Notre Dame Football: Picks, predictions vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The unbeaten No. 4 Notre Dame football team will travel to Atlanta to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

For the first time since the USF game on September 19th, fans of Notre Dame football were able to relax and enjoy a 45-3 blowout win over Pittsburgh last weekend.

Heading into this week’s matchup against Georgia Tech, many Irish fans (including the writers at Slap the Sign) are confident they will see a similar result.

The Yellow Jackets are in their second year under head coach Geoff Collins, and the team is still very much in the rebuilding phase. Under Collins, Georgia Tech has converted its offense from the triple-option to the spread. A transition like that requires a major overhaul of recruiting.

There are reasons to be hopeful for the future of this program. Two standout players from their 2020 recruiting class, quarterback Jeff Sims and running back Jahmyr Gibbs, are already making an impact for this offense.

All that said, this program still has a long way to go. ESPN’s Football Power Index has the Yellow Jackets ranked 87th in the FBS and projects them to finish the season with a record of 3-8.

It’s not hard to see why Notre Dame is favored by 20 points in their matchup this Saturday. Here is how some of the writers at Slap the Sign see the game playing out.

Carlee North

Notre Dame is without a doubt looking ahead to the Clemson game next week. However, if the Irish play to their standard, they should have no issues against Georgia Tech this weekend. Hopefully, we will see an offensive performance similar to what we saw against Pittsburgh. As for the Irish defense, we know what we’re going to get. Georgia Tech should not be able to threaten them. I think Ian Book will carry the momentum he built last weekend.

Notre Dame 32, Georgia Tech 9.

Daniel Morrison

This weekend, the Notre Dame defense will face another dual-threat quarterback in Georgia Tech’s Jeff Sims. Sims still has to work on his accuracy and his decision-making, but his confidence is growing with each game. If the Irish defense can keep him in the pocket, they should be able to shut down the Yellow Jacket offense fairly easily. I think Clark Lea and the Notre Dame defense will be up to the task.

Notre Dame 30, Georgia Tech 14.

Andrew Hall

Notre Dame flashed a different gear last Saturday. A win should never be in doubt against Georgia Tech this weekend. The question is, “How dominant will the Irish be?” If they show the same combination of preparation and intensity, Notre Dame should destroy the Yellow Jackets. If not, the margin of victory could look alarming to fans. Ultimately, the Irish use an inferior opponent to tune up and get Ian Book out of the game by the 3rd quarter.

Notre Dame 55, Georgia Tech 17.

Connor McJunkin

Notre Dame is coming off a great confidence-boosting win over Pittsburgh last weekend. The passing game seemed to take a step forward and Book actually took some deep shots that led to big plays. The wide receiver corps still needs to be more consistent. A healthy Ben Skowronek should help with that moving forward. I expect the Notre Dame defense to take advantage of a true freshman quarterback and keep a struggling Georgia Tech offense out of the endzone most of the game. Irish take care of business and set their eyes on Clemson.

Notre Dame 48, Georgia Tech 10.

Jack Leniart

Notre Dame is less than two weeks away from one of their biggest regular-season games in recent history. Typically, this game against Georgia Tech would be considered a trap game. However, I don’t think the Yellow Jackets are good enough this season to threaten the Irish. I think Clark Lea’s defense will have yet another strong performance and the offense will get back to their identity of running the ball early and often.

Notre Dame 38, Georgia Tech 13.