Brent Key on facing UGA at Mercedes-Benz Stadium: ‘I couldn’t give a crap’
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Brent Key is well aware of the history of Georgia Tech’s football rivalry with Georgia, which is also known as “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.”
When a rivalry gets that kind of a nickname, that’s when you know it’s serious business. The Yellow Jackets and Bulldogs have been going at it since what seems like the beginning of time. That’s because the combatants from the Peach State first played way back in 1893. That game took place in Athens, and Georgia Tech was a rude guest in a 28-6 victory.
Unfortunately for the program that Key leads, that first victory over Georgia wasn’t a sign of things to come. The Bulldogs have owned the rivalry pretty much ever since, going 72-41-5 against the Yellow Jackets in the all-time series that has either been played in Athens or Atlanta.
Until this season, that is. For the first ever, the Georgia-Georgia Tech collision will take place somewhere other than the 2 campuses. Instead of being in Athens or Atlanta, the 2025 edition will be staged at a neutral site at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The showdown will be on Black Friday, Nov. 28, in a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC.
Georgia has won the past 7 matchups, including last year’s ridiculous 44-42 victory in Athens that went 8 overtimes. It’s a streak that Key and the Yellow Jackets will look to end, and on Wednesday during his session with reporters at ACC Media Days in Charlotte, Key didn’t mince words about where the 2025 game would be played.
“I couldn’t care less. We could play them at Piedmont Park. I’m serious,” said Key, referring to an urban park located in Atlanta. “We’ll go home tonight and play someone at 5 o’clock at Piedmont Park. I (couldn’t) give a crap where we play.”
Key’s point was that no matter where the rivalry is staged, it still means everything, and he wants his players to know that.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
