Georgia Tech’s opener against Florida State is a little more than three months away. Coach Brent Key and his staff, by the end of this week, will already have a solid framework on how to matchup with the Seminoles come Aug. 24.
“We started that this week, and by the end of this week we’ll have completely gone through everything and have everything prepared, from that standpoint, for our first few opponents,” Key told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday during the ACC’s annual spring meetings on Amelia Island, Florida.
Key, going into his second full season as coach of the Yellow Jackets, and 22nd game leading his alma mater, doesn’t have the luxury of starting the 2024 season with a so-called cupcake. Quite the contrary, he has to take his team across the pond to Dublin to face the defending league champions and a probable College Football Playoff contender.
The Seminoles, coming off a 13-1 season and a team that is 23-4 in their past 27 games, have spent the past five months continuing to turn the page and the healing the wounds from a nightmarish ending to the 2023 season. Despite an undefeated season and ACC title game win over Louisville, FSU was snubbed from the College Football Playoff and left to play Georgia in the Orange Bowl in December.
That did not go well, to put it lightly, as a depleted and demoralized Florida State team lost 63-3.
But that result doesn’t really deter the expectations that coach Mike Norvell’s team should be right back toward the top of ACC standings come November and fighting for inclusion in what will now be a 12-team playoff field. Even with almost 30 newcomers on its roster, including transfer quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, FSU still will have an uber-talented roster and quality depth at most positions.
State currently is a 13-point favorite over Tech.
“They were a good football team (in 2023) and got good coaches,” Key said. “I think Mike (Norvell) does a good job putting his players in good positions and having them ready to play.”
Key is expected to have himself a pretty solid team as well, one that could make a major splash with a win over Florida State. Tech returns most of its offensive firepower and offensive line from a team that scored 31.1 points per game and won seven games, including December’s Gasparilla Bowl, in 2023.
New defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci was brought in to try to improve the Jackets on the other of the ball. Santucci was at Duke in 2023 and the Blue Devils lost 38-20 at Florida State – although Santucci’s defense held FSU to 17 points until the Seminoles scored three touchdowns in a span of 8:48 in the fourth quarter of that matchup.
“When you look at it, their offense will be one of the top offenses not only in the ACC, (but) in the country next year. And it’s gonna be a great challenge for us. They have speed, explosiveness,” Norvell said of Tech. “(Quarterback) Haynes (King) does an outstanding job. And he will hurt you with his arm, and he will hurt you with his legs if you allow him. So it’s gonna be a great challenge for us starting off the season.”
Since Tech’s annual spring game April 13, Key said the Jackets have concentrated on finishing the academic semester strong while his coaching staff has remained busy recruiting. Tech players will begin to return to campus next week, and their offseason training and conditioning will ramp up in June.
Preseason practice for the Jackets is scheduled to begin in July, about a month out from the matchup with FSU. Tech will be looking for its fifth win over a ranked opponent (assuming FSU is indeed ranked in the preseason) under Key and its fifth victory over the Seminoles in eight games dating to 2008.
“The first game is really about being yourself because you never know what you’re gonna get,” Key added. “Who knows, (FSU) could come out and run a different offense or defense? I doubt they’re going to. But it’s really about your own team and being prepared.”
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