Georgia Tech looks better in loss to Vols, but nothing to celebrate

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Georgia Tech quarterback Alberto Mendoza runs the ball during the first half of the game against Tennessee at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets lost 45-24 against the Volunteers. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

This isn’t what anyone expected from the start of coach Brent Key’s fourth season. And it certainly wasn’t what the fan base was hoping for after Key said all the right things this week — taking accountability for the loss to the Buffaloes while acknowledging his team was soft and sloppy.

The play improved, but if this was what the Jackets look like after they’ve been embarrassed and want to show who they really are, let’s just say it probably didn’t cause any Tech fans to wipe tears from their face, inspired by their team’s brave fight.

“I thought we made some progress, but nowhere near the level that I think we need to consistently play at throughout the season,” Key said.

If you wanted to think so, it confirmed that the Jackets are at the beginning stages of a miserable season.

Or there was enough to think that there could be more to this team than what it has shown through two games.

The Jackets are something of a Rorschach test. You can see what you want.

You can say the Jackets have been in free fall since starting 8-0 last season, now having lost six of their past seven games overall, and not being far from losing all seven.

In two particularly critical games in that span — the home loss to Pitt in November, when a win would have sent the Jackets to the ACC championship game, and Saturday, when the Jackets were in prove-it mode after the flaming disaster against Colorado — Tech did not rise to the challenge.

Key’s changes to the staff — particularly the hiring of offensive coordinator George Godsey after Buster Faulkner departed to Florida — have blown up in his face. The defensive line that Key touted before the season has been trampled in two games for 482 rushing yards, including 299 Saturday.

The playmaking ability on defense is obvious, but Key said that players took themselves out of position trying to make plays, allowing Tennessee running backs to bounce runs to the outside or back to the inside to make the Jackets pay for their lack of discipline.

“We’ve got to adjust faster and be more consistent with it,” linebacker E.J. Lightsey said.

You can say, “With two offensive touchdowns in 20 possessions thus far, Godsey is not the answer, Tech pedigree or not.”

You can say, “Book it: This team is bound for three or four wins.”

Or, you can say that Tech played a really bad game against Colorado, and sometimes that just happens. (This is not a terribly convincing start to this perspective, and getting rolled for 447 yards by the Volunteers in just 66 plays doesn’t really help.) And the Buffaloes are better than expected, so a one-point loss to them will be easier to stomach by season’s end.

The life that the Tech offense showed in the second half shows that Godsey is getting traction.

The Jackets averaged 5.9 yards per play in the second half (up from 4.2 in the first half) and scored their first two offensive touchdowns of the season (yikes).

Key said that the offense gained confidence in the second half, making adjustments in the run game and getting quarterback Alberto Mendoza into a rhythm.

They were in position to score and make the it 31-24 early in the fourth quarter with a first-and-goal at the Tennessee 9 yard line.

If you were watching, you probably felt glimmers of hope watching running backs Justice Haynes and Trelain Maddox tear through the Volunteers defense on that drive. You may have started to think that the offense had come to life and that Tech would have a chance after falling behind 31-10 in the third quarter.

However, a sack on second-and-5 when the offensive line couldn’t pick up a blitz (or Mendoza held the ball too long) derailed the drive. It ultimately failed when Key, down 14 points, went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 12 and Mendoza’s pass into the end zone was broken up.

That was costly, as were Mendoza’s two second-quarter interceptions, one returned for a touchdown and the other late in the half when the Jackets were in field-goal range.

“He’ll grow from those,” Key said. “He’ll learn from them.”

Likewise, the defense can develop more consistency as it gains familiarity with new coordinator Jason Semore’s scheme.

Also worth considering is that Tech probably won’t play an opponent as strong as Tennessee until facing No. 2 Georgia in the final game of the regular season.

Let’s say Tech beats Mercer and then Stanford on the road in the next two weeks to level itself at 2-2. The improvement of Mendoza and the defense could put Tech in position to win seven games.

That’s a decent outcome for a team that just lost a generational quarterback and an elite offensive coordinator.

Both outcomes seem plausible.

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