Georgia Tech is less than two weeks away from kicking off their 2024 season with a huge overseas matchup against defending ACC Champion Florida State. The Seminoles are favored heading into that game, but Georgia Tech has a huge opportunity for an upset and to show they could be contenders in the ACC.

One of the best power rating and predictive ranking systems out there is ESPN College Football analyst Bill Connelly’s SP+. Today, Connelly released the final SP+ rankings heading into the 2024 season and Georgia Tech is going to start the season ranked No. 58, with the No. 33 projected offense, the No. 94 projected defense, and the No. 68 projected special teams unit. I think it is obvious that if Georgia Tech’s offense remains at this projected level and there is a serious improvement on defense, this ranking is going to go up during the season. Head coach Brent Key has been very complementary of the defensive line so far during fall camp and it appears they are making needed progress. They will have to show it on the field though.

What exactly is SP+? Here is how Connelly himself describes it:

“As always, these are based on three primary factors: returning production (final rankings for which you can find at the bottom of this piece), recent recruiting and recent history. How good have you been recently? Whom do you have coming back? How good are the players replacing those you don’t have coming back? That’s loosely what we ask when we’re setting expectations for a team; it’s also what these projections attempt to do objectively.

As always: SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking, and, along those same lines, these projections aren’t intended to be a guess at what the AP Top 25 will look like at the end of the year. These are simply early offseason power rankings based on the information we have been able to gather to date.”

Here is how the ACC ranks in SP+ heading into the season:

1. Florida State (No. 12 Nationally)

2. Clemson (16)

3. Miami (19)

4. SMU (27)

5. NC State (29)

6. Louisville (31)

7. Virginia Tech (36)

8. North Carolina (40)

9. Duke (51)

10. Cal (52)

11. Georgia Tech (58)

12. Pitt (66)

13. Syracuse (67)

14. Boston College (73)

15. Wake Forest (74)

16. Stanford (77)

17. Virginia (78)

I would argue that Georgia Tech belongs above Cal, North Carolina, Duke, and SMU. I think the Mustangs are ranked way too high based off of their success in a lower conference and could struggle in their first year in the ACC. Duke has a chance to be one of the worst team’s in the ACC in the first year under Manny Diaz, Cal has questions when it comes to their passing game, and North Carolina has big questions at quarterback and on defense.

Here is how Georgia Tech’s opponents rank in SP+ heading into 2024:

1. Georgia (1st Nationally)

2. Notre Dame (9th)

3. Florida State (12th)

4. Miami (19th)

5. NC State (29th)

6. Louisville (31st)

7. Virginia Tech (36th)

8. North Carolina (40th)

9. Duke (51st)

10. Syracuse (67th)

11. Georgia State (106th)

VMI is of course not listed.

As if you needed any more confirmation that Georgia Tech has a tough schedule, only two of their 11 opponents ranked in SP+ are ranked lower than they are. You can certainly argue that teams like North Carolina and Duke should not be ranked above them and teams like NC State and Louisville are not far ahead of Georgia Tech. Still, this team is projected to face eight top 40 opponents according to SP+. The Yellow Jackets have their work cut out for them when it comes to making another bowl game.

Arian Smith joined the Georgia football team as part of a 2020 recruiting class that featured guys now playing in the NFL in Kelee Ringo, Jalen Carter, Broderick Jones and Darnell Washington.

He’s been around long enough that a couple of his former teammates have left and returned as graduate assistants: Warren Ericson and Prather Hudson.

That didn’t diminish the redshirt senior wide receiver’s enthusiasm when he reported for yet another camp this preseason.

“It definitely hit me,” Smith said. “I’m like, ‘Woo, this is year 5.’ I’m excited regardless of what year it is. I love this sport. I’ll do it 100 times if I could.”

Smith, from Bradley, Fla., was a top 60 recruit himself, a four-star in the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class.

He’s shown a big play ability at Georgia, but battled injuries (ankle, leg, wrist, toe, knee, shin) and inconsistency, which have him wanting more.

“I’m still hungry,” Smith said. “I feel like I didn’t play that much over the years with me being injured and things like that.”

Smith played every game last season and set a career-high in catches with 8 for 153 yards and two touchdowns. He hauled in the longest offensive play for Georgia in the SEC championship game against Alabama, a 51-yard reception.

