Okay, I’m all in, let’s go 12-0.
Game Recap in Three Sentences
A slugfest from start to finish, Tech lost the lead in the third but managed to wrestle it back in the fourth with a 13-play, 90 yard TD drive capped off by a 2-point conversion.
The defense played big in the right moments, forcing two turnovers, a missed FG, and two late three-and-outs.
Aidan Birr came up huge again with a clutch kick from 55 as time expired.
Above The Line of the Week
- Aidan Birr, sir. After what feels like ten years of unreliable kicking, Birr has me finally feeling confident when the FG team runs out. He’s now Tech’s career leader at just under 81% (minimum 20 attempts) and is 6-6 this year.
- Sun shirts. Every lobster I walked past on Saturday made me feel good about my gameday attire. As a guy who used to get sunburnt a lot, I’m trying to be better about this nowadays.
- Death marches. We went on a 13-play, 90 yard drive that ate up 6:15 to open the fourth quarter. Our next drive was the game-winner and it was 10 plays, 38 yards, and 3:26. When crunch time came, the offense buckled down and did their job.
Bluesky Roundup
5 Star (7 Star, 5 Star) Developmental Program Haiku of the Week
Pom poms and towels
Strewn across our storied field
Behold, purple death
Make Me Believe
How can you not be romantic about baseball Georgia Tech football? Oftentimes an infuriating pit of despair, this program has a knack for pulling your heartstrings with a moment like Saturday. I never want to pull my hair out more than when I’m watching our games but sometimes it’s all worth it to get caught up in the moments of magic along the way.
Only college football can do this. Only college football can put together all the narratives of a top-15 win, a whiteout at home, a program trying to better itself, a team you haven’t beaten in 10 years, a coach with his heart on his sleeve, a QB that leaves it all on the field, and a hungry fanbase that wants more.
Throughout the Collins years I complained nonstop about a lack of identity. Now, under Big Game Brent, our identity is clear: we’re the underdog that wants to punch teams in the mouth. We may not look good half the time, but that won’t stop us from slinging mud and trying to bludgeon our way out of any and all problems. Haynes King will bash you over and over again until either he falls apart or you give in. It’s stressful to watch, but it’s also beautiful. It’d probably be fun to have some P4 blowouts where we look amazing, but I’m not convinced that’s a possibility; it seems that we need a little adversity to get the juice flowing. At this point everyone knows that playing us is gonna hurt and I love that.
Let’s get back to Haynes King for a moment – good lord son. Philo seems cool and all, but man am I gonna miss King giving 120% at all times and evolving into a devastatingly blunt weapon when we need him most. This was the perfect Haynes King game: a solid passing line, but breaking the soul of the other team with his legs. This is like the tenth time he’s just completely taken over a game and refused to lose. People say he’s the toughest QB in college football and I don’t think that’s hyperbolic; a resurrected John Heisman would love him.
Every year there’s a moment that I get sucked in, and this was it for 2025. I know deep down that I’m gonna get my heart broken at some point, but I don’t care. I’m a believer, along for the ride.
Look Ahead
Up next is Temple (9/20, 4:30pm). I certainly don’t want to overlook it, but this should be a blowout opportunity. The Owls were trounced this weekend by Oklahoma, gaining just 105 total yards. I need this to be a take-care-of-business game: get up big early, rest King and give Philo a lot of reps, and show me that the defense can lock down bad teams.
Programming note: be on the lookout for the 35mm shots from Saturday being published tomorrow!
