Georgia Tech Postgame Quotes That Matter From Brent Key After Win Over Duke

What did Brent Key have to say after the win over the Blue Devils?

Oct 10, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key celebrates after a victory over the Duke Blue Devils at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Georgia Tech was not given much of a chance to win today against Duke at home, but that is usually when Brent Key and his program can surprise you the most.

The Yellow Jackets played an all-around solid football game today against the previously unbeaten Blue Devils and walked away with their first FBS win since beating Boston College last November and their first ACC win of the year.

After the game, Key spoke with the media and talked about his team's performance and what it was like to get a win.

1. First time playing as a team

This was by far the best performance of the year for Georgia Tech and they got the win against a good Duke team. That was what Key wanted to lead his presser off with today and talk about how the team came together:

"But at the end of the day, that was the first time this year we played as a football team. I thought we played as a complete team. Played together. Offense, defense, special teams. The whole game, they're going back and forth on the sideline, encouraging each other, getting each other. We got your back. That's what I've been waiting to see. That's Georgia Tech football. We got a lot of work to do in a lot of ways, guys. But I thought we played closer to the standard that I have and that these guys have for themselves. We needed this.

I thought the stadium, even for the pseudo weather that we had, I thought the fans were loud. The pseudo section was awesome as always. Really were a big part in it and had to do and that were preventing us from winning football games. We talked about that the last two weeks."

2. Jordan Allen

Jordan Allen had perhaps the biggest game of his career against the Blue Devils today, finishing with 10 catches for 199 yards and he had a huge catch to get down to the goal line late in the game to put Georgia Tech ahead against Duke. Key talked about Allen and the game he had:

"Well, I think, you know, that was really – you get hit like that in the game of football. If you're just all playing independently, you're playing for yourself. You probably don't get back up on some of them. But when you know everyone's behind you, everyone's got your back, you got everyone's back, and you play together. That's why we talk about playing together. You're playing for each other. You're playing for something bigger than just yourself and your stats and your future and your brand."

Allen's toughness was on full display today and was a huge reason Georgia Tech won.

3. On containing Nate Sheppard

Now, Sheppard still had a big day vs Georgia Tech, nearly getting to 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving, but he did not have any big plays and there were several times where the Yellow Jackets stopped him at the line of scrimmage. Key talked about his defenses effort and how they played:

"Well, that was the whole thing. We talked about setting edges, constricted cutback lanes, and then the pursuit and being more than one hat on the ball with him and wanted to make sure that he felt us. Held him to just under 100. I think it was 99 total. You know, we weren't sticking enough on him in some of the coverage aspects when he was able to get out. He's a good football player. I was looking for him after the game. I didn't see him. But he's a really good football player. They do a good job utilizing him in a lot of different ways. And all the defense did a good job at rallying to him.

And that was the key to the game. That was the key to the game was to be able to eliminate the big plays from him and keep it bottled up."

4. Can this win create momentum?

If Georgia Tech had played like this against Colorado and Stanford, they might be 4-1 right now. But they did not and they are 2-3, but could this win be what propels the Yellow Jackets to a bigger season. Key did not want to go that far and talked about how far they still have to go:

"Yeah, look, we've got to come to work every day. But when you win, it's a lot easier to come back in and have the energy and enthusiasm, right? We've had a hard two weeks. We've had a hard two weeks. Everybody's programmed from the top to almost at the bottom, but everyone else. From, you know, on the hill, the presidents, to the administration, the AD. I mean, it's everybody. We all feel this, right? And we needed that today. It's a lot easier to come into work and do the things you have to do and to do your job. when you have that so i'll just clean up mistakes when you have that.

Yeah, we needed it. And that was one of the things I talked to them about was, this was last Tuesday, two Tuesdays ago, I guess. We came back from the first Tuesday of the bye week. I said, look, man, guys, you guys all want to win. I know it. But we've got to stop sitting around and doing the things that lose games. We've got to learn how to stop losing the game before we can ever win. And now it kind of propels you. And now there's belief, there's confidence. But, again, I go back to all those different things. What I go back to is we played together as a team. We played together as a team, and that goes a long way."

Georgia Tech will head out on the road next weekend to Blacksburg to face the 4-2 Virginia Tech Hokies. The game will be at 3:30 and will be televised on ACC Network.