Brent Key knows what it feels like to beat Georgia. Most of his players, however, do not.
As an offensive lineman for the Yellow Jackets, Key was on the winning side of the state’s biggest rivalry three times from 1998-2000. And as the offensive line coach at Alabama, Key was part of Alabama’s 2018 SEC championship team that beat the Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Bama team that defeated Georgia for the national championship in the 2017 season.
Most of Key’s roster, conversely, has been on the short end of five consecutive UGA wins since 2017. Key, in his first season as the program’s full-time coach, is looking to change that at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
“There’s a first time in everything in your life. And guess what? I’ve beat ‘em. I know what it is. And I’m the head coach,” Key said. “(The team is) gonna believe as I believe.”
Key, who lost to Georgia as a Tech graduate assistant in 2001-02, as the Jackets’ offensive line coach in 2019 and 2021 (the two teams did not play in 2020) and as the program’s interim coach in 2022, has one of his biggest challenges to date in his coaching tenure this week when No. 1 Georgia (11-0) visits. Tech (6-5) is a 24-point underdog against a team it last defeated in 2016.
But Tech has been a big underdog plenty of times this season, and twice in such games it has come out winners, at Miami and against North Carolina. Stir in the ingredient of Saturday being an annual rivalry game, and Key isn’t choosing the cliché path of, “just another game.”
This one means more, and Key wants his players to know it.
“It’s not just the next game. It’s the next game on the schedule, but it’s a big game,” he said. “It’s our in-state rival. It’s a chance to play for a state championship. It’s a chance to have bragging rights for a year. It’s all of those things. It’s kids that have played against each other growing up, and that’s what makes rivalries great, that’s what makes in-state rivalries great.”
Georgia, having already clinched a spot in the SEC Championship game Dec. 2, is fighting for a spot in the College Football Playoff as it strives for a third national title in a row. The Bulldogs haven’t lost since Dec. 4, 2021, and haven’t lost a regular-season game since Oct. 17, 2020.
This season’s Georgia team has been dominant in nearly all facets, save for red-zone defense (opponents are scoring 88% of the time inside the 20), tackles for loss (only 5.1 per game) and takeaways (only 13 in 11 games). The Dawgs are the SEC’s top team in time of possession, passing-efficiency defense, scoring defense, sacks allowed, passing defense, interceptions, third-down offense and fourth-down offense. Coach Kirby Smart’s group also is the least-penalized team in the SEC.
Quarterback Carson Beck, in his first season as the team’s starter, ranks among the nation’s top 10 in completion percentage (72.9), passing efficiency, passing yards (3,320) and passing yards per game (301.8), total offense (311.4) and yards per pass attempt (9.49). Beck is complemented by backs Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton, who have combined for 1,213 rushing yards, and receivers Dominic Lovett, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and Ladd McConkey, who all have at least 400 yards receiving.
Then, of course, there is junior tight end Brock Bowers, widely considered one of the top players in college football at any position and projected to be an early NFL draft pick.
“We’ll put a game plan together. They’ve got a lot of explosive players on their offense. They got a quarterback that’s doing a heckuva job this season playing really good football,” Key said. “They generate explosives with a lot of different players. They’ve got two running backs that are very efficient, good running backs that can take it the distance at any time.
“They’re able to get into condensed sets and able to play bully ball and able to spread you out and go different motions and unbalanced. They’ve got a really good play-action game. So to key in on just one person, you’re really gonna leave yourself open all over, so it’ll be a big challenge for us on defense this week.”
Saturday’s matchup will be the 117th meeting between the programs in a rivalry that dates to 1893. A Georgia victory would give the Bulldogs their third streak of six consecutive wins or more since 1991.
“The feeling of winning that game, receiving the Governor’s (Cup) — I’ve got one in my office now. I want guys to see that,” Key said. “I want them to know what that is. I want them to understand the importance of this game. It’s not just another game.”
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