Winless Georgia Tech still projected to handle Mercer at home

Georgia Tech arrives at 0-2 and Mercer at 2-1, but that split says little about how Versus views this one. The Yellow Jackets have taken on the No. 5 toughest schedule in the country according to Versus's strength-of-schedule rankings, and their FBS profile, graded B- across power, offense and defense, still places them 81st nationally, well ahead of Mercer's 175th.

Mercer, playing up from FCS in this non-conference game, is not a disguised underdog. The Bears are graded A- overall and are one of only 21 FCS teams ranked in the Versus top 25 in both offense and defense, a distinction their 24th spot in the FCS divisional rankings undersells after a 10-spot slide from 14th this season. Their defense in particular, graded A, would trouble most FBS opponents.

Versus still favors Georgia Tech by 25 points, projecting a 38-13 result and giving the Yellow Jackets a 92 percent win probability. The gap in national rank and the difficulty of Georgia Tech's schedule to this point both point toward the Yellow Jackets clearing their first win of the season, even against a Mercer team playing well within its own level.