Brent Key Believes College Football Is In A Great Place: "People focus on the negative."

Key gave an interview recently and talked about the current state of college football

Nov 22, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key runs on the field before a game against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

There are a lot of different opinions about the state of college football. Some will point to NIL, the transfer portal, the constant roster churn, the expanded conferences, and much more as the weaknesses in the game.

Georgia Tech's Brent Key thinks that college football is in a great place. In an interview with On3Sports Pete Nakos, Key talked about the current state of college football and gave his opinion:

"People focus on the negative. But if I’m not mistaken, viewership is at an all-time high, fan engagement is at an all-time high. Merchandising sales are at an all-time high. More people are watching."

He also went in-depth with Nakos about why the program wanted to bring in Indiana transfer QB Alberto Mendoza:

"We found a guy that’s literally the first in the building every day, will not be beat in the building. Once we’re done with football in the morning, he goes to class and gets straight A’s. He’s going to be the last one to leave. It’s Saturday, it’s Sunday. He’s just coming in, ‘Hey, can I come hang out? Sit with y’all and listen?’ He is ball all day long."

Georgia Tech's Brent Key does not filter much. He does not deflect in press conferences or team meetings.

The former Yellow Jackets OL cites his time around former Georgia Tech coach George O’Leary and Alabama head coach Nick Saban, along with his high school coach, Jack Wood.… pic.twitter.com/WHhjBO5o5C

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) March 17, 2026

Key has a point

Dec 27, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key looks on against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the fourth quarter during the Pop-Tarts Bowl at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

As the coach of one of the most watched teams in the ACC, Key has a point.

early 34 million total viewers watched Georgia Tech football’s 10 Nielsen-rated television broadcasts in 2025, a 36% increase over the Yellow Jackets’ total viewership in 2024.

Georgia Tech’s 33.8 million viewers in Nielsen-rated broadcasts were the second-most in the Atlantic Coast Conference, behind only national runner-up Miami (Fla.). Another indication of the Yellow Jackets’ drawing power was their 10 selections to appear on Nielsen-rated networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, The CW, FOX, NBC and CBS), which was also the second-most in the ACC (tied with conference runner-up Virginia, which drew 19.0 million viewers over its 10 appearances).

The Jackets’ total viewers far surpassed the 24.8 million that tuned in to their eight Nielsen-rated broadcasts in 2024, when Tech led the ACC in average viewership (3.10 million viewers per game).

Georgia Tech drew a whopping 17.4 million viewers over the final two games of the season – its regular-season finale versus archrival Georgia and its Pop-Tarts Bowl matchup versus BYU (8.7 million viewers apiece).

In addition to its strong viewership, Georgia Tech football also drew massive final numbers in terms of global earned media reach and ad equivalency value in 2025. The Yellow Jackets’ earned media reach (exposure that an entity receives through unpaid, third-party coverage) totaled 44.8 billion over their 13 games, which is more than five times Earth’s population. The earned media reach translated to $200.4 million ad equivalency value (what an entity would have to pay for advertising equivalent to what it received in earned media) for Tech.

Georgia Tech football’s earned media reach and ad equivalency value both doubled from 2024 to 2025. Furthermore, the Yellow Jackets’ ad equivalency value has multiplied more than 13 times from the $15 million they received in 2022.

The Yellow Jackets went 9-4 (tied for the 10th-most victories in Tech’s 133-season football history) and finished ranked No. 24 nationally in the US LBM coaches poll in 2025. The Jackets rose to as high as No. 7 in the national rankings and was ranked in the final 14 national polls of the season, which is their longest streak since GT was ranked in all 16 polls in 1999.

Tech also went 6-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, which was good for a tie for second place in the 17-team conference. The Yellow Jackets are the only ACC team that has finished in the top four of the conference standings each of the last three seasons