Georgia Tech Can Still Improve This Season, But Brent Key Has Plenty to Fix, Including His Own Decision-Making

Brent Key has done a lot of good things for his alma mater since he became the head coach. Georgia Tech has been to three consecutive bowl games, finished in the top four of the ACC each season, coached Georgia Tech's first first-round NFL Draft pick since 2010, and finished with its best record since 2016, when it finished 9-4 last season. He has built a real culture based on toughness and physical football that has seen some really bright moments on The Flats.

But last night's loss to Colorado showed some glaring issues that Key has to fix.

Colorado was more physical

Sep 3, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Colorado Buffaloes running back Jaquail Smith (23) reacts against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In the lead-up to the Colorado game, Georgia Tech was seen as the more physical and tougher team in the game. The Yellow Jackets have been one of the best rushing attacks in the country over the course of the last three seasons and one of the best offensive lines. As a former Georgia Tech offensive lineman, Key takes a lot of pride in how this unit plays, and he has usually gotten the best out of this unit.

But there was no mistake about who the more phsyical and tough team was last night and it was not Georgia Tech.

Colorado ran the ball a whopping 49 times last night, and while they only averaged 3.7 yards per carry, Georgia Tech's inability to get off the field and get stops at the line of scrimmage hurt them in a number of ways. When you have a 0% defensive run-stuff rate, that sums up the kind of performance that your front seven had.

Colorado 14 | -8.46 total EPA
Georgia Tech 13 | -0.12 total EPAhttps://t.co/76IebF1AfL pic.twitter.com/ecOpXqSklf
— Game on Paper (@gameonpaper) September 4, 2026

After talking up their improved defensive line all offseason, it was not a great showing for Georgia Tech against a Colorado team that has struggled to run the ball under Deion Sanders.

It was not just the defensive line though. The offensive line had perhaps its worst performance under Key and it was against what is an improved Colorado defensive line, but far from the best defensive front that Georgia Tech will see this season.

Colorado finished the game with three sacks (all given up by veteran left tackle Ethan Mackenny) and eight tackles for loss, as well as a 17% havoc rate (not good!). The Yellow Jackets came into this game with one of the most talented running back rooms in the country, but give credit to Colorado for holding Georgia Tech to 51 yards on 30 carries.

PFF grades don't always tell the full story, but they show the poor performance of the offensive line last night.

The highest-graded starter up front was left guard Kevin Peay Jr, who finished with a 57.2 overall grade. He was followed by Malachi Carney (51.0), Joseph Ionata (49.5), Jameson Riggs (40.0), and Mackenny (28.6). Mackenny finished with a 10.6 pass-blocking grade in last night's game.

Key said after the game last night that he did not view the line of scrimmage play as a concern and that they can correct the problem:

"I wouldn't say concerning is the right word. Concerning to me is, concerning means you can't fix it. It can't be fixed. There were a couple of drives in the second quarter where I thought a couple of the guys on the D-line got knocked off the ball. The amount of times that we tried to make a play instead of doing our job, busted a gap. How many times did you guys see, and I'm sure the same as me, the time that we weren't down in our stance on the defensive line waiting for the call? Concerning means probably to me that it can't be fixed. I don't have a crystal ball, but I'm still bullish on this team. I'm very confident in this football team."

But Georgia Tech's loss last night does not just come from being beaten at the line of scrimmage, it comes from a problem that has shown up in games before under Key.

Key's game management

Brent Key Georgia Tec — Sep 3, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key reacts in the first half at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Week one performances are often sloppy, especially when you are facing another Power Four opponent. There is nothing that says Georgia Tech can't get better and end up having a successful season and Key will put in a lot of work to ensure that is the case.

But he also has to improve his game management skills and decision making.

Last night was not the first time that Key made questionable decisons when it came to how to manage the game and despite how poorly Georgia Tech played throughout the game, they had multiple chances to put the game away if Key had operated differently.

