College Gameday Crew Makes Their Picks For Georgia Tech-Tennessee Matchup

Saturday means it's gameday across the country, and one of the biggest matchups of the day is going to take place in Atlanta tonight between Georgia Tech and No. 18 Tennessee. The Yellow Jackets have not been getting a lot of love this week, despite their reputation for pulling off upsets under head coach Brent Key over the past four seasons, and no major member of the college football media landscape does not see an upset going down tonight.

Neither does the College Gameday crew.

Gameday was live from Austin, TX today for the big matchup between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Texas and at the end of the show, the picks came in for tonight's matchup. It was a clean sweep for Tennessee.

Desmond Howard- Tennessee
Rece Davis-Tennessee
Pat McAfee- Tennessee
Nick Saban- Tennessee
Glen Powell- Tennessee
Kirk Herbstreit- Tennessee

Can Georgia Tech pull the upset?

Justice Haynes Georgia Tec — Sep 3, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Justice Haynes (22) rushes the ball against the Colorado Buffaloes in the first half at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Georgia Tech is going to have to play much better in all phases of the game if they are going to pull this off tonight.

The Yellow Jackets have not faced an offense like Tennessee's when it comes from a schematic standpoint and the Volunteers now have a very talented QB leading the way. Former Top-10 overall recruit Faizon Brandon had a fantastic start for Tennessee last week, but this is going to be his first start on the road and first start against a Power-Four team. Earlier in the week, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key talked about how talented Brandon is and what makes him such a good quarterback even at his young age:

“He is talented. He's a big man standing back there; he can rip it. They're doing a good job of-The, I can imagine he will continue to do a good job of putting him in a position to make plays but not have to carry the whole thing, right? He pulls it down, and he can run the thing too. He's a big joker. But the poise he has, the command of the offense. Man, he was impressive to watch, really. Man, he was impressive to watch, really, the first game. But seeing him as a high school player coming up, you saw that, everyone saw that,” said Key.

It's not just the offense though. This offseason, Josh Heupel hired one of the most well-respected defensive coordinators in the country, Jim Knowles, and he has a reputation of making life difficult for quarterbacks. Alberto Mendoza had a nice first start for Georgia Tech, but this is going to be a different challenge.

“Jim Knowles is a really, really good defensive coordinator. He’s had a lot of success. From Duke to Oklahoma State to Ohio State and Penn State, he’s done a great job. Puts his players in position to make plays, right? Not real complicated appearing. Then they play a really sound, fundamentally sound scheme and it fundamentally sound players and they're good players doing it so. Look,It'll be a challenge for us. We're excited about it. I'm excited about it. If anybody in this building it excited about it, they better go find a better be in,” said Key.

Georgia Tech hosts Tennessee tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on ESPN.

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