Georgia Tech’s night in Pittsburgh left Brent Key with the kind of postgame questions that come after a team has been beaten in every phase.
The Yellow Jackets were handled by the Panthers on Saturday night, and even though the offense pieced together some late yardage to make the box score look a little less ugly, the game was never really in doubt. Georgia Tech is now 2-6 heading into the final month of the season, and the road ahead is lined with heavy underdogs the rest of the way.
Key didn’t have much interest in offering a full roadmap for fixing what’s gone wrong.
"You know, there's a correction has to be made based on something and uh it's made and it I don't want to say right now how it would be fixed. I got a lot of things running through my head right now. Appreciate the question and I know people want to know."
The problems were obvious on the field. Georgia Tech’s offense averaged 3.1 yards per play, the defense was gashed for nearly 300 rushing yards, and the Yellow Jackets had to turn to two quarterbacks just to get through the night.
One of the recurring issues has been Georgia Tech’s inability to line up cleanly and consistently on defense, and Key was asked what’s behind that breakdown.
"Um, that's something that has been addressed, and something will continue to be addressed tomorrow. There weren't times when they were put out where they end up getting in position, but you know, when you're standing there not your cleats aren't set anchor down the defensive line.
You can't get any knockback. So then I look and see how much that led to other things.
But yeah, you're right. End of the day, get down, get a call, and get set play."
Earlier in the day, On3 Sports reporter Kelly Quinlan reported that defensive end Noah Carter had been dismissed from the team. Key was asked about that after the game, but he kept it brief.
"Just like any any disciplinary action that's going to stay in the house. Wish him the best of luck everything he does. Yeah, anytime you have to do something like that, it's not something we like to do."
With bowl hopes fading fast, Key is also looking beyond this season. He said the work now stretches into roster building, staffing and the transfer portal, along with recruiting and the broader structure of the program.
"You know, you're looking at roster, you're looking at staffing, you're looking at, uh, recruiting, transfers, and how all those things. From a structural, you know, nuts-and-bolts people's type, and it's done in a lot of ways, which is always a constant thing to look into the program and plan ahead."
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