Georgia Tech’s return to Pitt shows how far Brent Key’s program has fallen

PITTSBURGH — This trip to the Steel City didn’t produce the storybook ending of Georgia Tech’s last visit.

Back in 2022, the Yellow Jackets stunned then No. 24 Pitt in Brent Key’s first game as interim coach.

The victory helped turn the page on the Geoff Collins era and put Key on a path to becoming the program’s permanent coach.

The return four years later, on Saturday night, offered no such hope.

Pitt won 34-11 in front of a sparse Halloween night crowd, leaving Georgia Tech 2-6 in a season that has steadily unraveled.

“The program needs a total top-to-bottom look in,” Key said after the loss. “It needs to be done in a lot of ways. It’s always a constant thing to look at your program and planning ahead. There’s things that work and we know work and there’s things that obviously led to this. But at the end of the day we’ve got two wins, and I want to see improvement in this football team.”

Key made an aggressive decision in an attempt to keep the game within reach before halftime. It backfired.

Trailing 10-0, the Jackets recovered a fumble in the end zone as Pitt was on the verge of scoring again. Six plays later, Key elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from Tech’s own 39-yard line.

Pitt stuffed Trelain Maddox up the middle, took over on downs and scored a touchdown to take a 17-0 lead.

There is another connection between the 2022 victory and this season’s collapse, one that involves a coach who was part of both.

Back then, Tech linebackers coach Jason Semore helped revamp the special teams units. The Jackets successfully punted six times that day after having four punts blocked in as many games. Key credited Semore after the game for his role in the victory.

Ahead of this season, Key hired Semore to run the defense. The results have been markedly different.

The Jackets (2-6, 1-4 ACC) entered Saturday with one of the ACC’s worst defenses and one of the nation’s worst against the run, allowing 210 yards per game on the ground.

Pitt (6-3, 3-3) finished with 271 rushing yards and built a double-digit lead near the start of the second quarter.

Damon Ferguson Jr. scored twice on the ground, and La’Vell Wright added another rushing touchdown. Quarterback Holden Geriner threw a touchdown pass to Cataurus Hicks, and Antonio Chadha made two field goals.

Ferguson finished with 185 yards on 31 carries.

Meanwhile, Tech’s offense couldn’t muster much of anything.

They didn’t cross into Pitt territory until fewer than two minutes remained in the opening half and didn’t reach the red zone until the fourth quarter, with the game out of reach. Tech lost a fumble on the next play.

The Jackets converted just 3 of 18 third downs and failed on four of five fourth-down attempts. Aidan Birr’s 49-yard field goal accounted for Tech’s only points until backup quarterback Grady Adamson scored late in the fourth quarter.

Tech quarterback Alberto Mendoza, who entered the game ranked among the nation’s top 25 in completion percentage, completions per game and passing yards per game, couldn’t find his footing Saturday.

The redshirt sophomore was sacked five times, fumbled four times (Tech recovered three) and passed for just 81 yards.