
Georgia Tech stayed in this one to the end of it.
Georgia Tech came into this game as an underdog of more than 20 points, held the lead at a few different points, and were a few bounces away from this being a completely different game.
I am damn proud of this team.
Coming into the season, I’ll admit that I was hesitant about the Brent Key hire. That’s no grand reveal or anything. I feel I was pretty vocal about wanting Tech to hire Jamey Chadwell or Willie Fritz. Even with Buster Faulkner, I was not thrilled. I famously wanted Tech to hire Seth Littrell.
But this was the team that Tech brought into the season. My expectations were in the basement. Georgia Tech probably was not going to be any better this season.
I could not have been more wrong.
Although there were some low lows, Georgia Tech won some head-scratching games and did something that hasn’t happened in several years. They instilled hope in the fanbase and delivered on it. Beyond that, they got back to a bowl game for the first time since Paul Johnson’s last year.
And now, Brent Key has done something else. He’s made me incredibly optimistic for the future of Georgia Tech football. This season was far from perfect, but to give you an idea of just how far this team has come. UGA’s 8-point victory is their second-lowest margin of victory this season. Only Auburn played a closer game. Georgia Tech rushed for nearly double UGA’s rushing yards allowed per game.
Most importantly, this Georgia Tech team went toe-to-toe with the best team in the whole country and didn’t blink no matter how many times they got hit and stayed in the game to the very last second.
Now, there’s plenty of room for improvements, and we’ve got plenty of time this offseason to talk about that.
For now, let’s focus on the bowl game.