Restoring a program does not have to be complicated. An authentic culture off the field, a clear identity on the field, and a quarterback you can use as the foundation for all of it—those aren’t easy tasks, but they aren’t complicated. Brent Key had Georgia Tech moving back in the right direction roughly three minutes after taking over for Geoff Collins and has his team in position for a big payoff in 2025.
Key rallied the team to a 4-4 finish after taking over mid-season in 2022, and 2025 will be
the program’s third consecutive bowl season after four years of purgatory under Collins. The Jackets are going to finish with a winning record in league play for the third straight year as well.
Tech’s 8-0 start to this season required a bit of good fortune, but then, a season like this from a good-but-not-great team usually does. They kicked a 55-yard field goal in the waning seconds to beat Clemson, denied Wake Forest’s two-pointer-for-the-win try in overtime, and utilized a couple of red zone takeaways to ultimately overcome a sluggish performance at Duke.
Underpinning their success is Haynes King, who is having the best year of his career. He is the centerpiece and the force behind Tech’s tough-minded offense, and few are as heavily involved in the action as he is. Tech averages about 65 plays per game, and between his passing and rushing attempts, King has the ball in his hands for 42 of them.
He’s averaging 16 rushing attempts per game, up from 11 a year ago, and most importantly, he’s been able to stay on the field—he basically missed a month of the 2024 season because of injury. He has 651 yards rushing, making him the ACC’s third-leading rusher, and nobody has more rushing touchdowns. His success rate on running plays is 55%.
He is a battering ram that demoralizes opposing defenses, which also opens up opportunities in the passing game. He’s completed over 72% of his throws for an average of 8.0 yards per attempt—right behind CJ Bailey in the latter category—and has just one interception on the season. That interception came in Week 1.
Put it all together and you have a robust offense with no obvious weaknesses that SP+ rates as the 17th-best in the country.
They’ve needed it, because the defense’s performance has been troublesome. ACC opponents are averaging 4.5 yards per carry and 8.1 yards per pass attempt—6.2 yards per play overall. Tech’s success rate against the run and the pass ranks 105th and 99th, respectively. The Jackets have helped themselves by getting off the field on third downs (36.4% conversion rate allowed) and limiting the damage done by opponents in the red zone—teams have converted red zone trips into touchdowns just half the time, making Tech’s defense a top-20 unit in that respect. But the underlying performance is not great.
NC State not only needs to figure out how to slow down Haynes King, but also how to be more opportunistic than the Jackets. State should be able to move the ball, and Hollywood Smothers might have himself a day, but that will be for naught if it cannot finish drives with touchdowns. Field goals ain’t gonna do it in this one.
