BREAKING: Georgia Tech vs Georgia Rivalry Game Moved To Primetime Kickoff On Black Friday

Georgia Tech and Georgia will play in primetime for a second straight season

Nov 25, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10) runs for a touchdown against the Georgia Bulldogs in the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Who is ready for Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate on primetime for a second straight season?

According to Ross Dellenger at Yahoo Sports, Georgia Tech and Georgia are being moved to Black Friday this year and will play in primetime on ABC. After playing at Noon for several years, one of college football's best rivalries is headed for primetime for the second straight season.

The Georgia-Georgia Tech game this season is moving to Black Friday and in primetime on ABC, sources tell @YahooSports.

Other SEC kick times are expected to be released later Thursday, many of them early-season games.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 30, 2024

This is the second kickoff time announced for Georgia Tech. They open the season on week zero in Ireland against Florida State. That game is set for a 12:00 p.m. EST kickoff following College Gameday.

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.

So when will Georgia Tech finally break through and end their losing streak to the Bulldogs? I don't know if it will happen in 2024 and I am not predicting it too, but I think that this is going to be the best chance that Georgia Tech has had to win a game vs Georgia since 2016.

This has a chance to be the best team in Atlanta since 2014, the year the Yellow Jackets got to the ACC Championship and nearly upset undefeated Florida State. Georgia Tech is returning most of its starters from one of the ACC's best offenses. This offense had success against a stout Georgia defense last season, rushing for over 200 yards and nearly putting up 400 yards of total offense on the Bulldogs. Not only are most of the key contributors back for Georgia Tech on that side of the ball, but Faulkner is back to call plays and his offense gave the Georgia defense plenty of trouble last season.

In last year's matchup with Georgia (and all season really), the Yellow Jackets' inability to stop the run was the biggest reason they could not end the losing streak. Georgia ran for 262 yards and nearly seven yards per carry against one of the nation's worst defenses. That is an area in which Georgia Tech has tried to improve this offseason on both the coaching staff and in personnel.

Georgia Tech needed to fix what was one of the worst defenses in the country last season and head coach Brent Key opted to make big changes on that side of the football. He brought in former Duke defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci and three other defensive assistants to spearhead the turnaround on that side of the football and if they can even make marginal improvements on that side of the football, they have the offensive firepower to be a factor in the ACC race this season and compete against Georgia.

In one season at Duke (2023), Santucci directed the ACC’s top-ranked scoring defense, allowing just 19.0 points per game, which was good for 16thnationally. The Blue Devils also ranked among the nation’s top 50 in rushing defense, passing defense, total defense, tackles for loss, third-down defense, fourth-down defense, and red-zone defense. Duke allowed a total of just 10 points in a pair of wins over teams that finished the season in the top 25 – No. 20 Clemson (28-7) and No. 21 NC State (24-3) – and finished 8-5 overall after a 17-10 win over Troy in the 2023 Birmingham Bowl. How much Santucci can improve this defense could be the difference in Georgia Tech contending in the ACC and also trying to end the losing streak vs Georgia.

Georgia Tech has also worked on improving its personnel on the defensive side of the ball through the transfer portal this offseason. They have brought in USC defensive end Romello Height, Penn State defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg, Miami defensive tackle Thomas Gore, Georgia linebacker E.J. Lightsey, Louisville linebacker Jackson Hamilton, Rhode Island cornerback Syeed Gibbs, Tennessee cornerback Warren Burrell, Illinois cornerback Zachary Tobe, and Cincinnati safety Jayden Davis to improve the unit. Georgia Tech's defense has to be much better if they want to improve their win-loss record and even have a chance against Georgia.

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. Let's see how things play out in November.