Geoff Collins is generally regarded as one of the worst college football hires of the 2000s. Collins coached Georgia Tech to its lowest point since the 1978-1981 years. He went 3-9, 3-7, and 3-9 and was off to a 1-3 in his 4th year. He lost his last two games in 2021 by a score 100-0. If you include the beginning of the 2022 year, Georgia Tech was outscored 141-10.
Brent Key was brought in and went 4-4 as the interim head coach in 2022. Then he won 7, 7, and 9 games. What has happened in 2026 to Georgia Tech is stunning and could lead to a season that’s worse than anything Geoff Collins ever coached.
At 1-3, Georgia Tech has already lost to a bad Colorado team and a rebuilding Stanford team. Offensively, they rank an abysmal 90th in the country. The defense is even worse, ranking 103rd, and the schedule is brutal down the stretch. Where are the wins going to come from?
The next two games are Duke and Virginia Tech, who a combined 8-0. Boston College may be the best chance at a win, but they have something Georgia Tech doesn’t: a win over a P4 school. Pittsburgh is 4-0, Louisville is inconsistent but nearly beat Ole Miss and did beat SMU. The finish is 3-1 Clemson, 3-1 Wake Forest, and national title contender Georgia.
That’s a schedule where you have one 50/50 game, and Georgia Tech will be underdogs likely in all the others. It’s a very real possibility that Georgia Tech goes 1-11 or 2-10.
Do you know how bad you have to be in a given year to coach even a single season worse than Geoff Collins?
Brent Key deserves credit for rebuilding Georgia Tech to a competitive program after the Collins era, but in his last 9 games he’s 2-7. Georgia Tech might be lucky to be 2-7 after 9 games this year. This could be historically one of the worst seasons at Georgia Tech in the 30 years. In 1994, Georgia Tech went 1-10 under Bill Lewis, and there’s a danger a similar season could be possible.
If it does, Brent Key won’t be fired, but he’ll enter 2027 with one very hot seat.
