ATHENS — Brent Key and Kirby Smart have very different public views on the Georgia-Georgia Tech rivalry.

For Smart, he knows he can’t emphasize this game as the end-all, be-all. Georgia has many rivalries and if you put too much emphasis on one game, it can throw your priorities out of whack.

Georgia’s goal isn’t to beat Georgia Tech every year, it’s to win a national championship.

“I don’t think you get real emotional about things like that,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on Monday. “I think you’re a lot better, coach when you stay composed and you coach your players and you teach your players what it’s gonna take to win the game. Which it will be a emotional game, but I don’t get emotional about it.”

With Key though, this game means everything. It’s why he readily admits that hate for Georgia runs through his blood.

“There’s nothing I hate more in the world. It’s probably the only thing I hate,” Key said of Georgia last June. “When I say hate, like, truly despise everything about it. I really do.”

Key has done a remarkable job rebuilding Georgia Tech into a respectable college football program. The Yellow Jackets went to a bowl game last year and enter this weekend’s game with a 7-4 record. That’s with having played two playoff-quality opponents already in Miami and Notre Dame. Georgia Tech did beat the Hurricanes as well, showing it can slay programs with superior resources.

Georgia Tech hasn’t been shy at taking pieces from Georgia’s championship program. The Yellow Jackets have three former Bulldog players on their current roster in linebacker EJ Lightsey and tight end Ryland Goede and Brett Seither. The Yellow Jackets also had former Georgia wide receiver Dominick Blaylock on their team last year.

However, the biggest former Bulldog that is shaping the Georgia Tech program is offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner. He’s been the offensive coordinator for the last two seasons after serving as an offensive analyst for Georgia for three seasons.

“Buster was incredible in terms of insight, ideas, work habits, recruiting,” Smart said. “He recruited really hard while he was here. He was very loyal. He did a tremendous job of that. He made me a better coach.”

Faulkner has gotten a lot out of the Georgia Tech offense this season, employing at two-quarterback system that has gotten plenty out of Haynes King and Aaron Philo.

A season ago, Faulkner’s offense ran for 205 yards against Georgia. The Yellow Jackets weren’t able to win, but they lost only 31-23. It was the first time since Georgia Tech won in 2016 that the Yellow Jackets hadn’t lost by more than 20 points to Georgia.

That result undoubtedly emboldened the Yellow Jackets. It also very much got Georgia’s attention.

Even while Georgia is off chasing bigger goals, it has noticed the gains made by Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have battled for more recruits with Georgia in this 2025 recruiting cycle than they have in recent memory, even landing the likes of Tae Harris, Chrisitan Garrett and 5-star Josh Petty

“They’ve got really good players and they’ve got really good coaching. I know he recruited me,” Georgia offensive lineman Dylan Fairchild said of Key. “I’ve developed a relationship with him, you know, in recruiting. He’s a great coach, and it’s just going to be a great matchup. We’re really looking forward to it.”

This past offseason, Smart did return the favor and grabbed some coaches who had worked with Key at Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs hired away Josh Crawford to be the team’s running backs coach after he was the wide receivers coach for Georgia Tech.

He’s been instrumental in helping get the most out of freshman Nate Frazier while helping Georgia recruit the state. Crawford was a long-time high school coach in the state of Georgia prior to moving to the college ranks.

“He’s very intelligent and does a good job of demanding excellence from those kids,” Smart said of Crawford. “That’s a big part. He was a really good high school coach in the state as well, which I think is big.”

Georgia also hired former Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker as an analyst this offseason. Thacker had been demoted from his role of defensive coordinator during the 2023 season, but he’s been a positive addition for the Georgia staff.

“He’s got a lot of energy, enthusiasm,” Smart said of Thacker. “Defensively, he’s been great for our defense in terms of energy, excitement. Players really like him. He does a great job of knowing his role, of defining his role, and being very helpful, and he’s been a big asset for us.”

Smart knows the long-time members of this program understand the importance of the rivalry. Smart and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo played against Georgia Tech, while players like Fairchild and Tate Ratledge have a chance to finish their careers with an unbeaten record against the Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech is undeniably a more confident program under Key. There is a swagger about the Yellow Jackets that they are carrying into Friday’s game.

And while Georgia won’t publicly do what Tech has done to bring motivation into the rivalry, the Bulldogs are well aware of what they’re going to need to do to take down the Yellow Jackets.

“It’s a rivalry game. They’re going to come in with a lot of energy and hate towards us,” cornerback Daylen Everette said. “So I guess we’ve got to do the same.”

Dawgs on Twitter

Good Dawg of the Day