Wake Forest Football Opponent Preview: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
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In Week 4, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets visit Wake Forest for an early-season ACC showdown. Last year, fortune struck Ramblin' Wreck, and Georgia Tech finished just 7-6 despite wins over Florida State and Miami (and an 8OT loss at Georgia). This year, head coach Brent Key looks to improve on that mark despite another gauntlet schedule. The offense returns some of the most weapons in the ACC and a strong offensive line to make this team dangerous to anybody.
What can we expect from Georgia Tech as a whole in 2025? Stay tuned for a matchup preview the week of the game in late September. For now, let's look at the Yellow Jackets for the entire 2025 college football season.
We're nearing kickoff for the 2025 college football season, and that means tune in every week with Wake Forest on SI for an extensive preview on every foe the Demon Deacons will play this season.
2025 Georgia Tech Football At A Glance
- Name: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
- Stadium: Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta, GA (capacity: 51,913)
- Head coach: Brent Key (3rd season)
- Offensive coordinator: Buster Faulkner
- Defensive coordinator: Blake Gideon
- 2024 record: 7-6 (5-3 ACC)
Georgia Tech Football In 2024: A Trade-off
If you polled Georgia Tech fan, one year ago today, what the Yellow Jackets' record would be given these parameters:
- Loss at Georgia in 8OT
- Opening game win against Florida State
- November win over Miami
What might the average answer have been? 9-3? 10-2?
How about 7-6? The highs of Georgia Tech's 2024 season were really high. After all, that Week 0 win over FSU in Ireland was long before we realized how bad FSU would be (GT was a 10.5-point underdog). But those performances against 10-3 Miami--one that knocked the Hurricanes out of ACC and CFP contention--and 11-3 Georgia (the SEC champion and CFP quarterfinalist) stand the test of time.
The schedule, in retrospect, was brutal. Before its bowl game, you can't really pinpoint a bad loss last year:
- Lost by 3 to 10-3 Syracuse
- Dropped a bizarre game at top-20 Louisville
- Lost to national runner-up Notre Dame
- Lost at Virginia Tech without starting QB Haynes King
- The aforementioned 8OT loss at SEC champ Georgia
You'd take that almost any day of the week, if you're a Georgia Tech fan, given 2024's expectations. But that still amounts to a 7-5 record plus a bowl loss to Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt. Tech was simultaneously lots of fun to watch but also infuriating as it had multiple chances to finish 8-4 or 9-3 throughout the year.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Offense Preview
There's significant reason for excitement with Georgia Tech's offense this season. Back is one of the country's most exciting and toughest quarterbacks in Haynes King. Although struggling with on-and-off injuries last year, King managed a 14-2 touchdown-to-interception mark, throwing for over 2,100 yards, and added 587 rushing yards with 11 more touchdowns. When Georgia Tech needed a third-and-three conversion, King was sure to give it his all or die trying.
Also returning is running mate Jamal Haynes, who rushed for nearly 1,000 yards last season. Also a threat out of the backfield, Haynes accounted for 12 touchdowns last season. A large part of his success comes from the offensive line, which is one of the better units in the ACC again this year. Head coach Brent Key has a background in offensive line coaching, and that reflects on this unit. Keylan Rutledge earned All-America honors last season and returns as a strong All-America candidate again.
Although three of the top four receivers departed last season, GT brought in FIU transfer Eric Rivers (1,172 yards), a dynamic deep threat. He complements returning starter Malik Rutherford (702 yards).
There's really no weakness on this offense. (Perhaps receiving depth? That's an issue solved by a talented quarterback.) Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner is one of the country's better playcallers and, according to preseason assessments from opposing ACC coaches, he's not expected to last long as a coordinator. This offense won't just be good, it'll be dynamic.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Defense Preview
Georgia Tech introduces a new defensive coordinator this year, Blake Gideon. Last year, the defense finished 79th in points per drive allowed--it allowed 31+ in five of six losses--so Key made the change. Gideon comes from Texas, where he coached a phenomenal secondary and was widely lauded as a strong hire for the Yellow Jackets.
