While Georgia Tech has not beaten Georgia since 2016, this upcoming year is the best chance the Yellow Jackets have had to end that streak in a while.
Now, Georgia Tech played Georgia almost as well as anyone did last year. Georgia won 31-23, but the Yellow Jackets were an onside kick away from getting the ball back and having a chance to tie the game up. In 2022, Key had his alma mater within six points of the No. 1 Bulldogs (13-7) in the middle of the third quarter before Georgia finally pulled away. In each of the past two seasons, Key has had this team playing better against the Bulldogs since the last time the Yellow Jackets won in 2016. In 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021, Georgia handled the Yellow Jackets with ease, but they have had to fight for the past two seasons to put Georgia Tech away.
In a recent ranking of the top 10 ACC non-conference games for the 2024 season, 247Sports analyst Grant Hughes had Clean, Old Fashioned Hate at No. 10:
"This is one of the best Georgia Tech teams in years, but it faces an uphill battle for bowl eligibility against an absolute gauntlet in 2024. The Yellow Jackets have a brutal non-conference slate that features clashes against college football elites, Notre Dame and Georgia. The Fighting Irish will present the Yellow Jackets with a ton of problems in Atlanta on Oct. 19, but Brent Key and Co. won't be a bigger underdog in any game than at rival Georgia in the regular-season finale. Georgia hasn't lost at home since 2021 and hasn't fallen to its in-state foe since Barack Obama was in office.
Georgia Tech is the only ACC team in our toughest overall schedule ranking, and it ranks No. 6 overall."
This game is one of the most underrated rivalries in the sport and it might not mean more to anyone than Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key.
From our own Rohan Raman:
"He went in a different direction when discussing Georgia football.“There’s nothing I hate more.... It’s probably the only thing I actually hate,” Key said. “When I say hate, like, truly despise everything about it. I really do.”
It is clear the pain of losing that November game have not subsided for the second-year head coach."Three minutes and 31 seconds with three timeouts left, we’re down by eight,” Key said. “Muff the onside kick, get (Georgia) to third-and-3, they run a toss sweep...two inches away from making that tackle. I think about it every day...We talk about it every day."
For some perspective, it is worth comparing the answer Key gave to the one his predecessor, Geoff Collins, gave when asked about the rivalry prior to his first game against them in November of 2019.“We’re completely focused on ourselves,” Collins said at the time. “We understand the program that we’re going against— great players, great coaches and a great venue— but it’s all about us and getting ourselves wired and ready to go." Under Collins, there was an urgency to get the Georgia matchup "back on the national stage".
So far, it appears that Key's teams have gotten that message in a way that Collins was never able to capture. Although Georgia Tech has still not snapped their six-game losing streak against Georgia, losing 14-37 to the eventual national champions and 23-31 to a team that nearly made the College Football Playoffs last year shows signs of progress. Even in that 14-37 loss, Georgia Tech was only down 10-7 at half.
It is statements like the one that he gave on Wednesday that have played a big role in the buy-in Brent Key seems to have achieved. He comes across as the four-year starting guard who went 3-2 against Georgia because that is who he is. No, it does not mean that success is guaranteed. Georgia Tech is projected to have one of the toughest schedules in the country. Last year's meltdowns against Bowling Green and Boston College are proof enough that Key has work to do. However, he is fully cogniscient of the type of team he needs to build in order to see growth in 2024.
To be a team that forces others to quit, there has to be very little quit in the team itself. That starts with the coach - and based on his comments, Brent Key certainly is not going to quit bringing his passion and hatred for Georgia into his efforts as the head coach."
