Georgia
Where Did Georgia Tech Land In the Final SP+ Rankings Before The 2024 Season?
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.
After months of campaigning, the 2026 primary elections in Georgia are on Tuesday, with hundreds of contests for statewide and local office taking place across the Peach State.
Voters in every precinct will have a distinct ballot, depending on what races are in play where they live.
With the number of candidates and hotly contested races up for grabs this year, many voters have said the primary ballot is one of the longest they’ve seen.
How to tell which races will be on your local Georgia ballot
So how do you know what races will be on your ballot before you head to your local polling place? It’s easier than you might think.
One way is to use the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page. Once logged in with your name, county, and date of birth, you can click a link to see your sample ballot and update your voter information. You can also see where you can cast your vote and your voter registration info.
You can also check your county election department, which will have links to see the Democratic, nonpartisan, and Republican sample ballots.
Statewide races will be on every voter’s ballot, like the primaries for governor, lieutenant governor, and U.S. senator. Most other races are dependent on the county or legislative district.
The different races included in the Georgia primary election
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. House of Representatives
- Governor
- Lieutenant Governor
- Secretary of State
- Attorney General
- Commissioner of Agriculture
- Commissioner of Insurance
- State School Superintendent
- Commissioner of Labor
- Public Service Commissioner District 3 and 5
- State Senate
- State House
- Countywide officers
- Georgia Supreme Court (two seats)
- State and county courts
Georgia U.S. Senate primaries
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is running unopposed and will face one of five challengers aiming to bring the seat back into Republican hands: Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter, Rep. Mike Collins, John F. Coyne III, Derek Dooley, and Jonathan “Jon” McColumn.
Georgia Congressional primaries
All 14 of Georgia’s U.S. House districts are on the ballot this year. Here are some of the metro Atlanta races CBS News Atlanta will be watching closely.
Primaries for Georgia governor
Primaries for Georgia lieutenant governor
- Democratic primary for Georgia lieutenant governor
- Republican primary for Georgia lieutenant governor
Primaries for Georgia secretary of state
- Democratic primary for Georgia secretary of state
- Republican primary for Georgia secretary of state
Primaries for Georgia attorney general
- Democratic primary for Georgia attorney general
- Republican primary for Georgia attorney general
Other statewide primaries in Georgia
Here are some other contested statewide primaries we are watching:
- Democratic primary for Georgia insurance commissioner
- Democratic primary for Georgia agriculture commissioner
- Republican primary for Georgia state school superintendent
- Democratic primary for Georgia state school superintendent
- Democratic primary for Georgia labor commissioner
- Republican primary for Georgia Public Service commissioner Districts 3 and 5
- Democratic primary for Georgia Public Service commissioner Districts 3 and 5
Georgia State Senate and State House primaries
All 56 of the Georgia State Senate districts and all 180 seats of the Georgia State House of Representatives are up for election in 2026.
Primaries for Georgia courts
Primaries for both statewide and county courts are on the ballot this year. These elections are nonpartisan and all candidates will appear on both ballots
- Three Georgia Supreme Court judges
- Five Court of Appeals judges
- County superior court judges
- State court judges
Political party ballot questions
Both the Georgia Republican and Democratic parties include ballot questions in their primary elections. The questions are non-binding, but advise the parties on what to include in their platforms. This year, the Republicans have eight questions and the Democrats have two.
As an example, Question 1 on the Republican ballot asks: “Should Georgia enact the strongest election integrity measures possible, which may include hand marked paper ballots, fines for counties that refuse to maintain current voter rolls, and restrictions on no-excuse absentee voting to restore trust in elections?”
Question 1 on the Democratic ballot asks: “Should the State of Georgia raise the sales tax on everyday items like clothing, food, and school supplies to pay for an income tax cut that would make millionaires and billionaires richer?”
Voters mark yes or no on each question.
As temperatures rise across Georgia, cooling costs are also expected to climb this summer. The Georgia Public Service Commission is set to hear one of Georgia Power’s proposed agreements aimed at saving customers money on their power bills.
Georgia Power says its proposed agreements could save the typical customer about $4 a month if approved by the commission.
The proposals involve two separate cases before the PSC. One focuses on fuel costs used to operate power plants, while the second deals with storm recovery costs tied to Hurricane Helene.
Georgia Power and the PSC’s Public Interest Advocacy Staff recently reached agreements in both cases. If approved, the company says the typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month could save about $4.04 per month or nearly $50 per year beginning in June.
The proposal comes as a new national report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association and the Center for Energy Poverty and Climate projects cooling costs could rise about 8.5% nationwide this year. The report says hotter temperatures and increased energy demand are helping drive costs higher.
Reliable Heating and Air said it is already seeing an increase in service calls across metro Atlanta as more people start using their air conditioning systems.
HVAC experts said homeowners should watch for warning signs, including strange noises, weak airflow, homes cooling slowly or higher-than-normal power bills.
“Biggest mistake they make is not getting a system maintenance,” said Joshua Kelly with Reliable Heating and Air. “A lot of people feel like, ‘Oh no, I don’t have to get maintenance,’ but you most definitely do.”
Experts recommend changing air filters regularly, scheduling maintenance checks, keeping thermostats between 74 and 77 degrees on hot days and addressing airflow problems early.
Resources for Georgia families needing help with cooling costs:
- Georgia LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) — Helps eligible low-income households pay heating and cooling bills and may assist during energy emergencies.
- United Way 211 — Connects families with local resources, including utility assistance programs, emergency financial help and community services.
- Partnership for Community Action — Offers utility assistance, energy support programs and other services for eligible families in metro Atlanta.
- Local Community Action Agencies — Many agencies across Georgia provide emergency utility assistance, payment support and additional family resources during extreme heat and high energy demand periods.
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