Key Takeaways From Georgia Tech's 16-9 Loss To Rival Georgia On Friday

Here is what stood out the most from the game against Georgia

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

Georgia Tech fell to its archrival on Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Georgia Tech's defense played its best all season, but the offense couldn't get it going to lead them to victory. Let's take a look at some key takeaways from the 16-9 loss for the Yellow Jackets.

1. Georgia Tech has best defensive game of the season 

The Yellow Jackets were flying to the ball and shut down a top passing offense on Friday. Georgia Tech held Georgia to just 70 yards passing in the game and came up with its first takeaway since October 25th against Syracuse after Tah’j Butler recorded an interception. Georgia Tech got after the passer as well and continued to create penetration and negative plays. They finished with seven tackles for loss and two sacks. Another telling stat is that they held Georgia to just 3.9 yards per play. Besides one bad play in the red zone, Omar Daniels was a standout on Friday, recording 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Georgia struggled all game, and the Yellow Jackets held them to just three points in the second half. It was a great rebound effort after Pittsburgh and showed the Yellow Jackets can hang tough against the elite in the country. 

2. Georgia Tech offense struggled mightily on Friday 

That was not the typical offense we saw from Georgia Tech on Friday. Coming into the game, Georgia Tech had the No.5 offense in the country, averaging 485.9 yards per game. Georgia shut them down and held them to just three field goals on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets were also 4-11 on third down and averaged just five yards per play. An area they really struggled with was running the football, only gaining 69 yards on three yards per carry.

"I mean, like everything. You look at the tape and see exactly what's going on. Usually, the game's not working. It's because we're not sustaining blocks. It's usually not a schematic, and there's a man across from you. You've got to get your hands inside. You've got to play low, you've got to sustain, you've got to finish. When they come off the blocks, they usually make packages, and we're not able to consistently run the football, which was a huge detriment to our success,” said head coach Brent Key. 

While the offense began to get things going through the air, it was later in the game and in the second half. They couldn’t get their playmakers the ball enough in space and it derailed their chances. 

3. EJ Lightsey was elite on Friday 

Lightsey was everywhere for the Yellow Jackets on the defensive side of the ball and did an excellent job of wrapping up and tackling in the open space. At the end of the first half, he had six tackles and would finish with 12 tackles (led the team). It was just the second game this season that he has finished with at least 10 tackles. The other came against Clemson during week 3 of the season. Lightsey is now second on the team with 70 tackles, and had one of his best games of the season. He talked about the difference and what allowed him and the defense to play at a high level. 

“I think like everything was like simpler. Like we wasn't like much thinking and what we did wasn't a lot, you know? So everything was like simpler like everybody just played hard, free and fast, and that's something that you know we've been harping on it all week. Getting that juice back, you know what I mean like getting all that energy and confidence back, and like we did that good things happen,” said Lightsey. 

4. Georgia Tech has lost three of its last four games 

It has been a tough stretch for the Yellow Jackets, who started the season 8-0 and is now 9-3 to finish the season. It’s been a mix of issues from the defense not performing at a high level to the offense having its share of mistakes and turnovers. The key is that Georgia Tech has not been playing complementary football like it was earlier in the year. Some of the struggles you can attribute to the running game not being as crisp as it normally is which sets up easier throws, and the offense can get more into a rhythm. This allows for the passing game to hit big plays down the field. It hasn’t happened as much as we are accustomed to. Defensively, if the defense could have played as it did against Georgia, then the Yellow Jackets would be playing for an ACC title. The Yellow Jackets will look back at this stretch with a lot of regret and what could have been a magical season on the Flats. 

5. The run defense has top be a point of emphasis in the offseason

Not sure if it's closing down the B gap more, getting penetration, tackling, or being technically sound that needs to be addressed with the defense, but it simply is just not good enough to stop the run. The Yellow Jackets gave up 190 yards on the ground. Nate Frazier rushed for 108 on 16 carries and averaged 6.8 yards per rush. It’s been something the Yellow Jackets have struggled with all season. You look at the last game against Pittsburgh, true freshman Ja’Kyrian Turner rushed for 201 yards. NC State backup running back Jayden Scott rushed for 196 yards and a touchdown. If Georgia Tech wants to get back to the level they can play at defensively, they have to address the porous run defense and get it solved next year so they can play championship football and bigger games down the stretch.