Ranking Georgia Tech's 2023 Opponents From Easiest To Toughest
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With the release of the Georgia Tech 2023 Football schedule tonight, it’s time to start making some predictions on how Brent Key will perform in his first year at the helm. Featuring several ranked opponents and potential-to-be-ranked opponents, this season will be no small challenge, but Key has brought in the talent and personnel to have a good season. So, let’s dive into the 2023 campaign
12. South Carolina State
South Carolina State should be our easiest matchup of the year. An FCS team out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), they ended the 2022 season with a 3-8 record. They seem to be keeping most of their key players for this next season, but did lose their top defender to the transfer portal. This matchup should be an easy tally for the Yellow Jacket win column.
11. Bowling Green
Bowling Green is another home game that should be an easy win. Under previous conditions the past four years, we may have been nervous or skeptical of an easy win, but with the caliber of Tech’s new coaching crew and high level of player talent, this truly should be a confident win. The Falcons went 6-7 in the 2022 season, ending their .500 season with a loss against New Mexico State in their bowl game. Unless they have a massive May signing period, this 111th-ranked recruiting class is not going to be enough to make them a feared opponent.
10. Boston College
This Boston College team is definitely the worst team in the ACC at the moment. After closing out 2022 with a 3-9 record and one noteworthy win against the #16 NC State, the Eagles did not leave the season giving much more hope to their fans. With their transfer portal sending many players out and a few back in along with their recruiting class, this team will likely look very different in 2023 but don’t expect their record to follow suit. Boston College is not going to be able to bring in a big game-changer that can turn the tides, so this game should be a win for Tech.
9. Virginia
Can Georgia Tech avenge its 2022 loss to Virginia?
Virginia is similar to Boston College in that we shouldn’t expect too much from this team. Their season ended 3-7 with Georgia Tech being their biggest victory, and that was the game we saw Jeff Sims get hurt and a wide-eyed Zach Gibson came in to finish the game. With a lackluster high school signing at the moment and a transfer portal that is not bringing any huge game-changers, UVA does not look like they will be any better this upcoming season and should once again be in the bottom three of the ACC.
8. Syracuse
Syracuse started the 2022 season off extremely strong, going 6-0, but quickly toppled from this when they lost to Clemson and never hit their stride again. They finished the season 7-6, but this season ended up looking more like a fluke than anything. Looking toward the 2023 season, this Orange team has lost many key players to the draft and transfer portal, so their recruiting period is essential to build back anything that could lead them to not be one of the bottom teams in the ACC. At the moment, they have not nearly made up for all the losses, so look for this to be a manageable game depending on how Syracuse finishes filling their roster.
7. Louisville
Louisville is making strides in their signing period with six 4-star and eight 3-star recruits, and while the volume is low compared to other schools, the 4-star players will be immediate difference makers. A massive shake-up for this team is the announcement of a new head coach Jeff Brohm, who comes from six years at Purdue and was a star QB during his college years there. This team has high potential to be in the top half of the ACC and will be a tough matchup out of the gates for our Yellow Jackets. This is the level of competition that we should expect our team to compete well with and have a good chance at winning, although it will not be easy.
6. Wake Forest
Wake Forest was a mixed bag in their 2022 season, with an 8-5 finish and one top-25 win, they also had multiple losses to top 25 teams and ended 3-5 in ACC play. This team was fairly decent, but just not good enough to keep up with the top half of the ACC. The Demon Deacons took a hard hit to their roster with starting QB Sam Hartman transferring to Notre Dame, and replacing such an experienced player is difficult. If they can replace this position, they have a chance at being middle of the road to the upper half of the ACC, but until this position is known, this team is not a massive threat.
5. Miami
After an extremely disappointing season for Miami that ended in their first losing record since 2007, a No. 4 ranked recruiting class that includes multiple 5-star players is setting the Hurricanes up for a big improvement from 5-7. Their new talent, assuming they individually meet their expectations, will make for a dangerous team with high potential. They have been clearing out some of the coaching staff after the underwhelming season, most notably offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, who lasted one year after arriving from Michigan. As their head coach, Mario Cristobal, enters his second season with the team, we can expect to see him rebound from last season and put together a much tougher, disciplined team headed into 2023.
4. University of North Carolina
UNC should be another tough matchup with QB Drake Maye returning from a stellar season that saw the team in the top 25 for seven weeks, finishing 9-5 despite losing the last 4 games of their season. They will enter 2023 will a new offensive coordinator, Chip Lindsey, who comes from UCF, so some shake-ups in the scheme and attack may be following. Expect this team to remain a powerful team in the ACC, and one of our toughest matchups of the year.
3. Ole Miss
Georgia Tech lost to Ole Miss 42-3 in 2022
Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss team proved to be a strong competitor in the 2022 season despite four losses to end the season, finishing with an 8-5 record. They were in the top 25 all 12 weeks and have been loading up highly talented players in the transfer portal. There will be potential for a QB competition between Jaxon Dart and Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders. There have been several new hires to the coaching staff that are sure to make this team even stronger, including new co-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. This will be a very tough matchup, but surely a closer game than this past season with our Yellow Jackets making so many improvements since September.
2. Clemson
Clemson is poised to be a top team once again, and one of our most difficult opponents. One big question mark with this team is the QB position as DJ Uiagalelei transferred to Oklahoma State. Clemson wasn’t themselves last year with Uiagalelei at the helm, so finding the next big starter will be crucial for Clemson if they want the chance to return to the playoffs. They will have a chance to reignite this offense with the new offensive coordinator hire of Garrett Riley who comes from the TCU championship team. We can have high expectations for this powerhouse ACC team, and we will see how our new team under Coach Key matches up.
1. Georgia
Coming off a second straight National Championship win, Georgia will undoubtedly be the most difficult opponent we face this year. There will be many changes to this roster with players heading to the NFL draft, and this could either mean they keep up their #1 spot and undefeated streak, or they tumble from their podium and Georgia Tech can finally get their revenge for the first time since 2016. This has the potential to be the upset of the year and the Yellow Jacket’s most exciting home game in 7 years.
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