Georgia Tech running back Jamal Haynes didn’t mince words. He spoke confidently on behalf of his program and its supporters.
“To hell with Georgia,” he said Thursday night in his answer to a question about his team’s looming matchup against its it-state rival. “What he said,” linebacker Trenilyas Tatum, seated adjacent to Haynes, said as a follow-up.
Tech just won a 30-29 thriller against N.C. State, so it was allowed to look ahead to its trip to Athens.
What an opportunity that awaits. It’s a program-altering one for the Yellow Jackets. It’s the chance — however slim one might consider it — to slam the accelerator on the Brent Key era. It’s the chance to topple its despised in-state rival and, as the cherry on top, deal a death blow to the Bulldogs’ College Football Playoff hopes.
Undoubtedly, Tech is giddy about the days ahead.
“I’m not passionate about Georgia, not one bit,” Key said, tongue in cheek. “We have the biggest game of the year coming up. It’s an in-state rivalry game.”
Tech showed its mental toughness Thursday in overcoming a wild fourth quarter. It entered the frame up 16-7, found itself trailing 29-23, then engineered a go-ahead drive in 67 seconds and won on a missed 58-yard field-goal attempt.
The Jackets are now 7-4, building upon their encouraging 2023 campaign as the evidence continues to suggest Key is the right coach to take this program forward. Nothing could compare with upsetting the state’s kings. It would be a seismic momentum boost.
This game means everything to Tech. It should mean everything to Tech.
“I’m excited, the whole team is excited,” said quarterback Haynes King, whose Jackets suffered a 31-23 loss in the rivalry last November. “It’s one of the biggest rivalries. Hats off to them, they’re having a great year. But we’re ready. We’re excited. We’ll see what happens.”
Since winning two of three meetings in 2014-16, Tech has lost six consecutive to Georgia. Key, a proud Tech alum, has made his disdain for the Bulldogs clear in the past, never shying from the rivalry’s importance.
Tech will be a heavy underdog. And that’s fine. They just want to take their best swing and see how it lands.
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