Georgia Tech Resurrects The Rivalry
Tech Owns The Scuffle, Bulldogs Get The Win...Plus A Loud Message.
Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key said it out loud to begin his post-game remarks.
" There are no moral victories " declared Key, in the immediate aftermath of his team's razor thin, two-point, eight-overtime loss to Georgia. And when you are living and breathing for that win, like Key, that statement certainly rings true– no moral victory holds forth when the score says you fell short.
But let's not forget that when these two programs met in Atlanta in 2021, just three years ago, the Bulldogs won 45-0... in a game which wasn't even that close. In that game, Kirby Smart pulled his top troops early in the second half. They had bigger fish to fry. Georgia Tech was an afterthought to the Dogs. A win was a given– just don't get anybody hurt. It felt as if Georgia could have put a Cumberland -style whipping on Tech, had Kirby been so inclined.
By stark comtrast, last Friday night in Athens, Georgia Tech was the superior team for most of the night. Really, almost all of the night. When the game finally ended, early on Saturday morning after eight overtimes, Georgia had outscored Tech 44-42. But between the 7:30 pm kickoff and the game's final moments just after midnight, Tech had bested Georgia in yards rushing, yards passing and first downs. The Yellow Jackets also held a huge advantage in time of possession. They controlled the game.
Those outcomes were not the result of good fortune or trickery. There was no unfamiliar , derisively nicknamed, "high school offense" that the Dogs had to face- the one that former Tech coach Paul Johnson had employed to beat UGA in Athens three times during his 11 years at the Institute.
Tech just lined up and beat Georgia . Play after play.
Not long ago, Johnson had commented that for this game to re-emerge as a strong rivalry, Georgia "would have to come back to them ( Tech)".
The gulf was that wide. Was.
It's not anymore.
Since that 2021 game , Tech has a new coach. Brent Key was formally installed as the full-time head man at Tech in 2022. Coincidentally, that happened on November 29, precisely two years prior to this year's Tech- Georgia match-up. Key brought with him a new attitude.
He said from the outset that beating Georgia was a priority. Nobody snickered out loud, but people wondered when, if ever, Tech could Make The Rivalry Great Again.
We have the answer. It's now. Georgia Tech has recommitted itself to strive for excellence on the football field in proportion to the success it has always enjoyed on the academic front. That's the way Tech's president Dr. Angel Cabrera put it a couple years ago. Certainly that's a very high bar. But the Institute's football team, under the direction and inspiration of alum Brent Key, has brought that moment forward. It is here.
Key played at Tech for four years, 1997-2000. During his time as a Georgia Tech offensive lineman, the Yellow Jackets went 3-1 against the Bulldogs.
So Brent Key knows what it feels like to vanquish the boys from Athens. More than that, he knows that it's possible. So he believes. And now his players believe.
On November 29, 2024 they came as close as you can come without actually finishing the deal. Like any tight football game, the outcome could have turned differently on a million little moments, largely based on chance. Missed calls, catches or not, fumbles or not, field goals hitting the bar or not, pre-snap flinches or not. Tiny forks in the road– tiny but consequentlial--that add up to determine the ultimate outcome.
Georgia Tech led this game at the half 17-0. It was the first time in five years that Georgia had arrived at halftime with no points on the board. For anyone who saw the game, the primary surprise at that point was that Tech's lead wasn't a bit larger, what with a missed short field goal.
The Yellow Jackets still led by two touchdowns with five minutes to play in the game. They were caught at the wire by a Bulldog team that showed impressive resilience and persistence- and deserves great credit for doing so.
And Georgia got the win.
Tech fell to 7-5 on the season– and felt painful disappointment in the process.
The disappointment itself is telling. Seven wins vs five losses is their best record since Paul Johnson finished with that mark in 2018. In the interim came a dark period in which Georgia Tech was thoroughly dominated by Georgia. Geoff Collins lost his last two games against the Dogs by a combined score of 97-7. Which is not to say Collins was origin of the problem. In 2018, Paul Johnson's final season, Tech trailed 38- 7 at halftime vs Georgia. Kirby Smart was growing and shaping his program and his Bulldogs were becoming dominant– and not just against Georgia Tech.
When it was announced in 2020 that the truncated, Covid- altered schedule would mean no UGA game, few on North Avenue protested too loudly. That's one game that won't go in the loss column, thought the fan base.
Then came Brent Key.
" Damn right", he said when asked back then about the whether the rivalry with Georgia was intact and meaningful when he took the helm. And importantly , he also said " That's on us", when queried about how the competitive nature could be restored. He vowed to upgrade the effort it would take to set the rivalry right again.
Just a few years later, he has covered much ground. Georgia Tech is competing- legitimately--for many of the same recruits as Georgia. Tech has doubled down in its efforts to establish meaningful ties with the volumes of high quality high school coaches right here in Georgia. The Tech Athletics Department, led by J Batt, has made huge strides in fund -raising, for facilities , players and staff, in order to make good on Dr Cabrera's declaration from two years ago, when he vowed to bring improvement in Georgia Tech athletics and added ," This is personal to me."
Tech has some former Dogs on their roster via the transfer portal. Aaron Philo , the Yellow Jackets' promising freshman quarterback, played his high school football in Athens, just a few miles from Sanford Stadium. Coaching staff members have made similar moves.
The Yellow Jackets have accumulated an impressive list of commitments for next year's class. Those are big steps, indicating positive progress.
But the situation keeps coming back to Georgia Tech's faith in their own ability to set things right– and their firm plan to make it happen.
Kirby Smart saw it. He feels it.
" They played well enough to win tonight. I'm talking about Georgia Tech", said UGA' s head coach. For Kirby and his troops, it was the narrowest of escapes. If they had lost, they would almost certainly not be in the College Football Playoff top 12 two days later. With the win, the Dogs survived to again play in the SEC championship game.
And while no one would argue that this year's UGA team is on par with those dominant squads from 2021 and 2022, it would be a stretch to say that Georgia " has come back" to Tech, as Paul Johnson had said. This reset is more about the Georgia Tech program making great strides built on their own determination and commitment.
An emotional Brent Key saluted his team's heart and fight. ( photo Georgia Tech Athletics)
Key emphasized his pride in what his team has accomplished, saying " They have cemented what our vision is of the Tech way.''
And what a vision that is. For Brent Key and the Georgia Tech football program, it is a clear-eyed vision of sustained gridiron success, including a competitive lively rivalry with the Dogs , now and future.
Game on.
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports.com