Georgia
Georgia Tech Football: ESPN’s FPI Gives Virginia Tech the Edge In Saturday’s Game
Georgia Tech is coming off a loss to Notre Dame in a game where they were without star quarterback Haynes King. The Yellow Jackets hung tight in the game in the first half trailing 14-7 before Notre Dame pulled away in the second half. Georgia Tech struggled to muster up anything on the ground rushing for only 64 yards in the loss. It will be interesting to see how well the Yellow Jackets run the ball. In wins, Georgia Tech dominates the run game and gives opposing defenses fits. They will need that in order to knock off the Hokies.
An interesting stat that pertains to this matchup is that Georgia Tech has not lost at Virginia Tech since 2012, and has won four consecutive games in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech leads the all-time series 11-8 but the Yellow Jackets have won five of the last eight contests.
Georgia Tech will leave the state one final time this season and hit the road. The Yellow Jackets are a heavy underdog for the second week in a row, with the spread at -9 for the Hokies. ESPN’s FPI gives the Yellow Jackets just a 36.1% chance of winning the game. Despite the loss to Notre Dame last week, Georgia Tech has moved up five spots to No. 37 and is now ranked as the No. 7 team in the ACC. Their chance to reach six wins has dropped down a little bit from 92.7 to 90.3. It remains to be seen if Haynes King will suit up on Saturday for the Yellow Jackets.
Virginia Tech has won two consecutive games after a 2-3 start to the season. The offense has been rolling as of late scoring 30 points in each of its last three games. The Hokies also scored a season-high 42 points against Boston College in their win at home. The offense gained 394 yards against Miami, 337 yards against Stanford, and 532 yards against Boston College. It will not be easy to slow down this offense on Saturday for the Yellow Jackets but it will be important they force some negative plays and turnovers.
Saturday provided a different test for the Yellow Jackets, especially with one of the better quarterbacks in the ACC. The numbers may not prove it, but coming into the season Kyron Drones was considered one of the best and a breakout candidate for Virginia Tech. He has started to heat up lately and has found his groove on offense. A win can help Georgia Tech clinch bowl eligibility and build some momentum for the rest of the season.
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.”
They were designed to hold a drink, but cups produced in Rome, Georgia, have become one of the FIFA Men’s World Cup’s most unexpected souvenirs.
Inside the Top Cup plant in Rome, millions of cups were created to celebrate the world’s biggest sporting event.
“We made 10 million over 70 different graphics for the World Cup,” said Rome native and Top Cup General Manager Zach Dixon.
The plant in north Georgia produces up to 750,000 cups a day.
“We’ve always been really proud of the cup … but the World Cup has obviously taken it to another level,” said Top Cup CEO David Cuthbert.
Fans have been taking them home from matches. Some have even been listed for sale online.
“We’ve always been really proud of the cup… but the World Cup has obviously taken it to another level,” said Cuthbert.
Dixon said they begin the process with massive coils of aluminum, each weighing about 30,000 pounds. The metal is stamped, stretched, washed, and moved down the line.
The plant produces about 1,100 cups every minute.
Ricardo Marques, the senior vice president of marketing for Michelob ULTRA, said that there have been venue-specific, match-specific, and Finals-specific stadium cups for the World Cup. There are also three separate red, white, and blue designs available for fans at bars and restaurants around the U.S.
“We’ve seen an incredible response to the collection. Together, these commemorative cups give fans a unique keepsake and a lasting reminder of an unforgettable FIFA World Cup experience and the moments that brought millions of people together through the world’s game,” Marques said.
Cuthbert said his company has seen how the World Cup has done wonders for metro Atlanta businesses.
“Our team in Rome, Georgia takes tremendous pride in helping bring this fan experience to life for one of the world’s biggest sporting events,” he said.
So when soccer fans celebrate the surprise victory or mourn their last-minute loss, they’re doing so with a little piece of Georgia.
Athlon Sports projected the best SEC games for each week of the 2026 regular season.
The conference features some of the most compelling matchups in all of college football, from opening weekend through rivalry week. The selections emphasize games anticipated to have the biggest impact on the SEC championship race and College Football Playoff picture.
Florida’s annual clash with Georgia was tabbed as one of the SEC’s premier fixtures. The game has grown in national significance since it began in 1904, continuing as a battle of blue-blood programs that routinely produces iconic results. The game temporarily moves to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta during the Jacksonville stadium renovations.
The Jon Sumrall era carries with it an increasing sense of belief — many experts see the Gators as a dark-horse CFB playoff contender. Regardless of its final win-loss record, UF will play a part in shaping the season’s narrative as they face several post-season favorites in Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma.
Noted in the article is the SEC’s depth and newly implemented nine-game conference schedule. Georgia, Texas, Alabama and LSU appear multiple times on this list, with Georgia facing Alabama in Week 6 and Ole Miss in Week 10 while LSU hosts Clemson in Week 1 and will see Texas in Week 11 take on Alabama.
Many contenders from the SEC face multiple nationally relevant foes over the course of the season.
Athlon Sports’ Best game for every week of the 2026 season
- Week 1: Clemson at LSU (Sept. 5)
- Week 2: Ohio State at Texas (Sept. 12)
- Week 3: LSU at Ole Miss (Sept. 19)
- Week 4: Oklahoma at Georgia (Sept. 26)
- Week 5: Auburn at Tennessee (Oct. 3)
- Week 6: Georgia at Alabama (Oct. 10)
- Week 7: Alabama at Tennessee (Oct. 17)
- Week 8: Ole Miss at Texas (Oct. 24)
- Week 9: Florida vs. Georgia (Atlanta) (Oct. 31)
- Week 10: Georgia at Ole Miss (Nov. 7)
- Week 11: Texas at LSU (Nov. 14)
- Week 12: Texas A&M at Oklahoma (Nov. 21)
- Week 13: Texas at Texas A&M (Friday) (Nov. 27)
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