Georgia Tech Football: Yellow Jackets Will Face Clemson In Their 2025 Conference Opener

The 2025 ACC Schedule is slowly but surely being released and after the conference revealed the dates for the week zero and week one games yesterday, they revealed each ACC team's conference opener for the upcoming season just moments ago.

Georgia Tech is going to open their 2025 ACC schedule against Clemson on Sept. 13th.

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦

📰 https://t.co/ejh0pTdZfH
📺 Full Schedule: January 27 | 9 pm | ACC Network pic.twitter.com/4nfO9zEBv3
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) January 24, 2025

After playing every season from 1983 until 2023, Georgia Tech and Clemson did not play each other last season. The Tigers are going to make their first visit to Bobby Dodd Stadium since 2020 (the two teams played in Mercedes Benz Stadium in 2022) and it could end up being one of the most important games in the ACC in 2025. Clemson won the league in 2024, made the college football playoff, and lost to Texas, but a lot of the key players from this past year's team will be back. Clemson is going to be the unquestioned favorite in the ACC heading into next season, but Georgia Tech will be a tough test for the Tigers and it could even be a preview of the ACC Championship game. The Yellow Jackets have not beaten Clemson since 2014.

The rest of the ACC schedule will be revealed Monday night at 9:00 p.m. on the ACC network

For Georgia Tech, they know the dates of their four non-conference games, but not any other ACC games besides Clemson. In the non-con, the Yellow Jackets go to Colorado on Aug. 30th, host Gardner Webb on Sept. 6th, host Temple on Sept. 20th, and face rival Georgia at Mercedes Benz Stadium on Nov. 29th. Georgia Tech's ACC road games include trips to Boston College, Duke, Wake Forest, and NC State and the conference home games include Clemson, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, and Pitt.

When looking ahead to the 2025 season, week one has a lot of big-time games to look forward to. One of the biggest games that weekend is going to be Georgia Tech's road trip to Colorado to face Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes. It is going to be the first meeting between the two programs and FootballScoop's Zach Barnett ranked it as one of the best non-conference games of the 2025 season:

12. Georgia Tech at Colorado (Aug. 30): "In the 35th anniversary of the Yellow Jackets and Buffaloes' split national championship, it's the beginning of a new era for Colorado football in one way or the other. Either it's Game 1 of Coach Prime 2.0 as Deion Sanders coaches without Shedeur Sanders for the first time ever, or it's Game 1 of Coach TBD if Deion actually does take the Cowboy's job."

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) hands the ball off to running back Keith Adams Jr. (19) during the game against the Texas Longhorns in the first round of the College Football Playoffs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. | Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This will be an interesting test for the Yellow Jackets to open the season. Georgia Tech has been listed among various way-too-early top 25 rankings for the 2025 season and while that does not have any real bearing on how the season will play out, it shows that the Yellow Jackets are getting some respect for how the 2024 season played out and for the returning talent that they have.

Coming into the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Georgia Tech has not had to face high pre-season expectations. The win totals in Vegas had them falling short of a bowl game in each of Brent Key's first two seasons as the head coach of his alma mater, but the Yellow Jackets exceeded expectations both times and ended up in a bowl game. Georgia Tech has played the underdog role pretty well, but with talented players returning, one of the program's best recruiting classes getting on campus, and a pretty solid transfer portal class, the Yellow Jackets could enter the 2025 season ranked in the top 25.

There is still plenty of time between now and August, but there is certainly a case for Georgia Tech to be ranked in the preseason top 25. Quarterback Haynes King is returning, running back Jamal Haynes is also back, joined by Penn transfer Malachi Hosley, a talented receiving corps, an offensive line that returns All-ACC guard Keylan Rutledge, and talent from a defense that was much better in 2024 than 2023. The most important retentions might be on the coaching staff. Coordinators Buster Faulkner and Tyler Santucci are slated to be back, as well the rest of the coaching staff. Georgia Tech has one of the best coaching staffs in the ACC and being able to retain them is huge for next season.

The pieces are in place for a potential special season in 2025 and while Georgia Tech always plays a tough schedule, next year's schedule is not as tough as years past. Yes, they play Georgia and Clemson, but no other team on their schedule is likely to start the year ranked. That is not to say that it will be a cakewalk, but Notre Dame is not on the schedule, nor is Miami or SMU. The trip to Colorado to start the year could be tough, but the Buffaloes are losing likely top-10 picks Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. As far as schedules go, next year's looks to be breaking in favor of Georgia Tech being able to contend in the ACC.

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