He’s worked this preseason with the starters at receiver, along with Dominic Lovett and Dillon Bell, for a group that added transfer wider receivers Colbie Young, London Humphreys and Michael Jackson III but lost a top contributor, Rara Thomas, after his dismissal following a domestic violence incident.

“I’m fired up about that group because we got a good group of protectors around them, a good quarterback to get them the ball, and a good group of tight ends,” coach Kirby Smart said.

The 6-foot, 185-pound Smith ran track for Georgia in 2021, finishing second in the NCAA outdoor 4×100 meter relay on a team that included Matthew Boling.

His speed is what teammates gush about.

“He’s fast,” cornerback Daylen Everette said with a smile. “He’s got crazy speed. … Speed kills and that shows with him.”

“There’s not a lot of people with his type of speed,” offensive tackle Warren McClendon said during the 2022 season.

Smith has 20 career catches for 539 yards, with six of the receptions going for touchdowns, including a 76-yard score against Ohio State in the Peach Bowl playoff semifinal win in the 2022 season.

He’s averaging 27 yards per catch as a Bulldog.

“I guarantee you that defense knows when number 11 is on the field because of the speed and the ability to make not just a 20-yard explosive, but he’s a guy on your team that could have a 70-yard explosive at any time,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “And the thing with Arian, we’re just trying to be consistent every day.”

Smith has a chance to be more consistent by being available for practice and games.

He’s embracing leading the receiving group and is one of a handful of players still left from that 2020 team along with Carson Beck, Dan Jackson, Xavier Truss and Tate Ratledge.

Smart said coaches have spent more time trying to develop Smith.

“He’s definitely a big special teams player for us and that’s been a big role for him,” Bobo said. “But a lot of times, he’s repped so many things in special teams, I get to have him during those special teams periods and really work on techniques of running certain routes. We’re not running full speed all the time, but talking about routes and body control, working on the deep ball, adjusting to the deep ball with our eyes, not necessarily running a full speed post or a full speed go.”

Smith has made his share of big plays, but also let some big plays slip away last season. His three drops, a 27.3 drop percentage according to Pro Football Focus, was highest among Georgia wide receivers.

Smart won’t let that or being sidelined earlier in his career cloud Smith’s value to the team.

“I think Arian has reached his potential,” Smart said. “I mean, he’s a guy that every time we’ve needed him to make big plays, he’s made a bunch of big plays. I don’t think a lot of the health, he can control that. There’s some things you can control, some things you can’t. Most of the injuries he’s had have occurred by circumstance or collisions, so I’m very pleased with where he is. I’m excited of the leadership he showed in that room spring through the summer, and even now he’s much more confident in himself. … I’m excited to see what he can do with it.”

Clemson defensive back Shelton Lewis reportedly suffered an injury during Clemson’s scrimmage ahead of their week one game against Georgia.

The official first week of college football is just a few weeks out and one of the biggest matchups of opening weekend is Georgia vs Clemson at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. It has been pinned as a top-25 matchup as both teams were ranked in the preseason AP poll, and the Clemson Tigers might be without one of their defensive backs for the highly anticipated game.

According to ClemsonInsider, defensive back Shelton Lewis suffered a lower-leg injury during Clemson’s scrimmage over the weekend. They also reported that Lewis is on crutches and was unable to put any pressure on his leg. Lewis is a sophomore and was competing for one of the starting jobs in the secondary. Last season he played in 13 games for Clemson, starting in two of them. He recorded 10 tackles, two interceptions and a touchdown last season.

The Tigers are expected to have one of the better defenses in college football this season, but losing a contributor like Lewis is a tough hit to the roster. Especially with a matchup against quarterback Carson Beck looming in the distance, who is expected to be in the Heisman race this season.

The Bulldogs opened as 12.5-point favorites over Clemson earlier in the offseason. But as the game inches closer and closer, the line has continued to move in Georgia’s favor.According to DraftKings, the Bulldogs are two-touchdown favorites, as the current line is now -14 points in the Dawgs’ favor.

The Bulldogs and Tigers will do battle at Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta on August 31st at noon. It will be the two teams’ first meeting since the 2021 season opener where the Dawgs won 10-3 on their way to their first national title in 41 years.

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