SP+ Predicts Final Score For Georgia Tech vs Tennessee Matchup In Week 2

Georgia Tech is three days away from a ranked home matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers and a major ACC/SEC clash. It could be a major game down the road with both teams wanting to make the playoffs. Tennessee comes in at 1-0 after a 56-9 victory over Furman. Georgia Tech lost a nail-biter to Colorado 14-13 thanks to a blocked field goal by Boo Carter.

The Yellow Jackets look to turn the chapter and get to .500 on the season.

Georgia Tech is not favored by the sportsbooks or most power-rating systems ahead of Thursday's game, including ESPN analyst Bill Connelly's SP+. For those that don't know, here is how Connelly describes what SP+ is: "As always: SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking."

Georgia Tech remains a large underdog against the Volunteers at home. FanDuel has Tennessee favored by 12.5. ESPN’s FPI gives the Yellow Jackets a 23.5% chance to win. SP+ sits in the same boat with Georgia Tech, with a projected victory for Tennessee of 35-20. The rankings give the Vols an 84% win probability on Saturday.

WEEK 2 SP+ PICKS

Ohio St 27, Texas 25
OU 27, Michigan 20 (17-10 feels more right, or 7-0)
Mizzou 27, Kansas 25 🫪🤮
Iowa 32, ISU 14
Boise 31, Memphis 25
Bama 28, Kentucky 19
Illinois 30, Duke 26
AFA 26, NDSU 25
Tenn 35, GT 20
Utes 35, Hogs 23

All games: https://t.co/Hml1qz0bOL pic.twitter.com/9HhkgpTWxC
— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) September 8, 2026

Georgia Tech Must Respond

This is the type of game where we will see what the Yellow Jackets are made of and how they respond to adversity. On Tuesday, head coach Brent Key lamented that Georgia Tech was a poorly coached, poorly prepared, poorly disciplined, and soft football team in his press conference. When a coach calls a team out, two things happen. Either they respond in a major way, or they flop. On Saturday against No.18 Tennessee, we will find out which one it is.

“We've been in this position before here. We've been in this position, right? Of losing it. I don't want to lose a game. You kidding me? But I sure don't want to have two or one turned into two. All right. I fully expect us to go out and play much better football. That's my expectation. Now, my expectation was that the first game. But gotta make that improvement between one and two now. That's the biggest thing right there,” said Key.

The good thing for Georgia Tech is that they usually respond after losses, and for whatever reason, they relish the underdog role. Coach Key and the Yellow Jackets have pulled off several ranked home wins against Miami, North Carolina, Clemson, and others. They usually play well at home and will have another chance to shock the sportsbooks and college football world.

Alberto Mendoza showed some things at quarterback that should give Yellow Jackets fans optimism and a reason to believe in this team moving forward. He improved as the game went on and made the plays needed to help pull out a victory. The defense also played well for the most part and held the Colorado passing attack to just 124 yards through the air. With one of the best wide receiving cores in the country, can they do it against a true freshman quarterback?

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