Eight overtimes later, Brent Key couldn’t look away.
After Georgia’s epic 44-42 win over Georgia Tech Friday night, the Yellow Jackets coach was filmed standing near midfield at Sanford Stadium staring at the scoreboard for nearly a minute as ‘Nowhere to Run’ by Martha and the Vendellas played on the loudspeakers and the Governor’s Cup was awarded to his archrival once more. Even when a Georgia staffer approached to shake his hand, Key never turned his eyes away.
It was a scene that encapsulated how close Georgia Tech came to pulling off a massive upset that would have thrown the College Football Playoff race into further flux, and how much rivalry games still matter.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 20-0 lead on Georgia only to watch it evaporate by the end of regulation. The two teams then went back-and-forth in the extra periods until Bulldogs running back Nate Frazier scored in the eighth frame. It was one overtime short of the national record set by Illinois and Penn State in 2021.
Key took some criticism for the team’s play-calling in overtime, particularly the decision to not go for a two-point conversion – and the win – after Georgia Tech scored on the second possession of the first overtime. He told reporters afterwards it was the toughest loss of his career, noting ‘that locker room, I’ve never seen anything like that.’
Georgia Tech (7-5) is nonetheless bowl eligible for the second-straight year under Key and has a chance to finish with its most wins since 2016 with a bowl victory.
‘This emotion will turn into fuel and we’re going to use that fuel,’ Key said late Friday night.