Georgia Tech had the ball with a little over seven minutes left in the game with a 10-7 lead. If they milk the clock and score a touchdown, they win the game. If they milk the clock the way they should have, they could have left Colorado with little time on the clock to score a touchdown.

But that is not what they did.

Instead of snapping the ball and running a play with hardly any time on the play clock, Georgia Tech snapped the ball with 15 or 17 seconds left. If they take the clock down and snap the ball, they could have burned an extra 83 seconds and left Colorado with little time to go score. Instead, Colorado had 1:40 left on the clock and ended up scoring the game-winning touchdown with 37 seconds left.

If Georgia Tech used the entire play clock correctly down the stretch vs Colorado, they would have won the game.

On their drive leading by 3 starting with 7:35 left in the game, they snapped the ball far too early on offense several times. In the video below, I compiled all… pic.twitter.com/sxxoarT3kC
— Ryan Paganetti (@RyanPaganetti) September 4, 2026

On that drive, Mendoza hit Kevin Roche Jr for a 16-yard gain that gave Georgia Tech a first down and took the game to the two-minute warning. After that, the Yellow Jackets ran the ball twice and threw a very short pass before settling for the field goal. Again, if they get aggressive and try to score a touchdown, they could have put the game out of reach.

On Colorado's game winning drive, Georgia Tech called multiple timeouts.

But even after Colorado went down the field and scored, Georgia Tech had a chance.

Mendoza hit Dalen Penson for a 42-yard gain that put Georgia Tech just inside field goal range. Aidan Birr is one of the best kickers in the country and has hit multiple big-time kicks for the Yellow Jackets, but he missed a 35-yarder earlier in the game, and drilling a 45-yard game-winner was not going to be an easy task.

But after the big completion, Georgia Tech once again made some inexplicable decisions. Instead of either trying to score a touchdown or at least make it a closer field-goal attempt, Key and his staff were content with where they were at, which was a mistake. Now, you can argue that because the kick was poorly executed and not blocked well, the distance did not matter, but the process of making that decision is poor and detrimental to winning the game.

Key explained after the game his thought process on the decision making after the Penson catch and run:

"Yeah, I mean, with the time left, you know, with our, you know, I just, I felt that was the best decision. You know, you want to try to win the surest way, right? You know, with that amount of time with the downs we had, and look, I mean, look at the previous 55 plays, 60 plays of the football game. With the exception of the throw to Dalen, it's not like we were really getting chunks and moving the football and getting in a better position. That thing would have been blocked if it were a kick from the five-yard line. That's my vantage point."

The worrying thing is that this is not the first time Key's game management and decision-making have come into question. There is nothing saying he can't improve in that area, but this is becoming a real red area for Georgia Tech when they take the field.

I have been impressed with Brent Key since he took over at Georgia Tech but he did a very poor coaching job tonight. The management of the final few minutes was really bad.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) September 4, 2026

There were other things that went on in this game and it is never wise to say one thing cost a game a win. There was a bad blown whistle on a scoop and score from Georgia Tech safety Tae Harris that prevented a touchdown for the Yellow Jackets. After an illegal formation penalty on a 3rd and 3 on the first drive of the game, Georgia Tech had to settle for a field goal and Birr missed a short one. The defense gave up a touchdown when it mattered most. Key alone did not lose them the game, but the poor decision making and process that keeps showing up is concerning.

Key is a good coach, but Georgia Tech is now 1-5 in its last six games, and there were some alarming signs in last night's game. Georgia Tech was beaten up on the lines of scrimmage, could not run the ball, and was outplayed by Colorado.

Whether it is college football or the NFL, weird things happen in week one and when you look back on them later in the season, you wonder how that happened. That could be the case for Georgia Tech, they could still go on to have a strong season and this game is looked back on as a sort of turning point for this team where they figured things out afterwards.

But if some things don't change, whether it is on the field or on the sideline, it could be a tough 2026 for Brent Key and the Yellow Jackets.

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