Although the 2025 college football season is still six months away, spring football is right around the corner (less than a week for Georgia Tech) and it will be the first time that fans will get a glimpse of what their 2025 teams could look like. The Yellow Jackets are being viewed as a team that could make a charge to the ACC Championship with the returning production that is back along with the newcomers that are in. Today, ESPN’s Bill Connelly released his initial SP+ rankings for the 2025 season and Georgia Tech is coming in a little lower than you might think. In the first SP+ rankings of the year, the Yellow Jackets are starting at No. 46 and are projected to have the No. 26 offense, No. 65 defense, and No. 100 special teams unit.
For a refresher, here is how Connelly calculates SP+:
“I base SP+ projections on three primary factors, weighted by their predictiveness:
1. Returning production. The returning production numbers are based on rosters I have updated as much as possible to account for transfers and attrition. Combine last year’s SP+ ratings and adjustments based on current returning production numbers, and you’re pretty far down the projections road. In fact, this factor accounts for more than 60% of the overall projection at this point.
2. Recent recruiting. This piece informs us of the caliber of a team’s potential replacements (and/or new stars) in the lineup. It is determined by both the past few years of recruiting rankings and the quality of incoming transfers, and it accounts for about 14% of the current projection.
3. Recent history. Using a chunk of information from previous seasons gives us a good measure of overall program health. It stands to reason that a team that has played well for one year is less likely to duplicate that effort than a team that has been good for years on end (and vice versa), right? This factor accounts for a little more than 20% of the projection, and it focuses only on what happened within the past three seasons. I used to use a weighted history stretching back five years, but that’s a less effective approach now with the changes in the sport.
I will update these numbers in May and August after there have been further transfers and roster changes, and my annual preview series will begin after the May numbers are posted. But for now, let’s establish the 2025 hierarchy.”
Here is the ranking of each Georgia Tech opponent in the first edition of the rankings:
1. Colorado- No. 48 overall
2. Clemson- No. 11
3. Temple- No. 127
4. Wake Forest- No. 83
5. Virginia Tech- No. 42
6. Duke- No. 39
7. Syracuse- No. 57
8. NC State- No. 45
9. Boston College- No. 68
10. Pittsburgh- No. 53
11. Georgia- No. 4
According to the initial rankings, Georgia Tech will only have to face two top 25 opponents, Georgia and Clemson.
Here is how the ACC looks in the first initial SP+ rankings:
1. Clemson (No. 11 overall)
2. Miami (No. 14)
3. SMU (No. 18)
4. Louisville (No. 22)
5. Duke (No. 39)
6. Virginia Tech (No. 42)
7. North Carolina (No. 44)
8. NC State (No. 45)
9. Georgia Tech (No. 46)
10. Florida State (No. 51)
11. Pittsburgh (No. 53)
12. Syracuse (No. 57)
13. Cal (No. 58)
14. Boston College (No. 68)
15. Virginia (No. 82)
16. Wake Forest (No. 83)
17. Stanford (No. 88)
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