Tech Takes A Triumphant Trip To Tampa

Yellow Jackets Overcome A Slow Start To Take Down Central Florida 30-17

Brent Key had made no bones about it. His team came to Tampa to win a football game. Sure, they wanted to enjoy a December trip to Florida. Yes,  they would take pride in snapping the 5 year no-bowl-appearance streak that had gripped Tech since Paul Johnson’s final season. But Key was here to prevail, and his practice schedule backed up  that assertion . There was some serious preparation time for Georgia Tech.

But you might not have guessed that by watching the first eight minutes of the 2023 Gasparilla Bowl. Tech came out looking tight and tentative and the UCF boys from an hour up Interstate 4 in Orlando took full advantage, building a quick 14 point lead.

The Knights took the opening kickoff back to midfield and scored four plays later to go up 7-0 on a 23 yard pass from QB John Rhys- Plumlee to WR Javon Baker with less than two minutes elapsed. Tech managed a couple of first downs before punting, whereupon UCF repeated the touchdown drill , this time going 97 yards to create a 14 point lead barely eight minutes into the game. Tech’s defense looked a bit bewildered, and the offense looked halting and hesitant.  There was a pre-snap penalty to start the first Tech possession, followed by a few errant passes and  dropped balls. They looked out of synch.

But on the Knights’ next possession, Georgia Tech changed the momentum with a fumble recovery by DB Myles Sims at the end of a ramble by the Knights’ running back RJ Harvey. This came just as UCF appeared headed for a third straight score.

With new life, the Jackets were able to move the ball down deep enough to allow Aidan Birr to hit a 36 yard field goal. And so in the early 2nd quarter, the battle was joined. On this possession, Tech used the running talents of QB Haynes King to open things up a bit. A few plays run out of spread formations had a similar  effect, and Tech had begun to effectively punch back.

Gus Malzahn’s Knights came right back to get a field goal and re-establish the 14 point lead. It was here that Tech’s rising offensive confidence began to manifest itself. On their next possession, the Jackets drove into UCF territory where King again rose to the occasion, reaching the end zone with a spinning , writhing nudge across the goal line. With Birr’s PAT, the Jackets shrunk the deficit to seven, at 17-10. And on their next possession, Tech crept back across midfield where King hit Malik Rutherford with a 41 yard touchdown pass to tie the score at 17 all. As the first half drew to a close,a drive by UCF ended with a missed 21 yard field goal, leaving the score tied at 17.

Brent Key would later say that his halftime talk was about staying the course. His players echoed that sentiment. Whatever got said contained an effective message– not only for the Jackets’ offense, but for the Tech D as well. The alignments in the secondary looked different, and Tech was able to get some meaninful pressure on Plumlee, who cooled off a good bit after starting the game by completing his first eight passes.

The overall effect was striking. The same Knights who dominated the opening eight minutes were now largely ineffective.  They scored no second half points. None. Granted, some of their hurdles were self-inflicted, including  a turnover and an ill-timed holding penalty.

Meanwhile, the Jackets found their rhythm on the run game, mixing counter plays with occasional QB keepers.  That combination proved highly effective against the Knights, providing not just points, but eating game clock in a fashion that would have delighted Paul Johnson, who was at the helm the last time Georgia Tech went bowling. Tech totaled 284 yards rushing on the night, a big number that Malzahn later noted ruefully in his explanation of the game’s result.

Tech pulled ahead with another Birr field goal in the opening minutes of the third quarter. The Jackets dominated the final two quarters, earning ten more points including a short TD run by RB Dontae Smith, playing his final game as a Tech man.

Yellow Jacket OC Buster Faulkner kept it conservative, calling a stunning 23 straight run calls before Haynes King finished it up with a few kneel- downs (a scene that doubtless reminded Tech fans of the miraculous win over Miami that was integral to bowl eligibility).

As the final seconds ticked off the clock at Raymond James Stadium, Tech players and staff began to celebrate, urging on a strong and spirited contingent of Tech fans who had made the trip down. The big picture was one of widespread jubilation, a thoroughly happy moment that ended Tech’s inaugural full season under Key with a 7-6 record. That winning record was Tech’s first since 2018. And the victory in the season finale game was last achieved in Tech’s win over Kentucky in the 2016 Gator Bowl. All those details were irrelevant to Key, who repeatedly expressed his pride for his players, whom he said had succeeded in persevering through challenges over the entire season to end the year on a very high note. In the next breath, he acknowledged that “January is a new team” before again saluting this squad.

All things considered, this bowl trip was a bountiful experience for Georgia Tech football circa 2023 under Brent Key. This team exceeded expectations and did so with continuing improvement as the year went along. Certainly there were puzzles and some disappointing moments. But the highs were higher and the overall tone is one of well- justified optimism. Yellow Jacket fans have not had that feeling for a long time.

No one will argue that the Gasparilla Bowl is a signature dish on the broad and busy buffet of post-season college football. But it is a well-supported, well- executed affair that felt like an appropriate reward for a Tech program on the rebound. Yes, these were two teams with 6-6 records playing before 30,000 fans three days before Christmas. But it was also a primetime event for a national audience who got a small taste of the program that Tech fans know and love, fans whose “program-pride” had been dented for a few long years in the wilderness. To boil it all down, like Brent Key said,” 7-6 sounds a lot better than 6-7.” And a helluva lot better than 3 and anything.

In addition, Tech fans have much to look forward to in 2024 and beyond. There are far fewer unknowns than at this time last year. Most of the offense returns. The kicking game is secure. The defense needs improvement, but that will be the offseason focus in addition to continuing adding to a stellar recruiting class. And of course, none of that guarantees anything. The entire sport is in flux, and the league is in mild-to-moderate chronic turmoil. But as Key reminds his players, we can’t do much about all that.

Meanwhile, Georgia Tech has a strong nucleus of good players who are also good students and good citizens. And that’s a fine place to turn the page on 2023.

Patrick Conarro

RamblinSports.com