ESPN ranks Georgia Tech 10th in preseason ACC power poll

The first sentence says it all with regard to the upcoming football season for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

"It may be now or never for Paul Johnson, and the Jackets have some major holes on both sides of the ball. Finding some pass-rushing help on D, however, could go a long way to getting Tech back into the Coastal discussion."

Those words come via ESPN, and they accompany the preseason edition of the worldwide leader’s “power rankings” for the ACC. In that mini-poll, the Yellow Jackets rank 10th out of 14 ACC clubs, and in the process, Paul Johnson’s club falls behind somewhat lackluster programs like Syracuse and Pittsburgh.

Georgia Tech was unranked in the preseason coaches poll by Amway, but the Jackets did receive enough votes to “rank” 49th (yikes) and that also echoes the optimism level on a national scale. Offensive lineman Shaq Mason has garnered legitimate buzz as a preseason All-American, but aside from that, the world-beating talent doesn’t appear to be there this season, and there is a great deal of pressure on quarterback Justin Thomas to reignite Johnson’s offense on the ground.

Fortunately for the Jackets, the schedule sets up well for a strong start with games against Wofford, Tulane and Georgia Southern to open the season, but the next trio of games (at Virginia Tech followed by home for Miami and Duke) should set the real barometer for the campaign. Stay tuned.