Everything From Brent Key After Win Over North Carolina

Here is everything that Brent Key had to say after beating North Carolina

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Nov 20, 2022 3:36 PM EST

In this story:

In his first game as an interim head coach, Brent Key went on the road to Pittsburgh as a three-touchdown underdog and picked up a surprising victory over the defending ACC Champions. On Saturday night, Key did it again and scored the biggest win of the season for the Yellow Jackets by going on the road and beating No. 13 North Carolina and ending any long-shot playoff hopes the Tar Heels had.

Georgia Tech interim head coach Brent Key — Georgia Tech is now 4-3 under Brent Key
Georgia Tech Athletics

It was a great performance for Georgia Tech and gets them to a 5-6 record heading into the final regular season game against Georgia on Saturday.

Brent Key spoke to the media after the game on Saturday and here is everything that he had to say.

Opening Statement

"Outstanding game from our guys, in all phases, our guys... we developed a plan during the week, they understood the plan, the plan might not have made sense to a lot of people, but it made sense to the people on that plane that came up here to play. They understood it, they bought into it, they believed in it, and regardless of the score, they stuck to that and believed in the plan and it would give them the outcome they wanted and I can't say enough about these kids and what they have been through the last couple of months, the resiliency that they have and how they prepare during the week and they way they prepared on Friday's and Saturday's before the game, after the preparation is done."

"The belief that they have in themselves and the belief they have in their teammates and the belief they have in the team as a whole... I can't say enough about them. You cannot go through more ups and downs than these kids have. You cannot have more adversity in the face than these kids have in the game of football. Again, it's football, they understand it is just a game. They understand what is important in life and... it was a great way for these guys to work through the week and play a complete game."

"The defensive line did an outstanding job of sticking to the plan and getting pressure on the quarterback and affecting the quarterback. We did not know there would be many opportunities to get sacks but they kept pressuring the quarterback and make him make mistakes and understand their rush lanes and discipline within their rush lanes. To be able to condense the pocket and make him make throws off level. The back end, we knew there would be some big plays here and there, we knew they were going to get their chunks, but the overlap in the defense to keep some of those big plays from ending up being touchdowns. They were running counter, counter wide scheme early in the game and we got it adjusted and got it fixed as the second half went along. They had the explosive run to start the game there on that side of the ball, but I can't say enough about the plan (Defensive Coordinator) Andrew (Thacker) put together and really between Andrew and Boogie, and Travares (Tillman) on the back end and DT and Larry with the mechanics they were working with the rush lanes and the rush games they were doing up front."

"On the offensive side of the ball. both of those quarterbacks to go and complement each other throughout the game, understand what we wanted to do with those guys. You know, when it was time to throw the ball, our guys up front protected very well tonight. Running the ball early, it was not as pretty as we wanted it to be, but as the game went on, we started popping some of those bigger runs, some of those three yards, two yards, and getting some six-yard runs, seven-yard runs and be able to mix in the throws vs some of the blitzes they had and the quarterback run packages with Taisun, al in all, It thought it was a well-earned win for out guys, a hard-fought win and I am really excited for them."

1. On the scoring drive before the end of the first half...

"When our guys play together and they believe in the plan, we can be a pretty darn good team too. We have... I don't know that there is anyone in there that could tell you it was 17-0, I didn't know it was 17-0. That is who this team is, that is who they have become , regardless of score, regardless of adversity, regardless of what takes place within a game, it is about one play at a time, leaving the last play behind and playing that way for 60 whole minutes and you'll end up having a chance and that is what they did tonight."

2. On the elements of the game plan that might surprise people...

"Just you know... we wanted to shrink the game in the first half. Offensively, we wanted to possess the ball and control the tempo of the ball game and when you say control the tempo of the ball game, it does not always mean playing fast, it means playing to the tempo that you want to on offense and that in turn helps the defense. I think we were up seven minutes at halftime in time of possession and ended up right around ten minutes and ended up on the plus side in time of possession and we had to limit their possessions on offense. They are an explosive offense, their quarterback is a really, really good football player, they have good skill and we had to limit those opportunities for them to be on the field and when you do that, obviously, you are shrinking the ball game so you have to be effective in your possessions and we had an aggressive mindset going in on fourth downs, going for it on fourth and some of the benchmarks that we had set were right there."

"You know, early on, in the first drive of the game, we were prepared once we crossed the fifty-yard line and go for it. We had a negative yardage play that ended up setting us back a little bit, I think it ended up being fourth and five, but fourth and four was a go, so the kids understood that, the aggressive game plan that we had because being a ball control, clock sucking game, that you have to be able to extend some drives with explosive plays and you gotta be able to extend some drives with some fourth downs and extend drives in different ways than normal. They bought into it, they believed in it, the coaches did an outstanding job during the week of coaching up what the plan was and we went and played the game that way."

3. On if there were any second-half adjustments or did they just stick to the game plan...

"You can do all the planning you want as far as the statistical part of it, the analytical part of it for the week, which we relied very heavy on that and that is something that I really believe in. When the ball is kicked off in the game, you have to rely on your gut, you have to rely on what your feeling for the game is, you can't be affected by outside factors and change the course of action and by doing that within the game, sticking to that plan in the first half and then able to get that touchdown right before half to make it a two-score game, there was a huge feeling there that it was going in the right direction if we could continue to possess the ball in the second half and continue to eat some chunks up on the ground and flip the field position that way, we would end up having a chance. The middle eight of the game, we have talked about before, that is such a critical part of the football game and the end of the first half was really big. Starting the second half for us was as well."

4. On the team keeping the intensity, despite some plays going against them...

"Yeah, same process. Play for 60 minutes and you have to put the play behind you and that is what they did and I looked at them after that 80-yard run to start the game and said hey boys, you have only played one play, you should not be tired, let's get ready to go."

5. On the final drive of the game on offense...

"That is the name of the game. You play the game within different phases and the management of the game as it goes down between offense and defense and how the kicking game is going to play out, but you know, at the end of the day, if you can line up and wind down the clock and give North Carolina credit, on that final drive, they had three timeouts with seven minutes to go, seven minutes to go in the game, so you are up against a huge challenge right there, you're trying to move the ball to kill the game and they have three timeouts so you have to be pretty effective on almost all of your plays to be efficient knowing they have the timeouts so for those guys to do that and be able to move the ball. You know, that first play, the one to Hassan (Hall), they brought blitz zero, brought a saw blitz and played cover zero with it, we knew they were going to play cover zero, we free-released the back in a five-man protection and regardless of if we had nine guys or five guys in protection, they were going to bring one more so Chip (Long) brought a five-man protection and he ran a good route and the quarterback Larry Birded it over the top and Hassan made a good play and the football gods were on our side."

6. On the defense stepping up in the red zone...

"Yeah, that is one of the huge situational aspects of the game that you have to be good in, whether that is offense or defense in the red area. We had the one with the field goal early in the game and we were able to overcome that fortunately and that is just part of situational ball that is so important, whether it is the red area or short yardage situations that become factors in the game, even when you are backed up, we were able to push the ball and able to gain a first down to get field position."

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