BYU Rallies Late to Stun Georgia Tech in Pop-Tarts Bowl Comeback
For three quarters, Georgia Tech looked like a team in control. Up 21-10 heading into the final frame of the Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Yellow Jackets had BYU on the ropes. But the Cougars had other plans-and a fourth-quarter surge flipped the script.
BYU rattled off 15 unanswered points in the final quarter, capped by a game-sealing interception in the end zone off Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King. Final score: 25-21, Cougars. A comeback that’ll sting for the Yellow Jackets and one that speaks volumes about BYU’s resolve.
“Congrats to BYU, Kalani [Sitake], and their victory,” Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key said after the game. “Good football team.
They play the game the right way. They play hard.”
Georgia Tech had its chances, but the execution just wasn’t there down the stretch. Missed opportunities, stalled drives, and that critical turnover in the red zone proved costly. And while the loss was tough to swallow, Key made it clear he’s proud of his team-and especially his seniors-for what they’ve built.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t make plays down the stretch to be able to come out with a win,” Key said. “But I’m going to soak in every last moment that I have with these guys.”
Key Defends Bowl Season: “Competitors Compete”
In a college football landscape where bowl games are increasingly treated as optional-especially by players opting out and teams declining invites-Key took a firm stand on what these games still mean. Georgia Tech landed in the Pop-Tarts Bowl after Notre Dame declined the invitation, a move that didn’t sit well with Key.
“Competitors compete,” he said. “It doesn’t matter where it is, what time it is, where you are playing.
Competitors compete. We have a team of competitors.
We will always have a team of competitors. I am a competitor, and that is what we do.”
Key pushed back against the growing narrative that bowl games are meaningless, especially outside the College Football Playoff. For him, every snap still matters.
“There are 365 days in a year that we live, breathe, and work for 12 guaranteed opportunities,” he said. “There is no other sport like that...
I don’t understand people saying the devalue of a bowl game. It is a game.
It is another chance to play a game.”
A Culture Built by Seniors
Despite the loss, Georgia Tech ends the season at 9-4-an impressive mark, especially considering the program’s growth under Key. Since taking over as full-time head coach three seasons ago, Key has guided the Yellow Jackets to a 23-16 record and helped re-establish the team as a legitimate ACC contender.
Much of that success, he says, is rooted in the leadership of this senior class, including quarterback Haynes King.
“That was established by these seniors and by these guys-the identity and the culture,” Key said. “When you have that set the right way, regardless of guys that come in your program, the guys that are remaining from the year before, they are the ones that carry it on. They carry it on because of how these guys built it.”
Georgia Tech started the season with eight straight wins, raising expectations and putting the program firmly back on the national radar. The Pop-Tarts Bowl may not have ended the way they hoped, but the broader trajectory remains positive.
Eyes on the Future
Now comes the hard part: turning the page and getting ready to do it all over again. Key knows the work doesn’t stop in the offseason. In fact, it’s just getting started.
“We have work to do,” he said. “We have to make sure we have the best roster we can possibly have, put together the best staff that we can possibly have.
It will be here fast. As quick as this season went, the next one will be here.”
And while wins and losses are the scoreboard everyone sees, Key believes the foundation his team is building goes deeper than that.
“We are all judged by the wins and losses,” he said. “But when you put it together the right way, those all become a by-product of having everything in the right place-and the kids all believe in the same thing, and the staff believes in the same thing.”
The Pop-Tarts Bowl didn’t end in celebration for Georgia Tech, but the message from Brent Key is clear: the culture is strong, the identity is set, and the Ramblin’ Wreck is moving forward with purpose.