Halfway through the 2024 season, Brent Key has begun to recognize that not only does his team have a defined identity, but now it is embracing that identity.
Georgia Tech’s second-year coach said Thursday that the idea of identity was discussed Thursday morning before the Yellow Jackets (4-2, 2-2 ACC) practiced at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Key stressed that having a team identity doesn’t mean the Jackets are a finished product by any stretch, but it should fuel the reserve of confidence that Tech can reach into during another crucial league contest on the road this weekend.
“I think the team has really bought into that identity,” Key added. “They enjoy being called that and told that, seeing themselves do that. It’s not an identity of, we’re gonna score 50 points every week on offense, or we’re gonna shut people out on defense, or we’re gonna get eight sacks, or we’re gonna have this many passing yards, this many running yards. At the end of the day, it’s an element of toughness and discipline that we wanna create to build a foundation for a long time.”
Tech showcased that toughness and discipline Saturday in a 24-14 win over Duke. It scored 14 points in the fourth quarter after briefly falling behind in the third. It won the time-of-possession battle almost 2-to-1, which allowed it to keep its defense fresh and neutralize an aggressive and opportunistic Duke defense. And, perhaps most notably, go back to leaning on the ground game, which totaled 245 yards.
That recipe for victory will be more of the same for Key’s bunch, starting at noon Saturday at North Carolina.
“At the end of the day, our job is to put guys on the field and compete and win games. We talk about it all the time, the only mission this week is to win by one point, to have one more point than them,” Key said. “If it’s 7-6, 3-0, 59-58, it doesn’t matter. The mission is to have one more point than them. That’s how we’re gonna plan out the week and put us in the best position to be able to do that.”
Tech will face a North Carolina team reeling after three consecutive losses. The Tar Heels began the season with three consecutive victories, then gave up 70 points to James Madison, lost to rival Duke in a 21-20 defeat and, finally, were soundly beaten by Pittsburgh at home.
But coach Mack Brown’s team is dangerous still, especially on offense. Four wide receivers, including former Tech wideout Nate McCollum, have more than 100 yards receiving, and senior tight ends Bryson Nesbit and John Copenhaver have combined for 37 receptions for 420 yards and six touchdowns. Running back Omarion Hampton, as he was in 2023, still is one of the top backs in the ACC and has rushed for 764 yards (at 5.58 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns.
The most notable change for UNC has been at the quarterback spot, where Jacolby Criswell, an Arkansas transfer, has taken over for the departed Drake Maye. Criswell has completed only 56.4% of his throws and has been picked off three times.
“(North Carolina offensive coordinator) Chip (Lindsey) has changed a little bit, too, over the years,” Key said. “You see some similarities offensively with some of the shifts and motions and things they do, starting (the tight ends) tight and moving them out wide. But they do a good job of getting them open. A lot of it, too, is they do some creative things with some of the run-action, play-action game, some of the quicker throws to get the ball out of (Criswell’s) hand. He spreads the ball around nice.”
Saturday’s matchup will be the second noon kickoff of the season for the Jackets — and the first did not go so well.
Tech went to Syracuse on Sept. 14 and lost 31-28, a game in which it fell behind 31-14 with 8:39 to play and couldn’t mount much of a comeback. The Jackets sat through a lengthy delay at the airport the day before, and Key joked he hopes his program doesn’t have to go through similar circumstances Friday. But he also added he and his staff constantly are examining ways to possibly alter routines in order to get off to a fast start on the road in an early kickoff.
The other elephant in the room, of course, is Tech’s inability to consistently win consecutive games. Tech is 3-10 under Key in games immediately following a victory, making Saturday’s matchup even more ominous for the visitors.
“Nobody wants to lose momentum when you’re playing a game or when you win a game and then lose a game,” Key said Tuesday. “Look, we’re playing on the road in the conference at North Carolina, which has been a traditional rival for Georgia Tech for many, many years. If you can’t get excited and get up for this game, you got ice water running through your veins.”
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