Preseason Bowl Projections For Georgia Tech Football Entering the 2026 Season

Georgia Tech has made a bowl game in each season under Brent Key, and he is hoping to make it four straight for the program. After missing a bowl game in each season under Geoff Collins, Key has made this program a mainstay in the postseason, but Georgia Tech would love to take that next step and not just make a bowl game, but make the ACC Championship and possibly the College Football Playoff.

With so many new starters and two new coordinators, there aren't any college football experts or analysts who are predicting that for the Yellow Jackets, but given how wide open the ACC seems to be after Miami, it is not hard to imagine a scenario where that happens.

So before the season begins in 12 days, where is Georgia Tech projected to play?

Preseason Bowl Projections

Nov 15, 2025; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Malachi Hosley (0) runs the ball for a touchdown during the first half against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Heading into the season, Miami is considered the heavy favorite to win the ACC and make the College Football Playoff. After that, there are a number of bowls that the other ACC teams could end up making. Here are two notable projections from ESPN's Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach, as well as a projection from CBS Sports Brad Crawford:

Bonagura, ESPN: Puerto Rico Bowl vs Wyoming
Schlabach (ESPN) : Pinstripe Bowl vs Illinois
Crawford (CBS): Military Bowl vs Navy

These are a wide range of projections and each of them are interesting.

While Georgia Tech is reloading at several positions and have a fairly tough schedule, it would be a bit disappointing to see them in the Puerto Rico Bowl at the end of the season.

Illinois has become one of the most consistent programs in the Big Ten under Brett Bielema and have won bowl games against South Carolina and Tennessee in recent seasons. The Pinstripe Bowl is one of several possibilities for ACC teams who are bowl eligible.

Navy is expected to be among the contenders for the Group of Six bid in the College Football Playoff and would not be an easy out by any stretch.

My Projection

When I predicted every game on the Yellow Jackets schedule entering the season, I ended up with the team going 8-4. I think that anywhere between 6-6 and 10-2 is possible for this team because of the amount of toss ups on their schedule and nothing would really be all that shocking, unless they were to be below 6-6 or win 11 or 12 games.

With an 8-4 record, I think that Georgia Tech is going to end up in the Dukes Mayo Bowl against an SEC or Big 10 team. It is a bowl game that the Yellow Jackets have not played in under Key and it would be a great opportunity for them to play against a team from one of the premier conferences in the country.

The Yellow Jackets were almost sent to the Gator Bowl last postseason to play Missouri and I think that is who Georgia Tech would play this year. The Tigers are expected to be a 6-8 win team this season and are annual bowl contenders in the SEC. This would be a great opportunity for the Yellow Jackets to win a game against an SEC. It would actually be their third matchup against an ACC opponent this season, having already played Tennessee and Georgia in the regular season.

Will any of these turn out to be correct? Who knows, it is the preseason and these are just projections.

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