Georgia Tech enters the game against Miami after a well-deserved bye week. The Yellow Jackets are missing star quarterback Haynes King and signal-caller LB Kyle Efford. Over the past few weeks, the Yellow Jackets’ offense has struggled without King at the helm. His presence and ability to play play an important role in this match. Defensively, the Yellow Jackets defense had its best outing of the season against Virginia Tech, limiting the explosive offense to 21 points and just seven points in the second half. The Yellow Jackets enter the game at 5-4.

This is probably one of the least talked about rivalries in the ACC. The series is tied 14-14. Georgia Tech has won three of the last five matchups against the Hurricanes and all by a score of one score. In fact, five of the last six matchups have been decided by a single score.

You may remember the infamous collapse of the Hurricanes who had the game in hand but decided to run the football instead of kneeling down and finishing the game. On the next series, quarterback Haynes King connected with Christian Leary for the game-winning touchdown and sealed the victory.

Miami enters the game with a score of 9-0 and is one of the best teams in the country. They are ranked as the No. 4 team in the country in the first College Football Playoff rankings. The Hurricanes pose a different challenge to the Yellow Jackets this season, as they are probably the most complete offense they have faced. The Hurricanes can run the football and also throw it. They lead the nation in points (47.4) and yards (556.9) per game. Miami has scored over 35 points in every game this season. The Yellow Jackets will have their work cut out for them trying to slow down their prolific offense.

ESPN FPI only gives the Yellow Jackets a 23% chance of winning the game and they are currently a 13-point underdog. Since their bye week, the Yellow Jackets have fallen to 43rd in the FPI rankings, dropping six spots. Their odds of winning six games also dropped from 90.3% to 80.7%. There’s no telling how much a win against a top opponent will impact what the Georgia Tech program is building. They had a signature win last year against No. 17 North Carolina at home and against No. 10 Florida State earlier this season. It will be a completely different case on Saturday as Georgia Tech can prove that it can defeat the best teams in the country with playoff aspirations.

ESPN uses its FPI (Football Power Index) as an advanced analytical model to help examine matchups and predict outcomes. In ESPN’s own words: “FPI is a predictive scoring system designed to measure a team’s strength and a project’s performance in the future. The ultimate goal of the FPI is not to rank teams 1 to 128; rather, it is to correctly predict the results of the matches and the season. If Vegas ever released the power rankings it uses to make its lines, they would probably look a lot like FPI.

Additional links

Georgia Tech Football: Yellow Jackets reveal uniform combination for Saturday vs. Miami

ACC Football: Predictions for Every Week 11 Game

Georgia Tech Basketball: Takeaways from Yellow Jackets’ season-opening win over West Georgia