Nick Saban chose Georgia Tech as his “sleeper team” in the ACC before upset win vs. Florida State

Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban made his official debut on ESPN’s “College Gameday” earlier today and made what could have been considered, by some at the time, as his first “hot take” in his new role.

But after how Saturday’s Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin played out, the seven-time national championship coach may have been onto something. Shocker, right?

Largely in part thanks to kicker Aidan Birr’s leg, Saban’s pick of Georgia Tech being his “sleeper” team in the ACC Conference this season is aging pretty well as the Yellow Jackets pulled the first upset of the young college football season with Birr’s 44-yard game-winning field goal Saturday to beat No. 10 Florida State 24-21.

REQUIRED READING: Who did Nick Saban pick to make the College Football Playoff on ‘College GameDay’?

So what made Saban, who will be appearing on “GameDay” each week this season, pick a team that went 5-3 in the ACC last season and was picked to finish ninth in this year’s conference’s preseason poll? Here’s what he said:

“My sleeper is Georgia Tech,” Saban said on “GameDay” on Saturday. “I really do believe (that). They were in the top three offensively last year in the ACC. They were not very good on defense, they got a new defensive coordinator and they’ve got some new players out of the portal.

“If they can play defense a little bit better, they give people tremendous headaches with their offense, their running quarterback and the offensive skill that they have.”

While Georgia Tech pitched no perfect game against Florida State on Saturday in Dublin on defense, the Yellow Jackets’ defense did come up at big moments throughout the game as it gave Seminoles quarterback DJ Uigalelei trouble throughout the afternoon.

Uigalelei finished 19 of 27 passing with 193 passing yards while the Yellow Jackets held the Seminoles to…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nick-saban-chose-georgia-tech-213816753.html

Author : The Tuscaloosa News

Publish date : 2024-08-24 21:38:16

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