Georgia Tech Head Coach Brent Believes BYU Should Have Been in the Playoff

Nov 28, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key on the sideline against the Georgia Bulldogs in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

On Saturday, BYU will take on Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. The Cougars will be looking to win their 12th game of the season which would be the most wins in any season since 2001. BYU one of the first two teams left out of the College Football Playoff. Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key, who will face BYU on Saturday, believes BYU should have been in the playoff.

"We're really excited to play BYU," Key said on Friday morning. "[BYU is] a team that I've said now numerous times is a team that really should have been in the playoffs this year. When you look at their body of work and what they've done. And so it's a great opportunity for us at Georgia Tech to be able to go compete. That's what we want. Competitors want to compete, and that's what we have. We have two teams of competitors."

Since the College Football Playoff committee was formed, no P4 11-1 P4 team had ever been ranked outside the top 10. BYU was on the wrong side of history as the first 11-1 P4 team to be ranked outside the top 10. The Cougars were historically under-ranked by this year's College Football Playoff committee. Even going into the conference championship game against Texas Tech, BYU was on the outside looking in at the College Football Playoff.

BYU has a chance to start shaping the narrative for the 2026 season in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. If the Cougars are able to maintain most of their roster heading into next season, they could go into next season as a top 15 team. That starts on Saturday against Georgia Tech.

Georgia Tech Injury Updates

In his opening statement, Georgia Tech's head coach provided some injury updates for Georgia Tech in this game.

Tech starting safety Clayton Powell-Lee will not play after suffering an injury against Georgia. Powell-Lee started all 12 games for Georgia Tech in the regular season.

Georgia Tech defensive end Brayden Manley will not play. Manley led the Yellow Jackets with 32 quarterback pressures in 2025.

Starting wide receiver Isiah Canion will miss this game due to injury as well. Canion ranked second on Georgia Tech's team in receiving yards this season. He tallied 480 receiving yards and he led the Yellow Jackets with 4 receiving touchdowns.

Reserve safety Savion Riley will not play in this game and reserve running back Chad Alexander is doubtful for this game according to Key.

Besides injuries, Georgia Tech expects 100% participation from the players that are with the program.