It’s time for the final regular season edition of Opposition Research and in today’s Thanksgiving edition we turn to a longtime friend, Kelly Quinlan of Jacketsonline.
Georgia Tech seems to have found some answers under interim head coach Brent Key, including wins over ranked Pittsburgh and North Carolina teams.
What can we look for during Saturday’s noon kickoff? Let’s take a look.
Just a huge win over North Carolina. After all the program has been through this year, what did that victory mean?
Quinlan: “The biggest thing it did was improve the odds that Brent Key will be the head coach at Georgia Tech in 2023. The job that Key and the staff have done since Geoff Collins was fired is nothing short of amazing. They came up with a plan to beat a probably overrated but extremely talented North Carolina team, with QB3 and QB4 using a Florida mid-2000s-style QB rotation with a passer and a tough runner. They put all of that into motion in a handful of practices after Zach Pyron broke his collarbone against Miami at the end of the third quarter of that game.
Defensively the team is much better, and they pretty much ruined Drake Maye's Heisman hopes by sacking him six times and picking him off for the first time in almost 200 attempts, and for just the third time this season.”
The team responds well and plays hard under Key, and that's something that has been missing since Paul Johnson retired.”
Explain what the “key” has been for the players rallying around Coach Key as they have.
Quinlan: “I think there are two things that stand out from talking to players and people around the organization. Key exudes calmness and confidence on the sideline, regardless of who the team is playing and what the score is. Tech was down 17-0 in that UNC game last week, and he coached the game like it was scoreless. He will get after someone or yell at a ref, so it's not that he is emotionless—just confident in the plan. And the kids are buying into it.
During much of the Collins era, all the things UGA fans made fun of, like the clothing stuff, the Twitter nonsense, the hashtags, and all the other noise are gone. Key basically told them, I want the players to lead the program, and they are responsible for the good and the bad as a team. And he put in accountability. Also, if it isn't about football and winning games, Key doesn't focus on it. He wants to win, and has channeled everything he has learned into this moment, which is basically his only shot.”
What route do you see new AD J Batt going, for a new coach? Will Brent Key be in the running?
Quinlan: “Right now, it's a two-horse race, with Jamey Chadwell, the Coastal Carolina coach who Batt was really enamored with, and Key, who has the support of all of the money people and has done an undeniable job with it. Batt, who is a UNC grad, was on the field when they won the game the other night, and Key has gained all the momentum right now in the search. I do think it would be interesting for the rivalry to have Kirby Smart and Brent Key as head coaches, as two former players at their alma maters who both worked for Nick Saban. And the coach they replaced as well, at one time at that school. That's very unique and interesting.”
What area of Georgia Tech’s game has improved the most since Coach Key took over?
Quinlan: “The defense is pretty significantly different. Collins liked to dabble with the defense, and they were often confused on the field, and guys would be running different coverages in the secondary because they missed some odd check. Key threw all of that in the garbage can, and they put in a pretty simple and effective defensive plan, with the goal of having the guys play fast. The numbers really show that, and overall, it's not a great defense, but it is pretty decent, and when they squeeze the pocket on the quarterback, it gets a lot better.”
What do you see happening on Saturday?
Quinlan: “So last week, going up to Chapel Hill, there was a scenario where I could see Georgia Tech winning if they got after Maye and created some turnovers. It seemed like a long shot, but it wasn't out of the question. If Georgia Tech somehow beat UGA, it would be one of the greatest upsets in the last ten years of college football, if not longer. I don't think that's going to happen. I think UGA will grind the clock, and so will Georgia Tech, and UGA wins something like 27-3 and moves on to play LSU.
"I think GT has a chance to cover. Smart doesn't hate Key; they have mutual respect, so he isn't going to try to dump 50 on him either, and I think Tech will fight some. I just have trouble seeing Tech with multiple starters down on offense, including the top two quarterbacks, putting up much offensively. Georgia's defense is as good as it gets.”
