ATLANTA — Georgia Tech football isn’t just back. It’s alive, buzzing, and maybe even stinging some unsuspecting giants along the way. And after what unfolded Saturday afternoon at Bobby Dodd Stadium, there’s no mistaking it anymore: Brent Key’s Yellow Jackets are here to stay, and they’re only going to get better in the years to come.
Yes, Georgia Tech upset Clemson. Upset might be the wrong word, actually. Because when you watch the way this team has played through three weeks, when you see the relentlessness of the players and the growing confidence in the fanbase, it doesn’t feel like an upset at all. It feels inevitable.
Vegas noticed too, tweaking the opening line from Tigers (-9.5) to (-2.5) by kickoff on Saturday, as College GameDay finished up its picks on Rocky Top.
Tech snapped a nine-game losing streak to Clemson, a drought that stretched all the way back to the Paul Johnson days and his flexbone offense in the Russell Athletic uniforms era. Key, a Tech man himself, simply won’t accept irrelevance, from the moment he became interim coach in relief of Geoff Collins (now a South Carolina defensive analyst). Key’s already built a reputation as a coach who thrives in these moments: 7-1 against ranked ACC opponents since taking over on the Flats.
For a program left in shambles after the Geoff Collins experiment, Key engineered a turnaround so rapid, even the scholars in the Van Leer Building couldn’t have programmed it into an algorithm.
The signs were there since the moment Key took over as interim coach at Tech, but the results are starting to show in the standings now, too and the nation is taking notice.
The cute and plucky underdog story of Georgia Tech was fun for a while, but now it’s time to get serious, as expectations begin to build in the stands of Bobby Dodd.
This team is a legit threat to win the ACC and possibly even make a run at the College Football Playoff.
A Program With Staying Power
This is not a flash-in-the-pan story. Georgia Tech is playing meaningful football in September, unbeaten at 3-0, and building toward a real shot at an ACC title run. In a league that looks shakier by the week — with Clemson stumbling, Virginia Tech looking like a relic, and Miami the only proven playoff contender to this point — the Jackets are primed to claim their slice of the pie.
Sure, there’s Florida State, who beat Alabama in Week 1 in convincing fashion, but we’d like to see a bit more out of the ‘Noles before we declare a team that went 2-10 last year all the way back. The Noles certainly look the part of their 2023 selves, the team who went 13-1, but looming dates with Clemson and Miami will confirm it for a fact.
Back to the Jackets.
Key has Tech winning big games without leaning on the nostalgia of the triple option that worked so well under Paul Johnson. Remember when every headline about Tech carried the words “quirky” and “pesky”? Not anymore. The Jackets are balanced, explosive when needed, disciplined in the trenches, and unafraid of ranked opponents under Key.
If that sounds like a formula for playoff relevance, well, it is.
Atlanta: The Capital Advantage for Georgia Tech
Let’s not ignore geography here. Tech sits in Atlanta — the unofficial capital of college football. The Hall of Fame is here. The Peach Bowl is here. The Aflac Kickoff Games are here. The annual Invesco QQQ Gridiron Classic is here, but don’t get us started on all that.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium has already hosted two national championships and will surely host more in the near future.
If the ACC eventually craters — and all signs point that way — Georgia Tech will be one of the most attractive brands in the market. The Big Ten could come calling. The SEC might flirt with reconciliation for an old foe. And Tech, situated in one of the most fertile recruiting hotbeds in the country, is perfectly positioned to take advantage as long as Brent Key remains a focal point in the program.
Recruiting Momentum and Staff Stability at Georgia Tech
The Jackets are also starting to recruit like a team that believes it belongs on a national level. As long as offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner stays put on the Flats, Tech will have an identity and a system that excites recruits. And quarterbacks in particular would be silly not to give Tech a hard look.
Right now, Haynes King is the heartbeat of the team — leaving every ounce of himself on the field each Saturday. But even as King writes his legacy, the Jackets are preparing for the future with Aaron Philo waiting in the wings, gaining valuable experience when filling in for King and against cupcake opponents. Tech has set up a quarterback pipeline, the type of thing that sustains programs instead of flaring up for a season or two.
Facilities and Fan Buy-In
It’s not just X’s and O’s. Renovations and improvements to Bobby Dodd Stadium and the training center are giving Tech a facelift it sorely needed. You can feel the buzz returning to Midtown. Fans are starting to pack Bobby Dodd again, and Saturday afternoon against Clemson was proof that the Flats can still shake, just as it did in years past.
