Georgia Tech going for 10th win in Pop-Tarts Bowl matchup against BYU

Key seemingly has coached two different teams over the past four months. He watched his Jackets win their first eight games, rise to No. 7 in The Associated Press Top 25 and put themselves in position to reach the ACC title game and the 12-team CFP. But when the calendar turned to November, Tech was dismantled at North Carolina State, needed a late rally to beat a one-win Boston College team, got rocked by Pittsburgh with an ACC title game berth on the line and then lost once again to rival Georgia to end the month.

What transpired during the year’s 11th month put a major damper on the narrative of the Tech season, yet Key’s team still has an opportunity to win a 10th game, something the program hasn’t done since 2014.

“We’ve taken great steps the last three years in the program of what we’ve been able to do and accomplish. This is one of those glass ceilings, I guess you could say, that you’re always looking to get toward,” Key said. “The one thing we know is we cannot control the outcome of a game. All we can control is what goes into it, how we prepare, how we compete. And we can’t control the outcome. We’re not an outcome-based organization.

“It’s important (to get to 10 wins). It’s big for the program, but nine wins is big, too, right now. You’re always wanting to improve and get better and better and better.”

To come away victorious Saturday, the Jackets have their work cut out for them.

BYU’s offense, even without star running back LJ Martin, features a tough and talented quarterback in Bear Bachmeier, is outstanding in the red zone and in its ability to pile up yards on the ground. Tech’s defense has been impressive in its past six quarters, but faltered greatly throughout November.

“This offense, obviously, they run it well. They throw it well. But with the element of quarterback run, it forces you to play 11-on-11,” Tech defensive coordinator Blake Gideon said Wednesday of Saturday’s matchup. “That’s always a possibility, and (BYU offensive coordinator Aaron) Roderick does a great job of mixing that in. There’s no real tell or down-and-distance area of the field when it’s coming.

“It just forces that to be a constant reminder in all of our guys’ heads of it could happen here, it could happen here, and we can’t take anything for granted just because the situation normally means this or this. They do a really nice job of changing things up and obviously they have got the players to be able to handle all that mentally and execute it physically.”

Saturday’s game will be the final one for Tech quarterback Haynes King, a Heisman Trophy candidate this season, running back Jamal Haynes, wide receiver Malik Rutherford and guards Joe Fusile and Keylan Rutledge. Their task is to find cracks in a BYU defense that is solid in defending the run and has allowed more than 30 points in only one game this season.

Tech also will be without three full-time offensive assistants who have left for jobs elsewhere. Quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke will be calling the offensive attack Saturday.

“I think the biggest thing is we’re playing against a really good defense. (BYU defensive coordinator Jay) Hill has done an outstanding job with that defensive unit,” Weinke said Wednesday. “They are big, they are long and they are strong, and we know what we’re going up against. We’ll see multiple fronts, multiple coverages, and so not only are they individually really about players, but they play well as a unit.

“We’ve got our hands full, and as we game planned, there’s not a lot of holes in this defense. We’re going to have to play sound football, and we’re going to have to execute, and I think it’s going to be a 60-minute ballgame.”

The Jackets are four-point underdogs going into the matchup and will be trying to avoid a three-game losing streak for the first time during Key’s tenure as head coach. Tech also has lost three in a row to the Cougars in four all-time meetings.