Georgia Tech football lost an absolute heartbreaker on Friday night. After having its arch rival Georgia on the ropes for most of regulation, the Bulldogs came back at the end of the fourth quarter to force overtime and eventually won after eight overtimes 44-42.
In a shocking turn of events, Georgia Tech felt like the better team for most of regulation despite playing on the road against a top 10 team that is highly regarded as one of the best programs in the nation. This loss will feel like a missed opportunity for Georgia Tech, who had a great chance to knock off one of its biggest rivals.
After the game, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key was visibly upset about the loss at his postgame press conference, according to Victor Prieto of Fox 5 Atlanta.
“It’s tough,” Key said after the game, per . “Love that team in there. They fought their asses off. No moral victories, but I’m proud of those guys nd we’ll use this to continue to fuel us. We’ll continue to improve in all areas of the program.
Georgia tech drops to 7-5 with this loss and will have a bowl game to get ready for next month. Regardless of this result, this win caps off what has been a very successful season for Key and company, and the Yellow Jackets appear to be on the right track with him at the helm.
Where Georgia Tech lost the game against Georgia
Any classic game that comes down to the wire like this one did is decided at the end of the game in the pivotal moments, but there were a few moments earlier in this game where Georgia Tech could have put the game out of reach.
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Georgia was struggling mightily in the first half of this one. Dominic Lovett put the ball on the ground, Georgia Tech got a stop on fourth-and-1 and the Georgia offense as a whole just couldn’t get anything going offensively.
While it felt like Georgia Tech was in a good spot with a 17-0 lead at halftime, it arguably could have been a lot worse. Haynes King and company outgunned Georgia by more than 200 yards in the first half and left plenty of points on the field down in Georgia territory.
On Georgia Tech’s second drive, the Yellow Jackets were stuffed on fourth-and-1 from the Georgia 25-yard line on a run up the middle. Key could have taken three there, but he was probably right to go for it and try to punch it in for a touchdown. However, Georgia Tech came up empty there. On their next series, King missed an open touchdown throw on third down before Aidan Birr doinked a 25-yard field goal off the upright.
Based on what you think of those situations, Georgia Tech left between six and 14 points on the field in the first half when it really had Georgia reeling. The Yellow Jackets could have executed better down the stretch, but that was their chance to put Georgia away early.