PITTSBURGH — Brent Key held the football given to him by his new boss and pointed to the gold “GT” logo on it.
It’s a symbol the former Georgia Tech offensive lineman, now the interim head coach tasked with holding his alma mater’s struggling program together, has held close for a quarter-century and counting.
“That means everything to me,” Key said, tapping the embossed letters for effect.
Sure looked like it, for both Key and the group he’s now suddenly in charge of leading.
Five days after Geoff Collins was fired four games into his fourth season, the Yellow Jackets responded with a stunning 26-21 victory over No. 24 Pittsburgh on Saturday night that was as emphatic as it was improbable.
The defense harassed the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference champions into three turnovers. Jackets quarterback Jeff Sims threw for a touchdown and ran for another. Hassan Hall gashed the Panthers for 157 rushing yards.
And Key — who admittedly didn’t know what to do during the pregame warmup after being promoted from offensive line coach to take over for Collins — was at ease in the middle of it all, creating a self-confidence in his group that appeared nonexistent during a 1-3 start that cost Collins and athletic director Todd Stansbury their jobs.
“After the week we had, we were able to block out all the noise, eliminate all the distractions and … focus on moving forward,” Key said. “So happy for these kids. We believed in them. We knew they had it in them.”
Georgia Tech (2-3, 1-1) ended a nine-game losing streak to Football Bowl subdivision opponents — the last five by a combined score of 210-20 — by frustrating the Panthers (3-2, 0-1) for long stretches and making the plays that mattered late.
Linebacker Charlie Thomas recovered a fumble and picked off Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis to set up two of Gavin Edwards’ four field goals. The inspired Jackets converted the Panthers’ trio of turnovers into 13 points, including a 21-yard touchdown pass from Sims to E.J. Jenkins with 10:30 to play that gave Tech a 19-7 lead.
The Panthers drew within five on a 26-yard pass from Slovis to Jaden Bradley with 1:57 to go, but Hall raced 63 yards on the first play of Tech’s ensuing possession, and Sims later darted in from 18 yards out with 1:25 remaining to effectively seal it.
“I think Coach Key, he just came in, he knew that Coach Collins being fired was a devastating time for us,” Sims said. “He came in and just kept our confidence up.”
Key, the first alum to lead the program since Bill Curry’s tenure in the 1980s, made a pretty compelling opening statement that he should be considered for the full-time gig to replace Collins. What Tech lacked in aesthetics it made up for in grit while largely shutting down an offense that came in averaging 36 points a game.
Tasked with trying to make something of the season after the Jackets stumbled out of the gate, Key promised they would “play the best brand of football we possibly can.” At soggy and cold Acrisure Stadium, that meant relying heavily on a defense that never let Slovis or the Panthers get comfortable until they were too far behind.
The Southern California transfer completed a deceiving 26 of 45 passes for 305 yards with three touchdowns — two in the final two minutes — and an interception as Pitt’s offense sputtered in the second half without junior running back Israel Abanikanda. The ACC’s leading rusher exited late in the first half with an undisclosed injury, and his replacement, Vincent Davis, fumbled twice in Pitt territory to set up Tech scores.
“Offense didn’t really get started until the last two series of the game,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “… Obviously I didn’t do a good enough job of getting them ready.”
The Panthers began the season talking about repeating as ACC champs and maybe mounting an insurgent run at the College Football Playoff. An overtime loss to Tennessee last month derailed the CFP dream, as remote as it was, and now they’re playing catchup in the Coastal Division just one game into conference play.
Georgia Tech hosts Duke (4-1, 1-0) next Saturday. The Jackets beat the Blue Devils last October, their last victory over an FBS opponent before the upset of Pitt.