Seven starters return, namely All-ACC linebacker Kyle Efford (64 tackles in sparse time). Four FBS starters return in the secondary, but that unit has to improve after a poor showing in 2024. UAB transfer Kelvin Hill stood out as a true freshman (five pass breakups) and appears to be the starting fifth DB in Gideon's 4-2-5 system as a true sophomore this year. Jyron Gilmore competes for the spot after starting 12 games at Georgia State and 39 games in his career.
The problem with last year's defense is that it gave up far too many big plays. On a down-to-down basis, it was solid--good, even, at least against the run--but explosive plays absolutely crushed this team. According to preseason scouting, GT intends to run more zone coverage to prevent breakdowns.
It generally takes two seasons to install a new defense. But this defensive scheme isn't new, and the unit overall is quite experienced in it. Changes to coverage and lingo may impact early-season performances, but this should be a largely improved unit this year.
Best Case Scenario For Georgia Tech
I'll cut to the chase: Georgia Tech is going to be a good football team this year. Though some scheduling Goliaths appear--they handle Clemson and Georgia--it's paced pretty well with no significant trap spots. There are seven clear winnable games and another three that appear to be toss-ups. Given Key's 8-4 record in one-score regular season games, there's reason to believe more of those toss-ups result in wins than losses.
Should King stay healthy (a big should given his play style and occasional recklessness), there's a real chance GT is competing for a spot in Charlotte through November. We saw at the offense's height, they can compete with anyone, anywhere, at any given time.
Given the schedule, GT lines for 7.7 wins in the preseason. However, I project them as underdogs just twice this season with a slew of projected one-score games ahead.
There is a plausible path to 9-3; hell, there's a plausible path to 10-2. Is 10-2 reasonable? Not particularly, but the ceiling is there. Let's cap it at 9-3.
Worst Case Scenario For Georgia Tech
If you flip a coin enough times, you'll reach a 50% occurrence of heads and a 50% occurrence of tails. Coaching prowess and elite quarterback play can skew results, but only ever slightly. At the end of the day, Chaos Theory ensues, and the ball bounces one way one week and another way another week (or your opponent refuses to kneel the clock out and you win the game, but whatever).
This season, I project Georgia Tech to play in an exhausting seven one-score games. (Please note, this is as GT as a 7.7-4.3 average win team. Should it enter a late-season contest at 2-7 Boston College as a one-loss team, that changes.) Essentially, flip enough coins and adjust for Key having a strong one-score track record, and GT could easily end up 4-3 in those one-score contests. All of a sudden, 7.7 wins is looking a lot more realistic.
I don't project for injuries, so throw that out. A fully healthy Georgia Tech team could theoretically go 6-6. It nearly happened last year, as nearly as 9-3 happened. This is a wild and fun team with a ridiculous range of plausible results.
Perhaps the defense doesn't come together right away and Gideon's system takes a season to install. There's a razor-thin margin projected this season and the floor is 6-6 or 5-7.
2025 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Schedule
Date | Opponent |
|---|---|
Aug. 29 (FRI) | at Colorado |
Sept. 6 | Gardner-Webb (FCS) |
Sept. 13 | Clemson |
Sept. 20 | Temple |
Sept. 27 | at Wake Forest |
Oct. 4 | BYE |
Oct. 11 | Virginia Tech |
Oct. 18 | at Duke |
Oct. 25 | Syracuse |
Nov. 1 | at NC State |
Nov. 8 | BYE |
Nov. 15 | at Boston College |
Nov. 22 | Pitt |
Nov. 28 (FRI) | vs. Georgia* |
*Week 14 against Georgia is played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Technically a neutral-site game, but played within a reasonable walking distance from campus. However, expect a 50-50 crowd or one slightly in favor of Georgia.
Wake Forest Opponent Previews
- Week One - Kennesaw State
- Week Three - NC State
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Brett is the ultimate college football traveler, currently en route to experience a game day at every FBS stadium. He is a former Division I recruiter at Bowling Green and Texas State, and his writing background includes analyzing NCAA betting markets. Also a high school football coach, Brett lives and dies by the gridiron. Follow along on all socials: @ roadtocfb.