Brent Key has already given Georgia Tech fans a pretty clear picture of what his teams tend to do when the season starts: they show up ready, take some punches, and usually keep swinging.
Now heading into his fourth year leading his alma mater, Key’s season-opening record sits at 2-1. That mark could easily be 3-0 if not for the 2023 opener against Louisville, when the Yellow Jackets went into halftime up 28-13 in Key’s first game as the full-time head coach and then watched the Cardinals storm back with a 26-6 second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The last two openers, though, have gone Georgia Tech’s way, and both came with plenty of drama. In 2024, the Yellow Jackets traveled to Ireland and knocked off then No. 10 Florida State on Aidan Birr’s game-winning field goal in a back-and-forth game.
That afternoon had its share of chaos early. Georgia Tech turned the ball over on its first three possessions, but Haynes King and the run game steadied everything. The game was tied 20-20 late before King ripped off a big run for the go-ahead touchdown and helped close it out.
What stands out from those two wins is not just that Georgia Tech survived early trouble, but how the team adjusted as the game went on, especially on defense. Against Florida State, the Yellow Jackets gave up a touchdown on the opening drive, then settled in and changed with the flow of the game. Even with those three turnovers, they allowed only seven points off them and eventually found their rhythm.
That matters because every opener brings a different kind of stress. In each of Georgia Tech’s last two victories, the opponent scored on its first possession, forcing the Yellow Jackets to deal with immediate adversity. Both times, Key’s team answered and finished the job in close fashion.
So while Colorado could certainly have early success given how new both teams are, the recent track record suggests Key will have Georgia Tech prepared to handle it.
There is another angle worth watching, though, if you look at the past three openers as a group: what happens when Georgia Tech starts fast on offense. In 2023, the Yellow Jackets were working with an offense that was still a mystery to opponents and a transfer quarterback making his first start for the program. That group was electric in the first half before Louisville’s adjustments changed the game.
Three games is hardly a massive sample, and in modern college football rosters can look very different from one year to the next. Still, there are little clues in those openers that could say something about how Thursday night against Colorado unfolds.
In Other News...
Georgia Tech Offense Faces An Early Test After Colorados Bold Confidence
Colorado is not hiding its confidence heading into Week 1, and much of it starts with the way the Buffaloes have spent camp preparing for Georgia Tech. Linebacker Gideon Lampron said the defense has benefited from working against offensive coordinator Brennan Marions fast-moving Go-Go offense, a style that has forced the unit to get sharper about fits, communication and handling a run game that can stress a defense in a hurry. On top of that, Colorado has been installing a new scheme under coordinator Chris Marve, with the emphasis clearly on playing together and closing down the ground game.
For Georgia Tech, that makes the opener an early measuring stick for an offense that will be facing a defense eager to prove its offseason work has real teeth. Lampron also sounded genuinely fired up about making his first game for Colorado, which only adds to the sense that the Buffaloes are treating this one like more than a first-week tune-up. The unanswered question is whether that confidence and all that camp prep will carry over once the lights come on against a Yellow Jackets attack that will test the new-look defense right away. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Tech Could Test One Colorado Choice More Than Most Teams
Colorado defensive coordinator Chris Marve will be stationed on the sideline when the Buffaloes face Georgia Tech, a setup he prefers after studying the benefits of being closer to the action. Marve has said the arrangement helps him communicate directly with his linebackers, a group he still coaches, and it fits the way he has learned to operate during his time in the game.
For Georgia Tech, that detail adds another layer to a matchup already shaped by Colorados defensive challenges. The Yellow Jackets will see a coordinator who wants to manage the defense in real time from field level, where every adjustment can come faster and every mistake can be addressed without delay, which is exactly the kind of setup that can make a weekend meeting more complicated than it first appears. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Tech Opener Turns On One Unsettling QB Unknown
Colorados season opener against Georgia Tech already had the feel of a measuring-stick game, but the biggest unknown may be the one lining up under center. The Buffaloes are expected to sort through a quarterback battle between redshirt freshman Julian Lewis and sophomore Alberto Mendoza, with Lewis bringing only limited collegiate experience and Mendoza arriving from Indiana as a transfer trying to settle into a new place and a new offense.
For Georgia Tech, the intrigue cuts both ways. The Yellow Jackets are getting a first look at Mendoza in a setting that has long asked its quarterbacks to be part of the run game, and the matchup now comes with the added wrinkle of Colorados new Go-Go offense, which also puts a premium on quarterback movement. In a game where both sides are adjusting around young or unfamiliar passers, the early script may hinge less on reputation than on who handles the uncertainty better. [Read more 🡒]