It may be days past, but Friday’s loss is still weighing heavy on Georgia Tech coach Brent Key.
Key said he didn’t sleep after the game during a radio appearance on 680 The Fan on Monday.
“I woke up on Saturday. I didn’t even go to sleep but had to pull myself off the couch,” Key said. “I couldn’t bring myself to watch it on Saturday. By last night I watched the last five minutes of the game.”
Georgia Tech lost to Georgia in a historic edition of the rivalry, which went to eight overtimes after the Bulldogs came back from a 17-0 deficit. Key was visibly emotionally during an extended embrace between him and Georgia coach Kirby Smart.
“We were both emotionally just spent,” Key said. “As much as this rivalry means to everyone and as much as this rivalry means to me, there’s a mutual respect that takes place when Georgia Tech and Georgia take the field. These kids have played against each other, we’ve coached together, we’ve coached against each other, coaches all know each other, they know the work each staff puts in, the know the time that we spend away from our families in order to put these products on the field.”
The Georgia victory marked the seventh consecutive win in the rivalry for the Bulldogs. While Georgia was playing with College Football Playoff implications on the line, Georgia Tech was looking to close out a regular season that included notable wins over then-ranked Florida State in week 0 and an upset of then No. 4 Miami.
“You don’t make progress without having failures along the way, even if they rip your heart out,” Key said. “But I think what it did, it showed, No. 1, it showed a little bit of the light of what it is. They gotta understand that. But it also showed everyone else what this program’s capable of doing and what we will continue to do. I think we gotta build on it, we gotta correct it the things we didn’t.”
On Monday, Tech quarterback Haynes King was named ACC quarterback of the week for his performance against Georgia. King showed grit and stamina on Friday, recording 413 yards of offense, rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for two scores.
“[King] embodies what Georgia Tech football is,” Key said. “He is what this program is going to continue to be. When your quarterback, your best players, are also your most competitive players, you got something special.”
King, a redshirt junior, has been sharing snaps with freshman quarterback Aaron Philo for several weeks. King was injured in an October game against North Carolina. Backup quarterback Zach Pyron, who announced his intention to transfer on Monday, stepped into the starting role before King returned against Miami. Philo, who would forfeit a redshirt if he plays in another game this season, did not play against Georgia
Key, who played for Tech from 1997-2000, beat Georgia three times in a row as a player. Two of those wins were against Georgia teams that had Smart on the roster. However, this latest version of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate is not one Key will hold on to fondly.
“I wish I could say I blacked out and don’t remember any of it,” Key said. “But, unfortunately, I remember every waking second of it. And I’ll never forget it.”
