Was Georgia Tech Football Snubbed In This Year's Preseason AP Top 25?

Dec 27, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key tracks his team during the first half of the 2024 Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

College football season is getting closer, and there is no better indicator of that then the AP Preseason Top 25 being released. While the College Football Playoff Rankings are what matter most, the AP Poll is an interesting look at who the voters think are the best 25 teams as we enter the season.

Georgia Tech was not among them, however. The Yellow Jackets, who were also not ranked in the Coaches Poll when it was released, will start the season unranked and hope to prove the voters wrong with two early-season games against Colorado and Clemson. The Yellow Jackets came in at No. 31 and received 63 votes, behind BYU, Utah, Baylor, Louisville, and USC.

Given how Georgia Tech has been talked about by some this offseason, it would not have been shocking to see Brent Key's team be ranked, but were they truly snubbed by the AP Poll?

I would argue they were not and being No. 31 is a pretty fair ranking.

Nov 29, 2024; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Jamal Haynes (11) scores a touchdown past Georgia Bulldogs defensive back Dan Jackson (17) during the first half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

It is actually a testament to what Brent Key has been able to do at Georgia Tech in such a short period of time that he has this program even in the discussion to be ranked to start a season. Georgia Tech has not been voted on to be a preseason top 25 team since 2015, when they started the season No. 16. Given how bleak things seemed during the Geoff Collins era, Key has done a tremendous job of getting this roster able to be in a position to be an ACC contender, which I still think Georgia Tech is, even if it is justifiable to leave them out of the preseason top 25.

For as many notable wins as Key and the Yellow Jackets have managed to pull out during his tenure, they have not been the most consistent team. Between the two biggest games of the year (Clemson and Georgia), Georgia Tech is going to face Temple, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Duke, Syracuse, NC State, Boston College, and Pittsburgh. They might be favored in all of those games (at Duke and NC State are questionable), but they won't be large favorites. How they navigate those games, plus the opener at Colorado, could be just as telling of this team as their performances against the Clemson Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs, the two teams ranked in the preseason that Georgia Tech has to face.

If you asked Key, he would probably prefer to not be ranked to start the season. This team has an interesting first three weeks of the season, with a road opener against Colorado and then two weeks later No. 4 Clemson, and whenever the Yellow Jackets have been doubted, that is when they have played some of their best football under Key. Not many gave them a chance to beat Florida State, Miami, or even be in a position where they could have beaten Georgia, but they were right there. This program has excelled at playing the role of the underdog and after today's preseason top 25 was released, they get to do so again.