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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Picked by Kirk Herbstreit to Win ACC

By Jonathan Savitske

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The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have received their fair share of notoriety this preseason, from being ranked 16th in the most recent AP Poll to being picked to win the ACC’s Coastal Division during the ACC Kickoff Event in late July.

Now, ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit has chosen the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets as his preseason pick to with the ACC. This is quite unexpected as a Jackets fan to see this coming from the Worldwide Leader in Sports. Here is the former Ohio State quarterback’s bold prediction for the coming season:

While all these predictions are well and good for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, they still have to overcome an incredibly difficult schedule with games at Notre Dame, Clemson and Miami, while also hosting rivals Virginia, ACC Champion Florida State, and Georgia.

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Just because Herbstreit made a prediction that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets would beat FSU in the ACC Title Game for the ACC Championship doesn’t mean it will actually happen. According to the AJC’s Ken Sugiura, Kirk Herbstreit has made 32 conference picks in the past four seasons, and has successfully predicted thirteen of those conference champions. That’s a success rate of 40.625 percent.

While it certainly feels good that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, let alone an Atlanta sports team has gained some notoriety in the eyes of the usually biased ESPN, the Jackets need to temper their optimism for the time being and take each game one at a time.

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In past seasons, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have had a penchant for being a “Jekyll and Hyde” team: not meeting expectations when picked to have successful seasons, while outperforming expectations during years when picked to inhabit the ACC’s cellar. A perfect example of the latter is last season, when the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets won 11 games, made the ACC Title Game, and won the Orange Bowl.

-= Related: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Freshman to Start at WR? =-

I have no doubt that Head Coach Paul Johnson is making sure that these preseason awards and picks the Ramblin’ Wreck is receiving are not going to his players heads. It is important for players like Justin Thomas and Adam Gotsis to temper their excitement, despite the fan-fare surrounding their upcoming seasons.

I do agree with Herbstreit though, as I believe that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will win the ACC this coming season. With the season set to begin this Thursday against the Alcorn State Braves, I can’t wait to see how this year pans out.

Next: Adam Gotsis Named All-ACC by ESPN

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