Georgia Tech Picked as one of Week Nine's Top Teams by Kirk Herbstreit

For the third time this season, ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit has picked Georgia Tech as one of his top teams of the week.

Here are my top performing teams of WEEK 9

1- @oregonfootball
2- @KU_Football
3- @GeorgiaTechFB
4- @ArizonaFBall
5- @PackFootball
6- @LouisvilleFB
7- @ASUFootball pic.twitter.com/sd7meNYNT4
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) October 30, 2023

Georgia Tech makes the list after their thrilling upset over North Carolina. The Yellow Jackets overcame an early two-touchdown deficit to take down the No. 17 Tar Heels in Atlanta and in the process, they racked up over 600 yards of offense, including over 300 on the ground.

The Yellow Jackets made Herbstreit's list after their wins over Wake Forest and Miami.

The challenge for Georgia Tech is going to be staying focused and making sure they are ready for Virginia. The Cavaliers have also beaten North Carolina and took Miami to the wire yesterday. I think the Yellow Jackets are better, but the game is on the road and Brent Key will have to have his team ready. Georgia Tech moved to 4-0 under head coach Brent Key against nationally ranked ACC opponents:

W, 26-21 at No. 24 Pitt – Oct. 1, 2022
W, 21-17 at No. 13/11 North Carolina – Nov. 19, 2022
W, 23-20 at No. 17 Miami (Fla.) – Oct. 7, 2023
W, 46-42 vs. No. 17 North Carolina – Oct. 28, 2023

When the opening lines were released on Sunday afternoon, the 2-6 Cavaliers opened as a two-point favorite against the Yellow Jackets according to Circa Sports. After a 1-5 start to the season, Virginia pulled their own upset over North Carolina a couple of weeks ago and took Miami to overtime yesterday. Tony Elliott has his team playing better and with the game in Charlottesville, UVA will be the favorite, although a small one.

Last season, Virginia came to Atlanta and ruined Brent Key's 2-0 start as the interim head coach. After big wins against Pitt and Duke, Georgia Tech came into the Thursday night matchup against the Cavaliers as a favorite, but it was a nightmare game for the Yellow Jackets. Jeff Sims was injured early in the game and aside from a LaMiles Brooks pick-six, it was tough to find points. That loss kept Georgia Tech from reaching a bowl game for the first time since 2018 and the Yellow Jackets have to go on the road in the first week of November to play a Virginia team that suddenly has a lot of confidence.

If Georgia Tech can keep playing well, they find themselves on Herbstreit's list again this season.

Facebook: AllYellow Jackets

Follow Jackson on Twitter: @jacksoncaudell