Closing in on more program history, No. 8 Georgia Tech will take its unbeaten record into Raleigh, N.C., against North Carolina State in Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday night.
A victory for Georgia Tech (8-0, 5-0) would match the program’s longest single-season winning streak since beginning 9-0 in 1966. The Yellow Jackets are 5-0 in the ACC for the first time since joining the conference in 1983.
But the records mean little to head coach Brent Key, who just wants to go 1-0 this week.
“I view it like this, to go where we want to go, and where everybody wants to go, we’re only to the halfway point,” Key said. “You want to be in a position to be able to play games in November that mean something. Challenging games against good competition, and that’s what we have in front of us.”
Fresh off a 41-16 win over Syracuse last week, the Yellow Jackets’ attack is led by Haynes King, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for a pair of scores in the victory. Leading a historic start to the season, King has thrown for 1,480 yards, seven touchdowns and just one interception while leading the ACC with 12 rushing scores on 651 rushing yards.
Although King is an outsider at the moment, Key said he believes the sixth-year quarterback should be in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony in December.
“Find me somebody else that brings more value to a team (than King),” Key said. “I’m glad he’s on my team. I don’t have a vote, but it would be a shame if he’s not in New York, and I think he will be there.”
North Carolina State (4-4, 1-3) is playing for bowl eligibility ahead of a difficult two-week stretch. The Wolfpack have dropped four of their past five games, and the road will get tougher for head coach Dave Doeren’s group, which will host the Yellow Jackets before heading to No. 10 Miami on Nov. 15.
“Nobody’s given up. We’ve just got to play better, and it starts with me,” Doeren said. “It’s about trying to get these guys in these last four weeks, one game at a time, to play the best football they can play. They’re frustrated, they’re mad, and they want to do something about it. One thing about this sport, you put the ball down, anything can happen.”
North Carolina State’s only win since Sept. 11 was over FCS-member Campbell on Oct. 4. Last week, the Wolfpack allowed 529 yards in a 53-34 loss at Pitts. The quarterback play hasn’t been the issue in Raleigh, as sophomore CJ Bailey’s 2,071 passing yards rank third in the ACC.
“I think CJ continues to lead our football team really well,” Doeren said. “Proud of him.”
Doeren, the conference’s second-longest tenured coach behind Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, is having to address rumors of his time at North Carolina State ending as the Wolfpack try to avoid a second straight losing season.
“Wins and losses matter a lot. I understand all that,” Doeren said. “I understand the profession. It’s not pressure. It’s a privilege to get to do what I do, and at some point, if they want someone else to do it, then God bless them. But I’m going to take advantage of my opportunities, as long as I get them, and fight for these kids, because they’re going to fight for me.”
