Georgia Tech stays last in ACC power rankings after 34-11 loss at Pittsburgh

Georgia Tech is still at the bottom of the ACC. The Yellow Jackets lost 34-11 at Pittsburgh on Saturday, and the latest conference power rankings from Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets On SI left them at No. 17 of 17 for the second straight week. The loss dropped Brent Key's team to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in league play.

Writer Jackson Caudell found little to defend in the performance at Acrisure Stadium. He wrote that Georgia Tech could not stop the run or move the ball and was never really competitive. He also raised the possibility of a 2-10 finish. Separate Sports Illustrated postgame coverage reported that, barring an unexpected run, Georgia Tech will miss a bowl for the first time under Key, and that the Jackets project as large underdogs in every remaining game.

The numbers back that up. Georgia Tech has lost three straight, and the losses have gotten worse: 34-24 at Virginia Tech, 49-27 at home to Boston College, then the 23-point defeat in Pittsburgh. The defense has allowed 34 or more points in five of the eight games. The 11 points against Pitt were the offense's lowest total since the 14-13 opening loss to Colorado. The only wins are over Mercer and a 28-25 result against Duke.

For Pittsburgh, the result was a relief. The Panthers had lost three in a row to North Carolina, Boston College and No. 1 Miami. Beating Georgia Tech got them to 6-3 and bowl eligibility despite losing their starting quarterback earlier in the season. They moved up from 10th to eighth in the same rankings. Pat Narduzzi's team has a bye before hosting Florida State on Friday, Nov. 13.

Louisville comes to Atlanta

Things don't get easier for Georgia Tech. Louisville visits on Saturday, Nov. 7, on ACC Network. The Cardinals are 5-3 and 4-2 in the conference, fourth in the On SI rankings, and coming off a win over Stanford in which they pulled away in the second half. The On SI piece called the matchup a nightmare for a Georgia Tech defense that has struggled all season, and it expects Louisville to be a heavy favorite.

The prices agree. Across the 12 venues on this site's board for the game, Louisville is favored by 14.5 points at Novig, priced at -111. The shortest spread available is Louisville -13.5 at -120 at Hard Rock. On the moneyline, Novig has Louisville at -567 and Georgia Tech at +488. DraftKings has the best Georgia Tech price at +490. The total is 60.5 at Novig, and FanDuel and BetMGM each offer -108 on the over and under, respectively. The venues are close together: sportsbook hold runs from 3.6% to 6.4% on the moneyline and up to 7.0% on the spread and total.

A total that high puts a lot of pressure on a defense that gave up 83 points over the last two weeks. Georgia Tech has four games left. A loss Saturday would guarantee a losing season, and the Jackets would need to win their last three to avoid matching the 2-10 record Caudell warned about.