After Beating NC State, Georgia Tech Now Aims to Knock The Georgia Bulldogs Out of The Playoff Race

Georgia Tech defeated NC State last night and now has their eyes set on the Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart shakes hands with Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key after a NCAA college football game between Georgia Tech and Georgia in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. Georgia won 37-14. News Joshua L Jones / Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

Georgia Tech is a program that has a lot of momentum as the regular season draws to a close. The Yellow Jackets are 2-0 in the month of November, including a win over Miami, who was ranked No. 4 and was unbeaten at the time, and then NC State last night. Now, Brent Key's program turns its attention to trying to do something it has not done since 2016 and that is beat the Georgia Bulldogs.

Now, Georgia Tech played Georgia almost as well as anyone did last year. Georgia won 31-23, but the Yellow Jackets were an onside kick away from getting the ball back and having a chance to tie the game up. In 2022, Key had his alma mater within six points of the No. 1 Bulldogs (13-7) in the middle of the third quarter before Georgia finally pulled away. In each of the past two seasons, Key has had this team playing better against the Bulldogs since the last time the Yellow Jackets won in 2016. In 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021, Georgia handled the Yellow Jackets with ease, but they have had to fight for the past two seasons to put Georgia Tech away. Brent Key and his team would love to get a win though and if the Yellow Jackets won, they would not only break the losing streak to the Bulldogs, but they would likely end any chance that Georgia has of making it to the College Football Playoff.

Make no mistake, Georgia has been one of the best teams in the country this season and faced the toughest schedule in the country. However, the CFB playoff committee has them ranked No. 10 right now and a third loss this season might drop Kirby Smart's team out of the playoff race unless there is a lot of chaos around the country. For the Yellow Jackets, ending the losing streak would be sweet, but knocking their arch-rivals out of contention to make the College Football Playoff and give them a third loss would be even sweeter.

It will be a tall task though. Despite their losses to Alabama and Ole Miss, Georgia has one of, if not the most talented roster in the country and has not lost a home game since being upset by South Carolina in 2019. The Yellow Jackets face a tall task next Friday night. The Bulldogs have to win this game to stay alive in the playoff race and they will be treating it like a playoff game.

Will Georgia Tech's two quarterback system work against the Bulldogs? It worked to perfection against Miami, but not so much against NC State. True freshman Aaron Philo played well and led the game winning drive, but going into Athens as a true freshman and beating Georgia is a tough ask. Can Georgia Tech run the ball? They were able to overcome a poor performance on the ground last night, but they usually lose when they don't run the ball well. The defense played great at times last night, but had a really bad fourth quarter and nearly let the game slip away. When Georgia has lost this season, quarterback Carson Beck has been a big reason why. Can Tyler Santucci's defense force Beck to make mistakes?

Beating the Bulldogs has been something that Key has stressed since the day he was hired as the permanent head coach for his alma mater:

"There is one thing I want everyone in this room to understand and everyone associated with Georgia Tech understands... There is an opponent in this state we will work 365 days a year to defeat. We will work 365 days a year to dominate. When we all wake up in the morning, we want to dominate our opponent. The feeling of dominating your opponent is like no other and whatever team is on our schedule, that will be our goal. That is what we will work towards every single day. 

Players in here, understand that. That is our goal and that is our mindset. We have an opponent in this state that is included in that. For 365 days, we will work to dominate that opponent. Understand that."

They might not be able to beat the Bulldogs in Athens to close the season out, but this is without a doubt the best chance that they have had since they last won the game in 2016. Georgia Tech has relished being in the underdog role with Key at the helm and he is looking to pull off his biggest win yet.

Additional Links:

Georgia Tech Football: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly From Georgia Tech's Win Over NC State

Georgia Tech Football: Everything From Yellow Jackets Head Coach Brent Key After Wild Win vs NC State

Georgia Tech Football: Brent Key Reveals His Message to Quarterback Aaron Philo on Game-Winning Drive vs NC State