, for all the noise around its season, sits at 4-4 and is only two wins from bowl eligibility in Tavita Pritchard’s first season. The Cardinal got the job done against NC State behind an offense that held up its end, and quarterback Davis Warren continues to put together a solid year. A cross-country trip to Louisville is next.
Virginia also remains one of the ACC’s bigger disappointments. A year after reaching the ACC Championship, the Cavaliers opened this season looking like a team that could get back to Charlotte, but a disappointing home loss to Duke has made a bowl trip feel like a struggle. They get Wake Forest next, and the Cavaliers badly need a response.
Wake Forest was off this weekend and returns next week against Virginia.
Florida State also had the weekend off and will be back next Saturday against Clemson.
Pittsburgh has gone the other way entirely. The Panthers have dropped three in a row, most recently getting blown out 52-23 by Miami on the road. They return home to face a Georgia Tech team that is reeling in its own right, with bowl eligibility still there for the taking.
Clemson’s loss to Virginia Tech was one of those games where the box score and the result don’t match cleanly. The Tigers outplayed the Hokies in a lot of ways, and their defense got to quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer six times, but the offense never did enough to close it out. Now the path to Charlotte looks steeper.
Virginia Tech, on the other hand, is still hanging around. If not for an inexplicable loss to Cal and a blown lead to Pitt, the Hokies would be undefeated and squarely in the CFP and ACC conversation.
They are not totally dead yet, and they stayed alive with their road win vs. Clemson.
A needed bye week is next and then a pivotal road trip to SMU.
Louisville was off on Saturday and returns next weekend against Stanford.
The Orange, the Mustangs, the Hokies, and the rest of the middle of the league keep sorting themselves out, but Georgia Tech’s plunge is the sharpest story after Week Eight. The Jackets are back near the bottom, and right now there is no sign they’re climbing out anytime soon.
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 Heads To Pitt With More On The Line Than Expected
Georgia Tech heads to Pittsburgh next Saturday with a little more urgency than it might have expected after falling to Boston College and slipping to 2-5. The Yellow Jackets will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, and oddsmakers already have them in a tough spot as a road underdog in a game that suddenly carries some weight for both teams.
Pitt enters the matchup having dropped three straight, so this is not exactly a straightforward rebound spot for either side. Even with the Panthers scuffling, the trip still looks like a tricky one for Georgia Tech, which needs to steady itself quickly if it wants to keep its season from sliding further. [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 🡒]