Tech ranked 17th in coaches preseason poll

ATLANTA -- The moderately good news for Georgia Tech is that the Yellow Jackets
are ranked 17th in the USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll.

The bad news is that 17th nationally would only be good enough for a third-place finish in what should be a highly-competitive ACC Coastal Division race, according to the coaches who voted in the poll.

Georgia Tech, coming off an 11-3 season that saw the Yellow Jackets claim their first outright ACC championship since 1990 and their first Orange Bowl appearance since 1967, returns 15 starters and both starting specialists. The Yellow Jackets ended the 2009 season with a final national ranking of 13th in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Poll.

Defending national champion Alabama was an overwhelming choice as the No. 1-ranked team, followed by Ohio State, Florida, Texas and Boise State.

Two ACC Coastal Division teams - 6th-ranked Virginia Tech and 13th-ranked Miami - are ranked ahead of Georgia Tech in the preseason poll. The Yellow Jackets will play the Hokies and the Hurricanes over a 10-day span in November. Ranked 18th is Coastal Division member North Carolina.

Florida State is ranked 20th, giving the ACC five teams in the preseason top 20. Tech does not play Florida State this season.

Georgia, the Jackets' traditional in-state rival, is ranked 21st. Clemson, which lost to Tech in the '09 ACC title game, is receiving votes.