In what will go down as the most memorable season in Georgia Tech football history for a lot of younger fans, the Yellow Jackets will close the season out with one last game in the Birmingham Bowl against an old SEC foe: the Vanderbilt Commodores.
The two teams have a lot to play for in the game, simply because of pride. If there is one thing that fans of both teams can agree on, it is that the players on each of the teams have gotten where they are this season because of pride and grit, cornerstones of how to build a program from the bottom up.
The Commodores are 6-6, and a win could clinch the team’s first winning record in a season since 2013. Don’t let the record fool you though, the Commodores can be a tough opponent for any team, just ask an Alabama Crimson Tide team that was No.1 in the country before suffering a 40-35 loss in their visit to the Commodores.
The Yellow Jackets come in with a former Yellow Jacket player leading the way, as head coach Brent Key looks to give the Yellow Jackets their first eight-win season since 2016, when they won nine games. Key has seemingly brought the Yellow Jackets out of the mud since his arrival, winning 18 games since taking over for the struggling program in the middle of the 2022 season.
The Birmingham Bowl may not hold a lot of weight to the average football fan, but for football lovers and both fan bases, the game would be a signature win and a great momentum builder for both head coaches heading into next season.
The contest is set to kick off at 3:30 Eastern time today.