As a national writer, I can tell you firsthand what I witnessed: I attended the Gardner-Webb opener, where the student body sat through a lightning delay to pack the stands and stayed until the end of a blowout. That’s not apathy; that’s loyalty. And against Clemson, those same students helped turn Bobby Dodd into a cauldron. They were rewarded with storming the field Saturday, creating one of those magical college football Saturdays that Midtown Atlanta won’t soon forget.
Throw in the Budweiser song ringing out, and you had a perfect blend of tradition and triumph, which left Clemson fans, who have seen national championship games and played every major program, tipping their cap in congratulatory awe, as they headed back up I-85.
The Fall of Clemson, the Rise of Georgia Tech
Let’s be honest, too: Clemson’s decline is Tech’s opportunity. The Tigers aren’t the juggernaut they once were, despite preseason hype building up a big season over in the Upstate. Their offense sputters, their defense is still tough but not impenetrable, and suddenly, the mystique of those vaunted Dabo Swinney teams is gone.
Tech, meanwhile, has gone toe-to-toe with Georgia in the past two matchups, proving it can handle the nation’s elite, rattling off a 7-1 record against ACC ranked opponents and taking the Bulldogs to eight overtimes in Athens last season. The regional power balance is shifting, thanks to NIL, the transfer portal and a changing of the guard felt across the sport.
After Tech knocked off Clemson 24-21 in a cinematic masterpiece, it was on full display for the eyes of the country to see.
And if Tech can keep stacking wins, if it keeps capitalizing on conference foes, there’s no reason the Jackets can’t become a new face of ACC relevance — or whatever league banner they fly under in the future.
Why Georgia Tech Is Nationally Relevant Again
This is where I stake my claim: Georgia Tech is officially relevant again. The Jackets are not just a nice early-season story; they are a team built to compete nationally in the coming years. That may be a bit too bold of a headline for you, but I truly believe Brent Key is not going anywhere — not as a Tech alum, not as a coach who has already proven he can lead this program back from the brink.
College football is better when Georgia Tech is relevant. The pageantry, the rivalries, the feel of Bobby Dodd under the Atlanta skyline — it all adds flavor to the national landscape. And the Jackets are doing it without gimmicks, without shortcuts. They are winning football games straight up, in every phase of the game.
I’ll admit it: I had the Clemson game circled all summer when planning my fall trips across the Bible Belt, through the heart of College Football. I thought the Jackets could rise to the occasion. And on Saturday afternoon, they did exactly that, in front of a national audience. Tech beat Clemson, they stormed the field, and they reintroduced themselves to the nation.
Enjoy the Ride
So, to Tech fans: enjoy this. Enjoy every minute of it. Enjoy the wins, the packed stadiums, the renewed energy around the program. Because this ride is just beginning.
The Yellow Jackets aren’t just here to play spoiler. They’re here to compete, to contend, to stay.
And if you don’t believe me, just listen to Budweiser echo through Midtown and the soundbites from the Pat McAfee Show’s studio. That sound isn’t just nostalgia of Justin Thomas or Calvin Johnson anymore — it’s a rallying cry for a program that’s finally found its footing for the first time since a 2014 Orange Bowl victory over Dak Prescott and Mississippi State.
Now, Brent Key and Haynes King probably don’t want to see these words right now, as the Jackets are laser focused at a Saban/Smart-like level on taking each game day by day and the season week to week.
Rat poison, as a former legend used to call it down in Tuscaloosa. The Jackets will continue to block out the noise on the outside and stick to their bread and butter, which has gotten them to this point.
As a Georgia Tech fan, or a fan of the sport, I simply ask that you give this team their due credit and start paying attention.
A favorable schedule puts the Yellow Jackets right in the mix for their first ever College Football Playoff berth if they can navigate things the rest of the way.
Handle business in conference play, then the real fun begins.
Who knows, maybe the Jackets can finally knock off Georgia for the first time since 2016 or win their first ACC title since 2009.
It would be Tech’s first trip to Charlotte since 2014 against FSU and there’s a good chance the Seminoles (or the Hurricanes Key is 2-0 against) wind up on the other side of the field.
Sure, it’s only Week 4, but Tech has laid the foundation for a special season, if everything keeps churning forward.
Full steam ahead, as the train whistles echo down North Avenue.
The No. 18 Yellow Jackets continue their journey on Saturday against Temple at 4:30 pm.
Pack the Dodd, Tech fans, and yes, Atlanta sports fans too.
This team is just beginning to write its story.
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