TAMPA, Fla. — For the first time in seven years, Georgia Tech has won a bowl game.
The Yellow Jackets finished off a very productive season in head coach Brent Key's first full season with the team by capping off the year with a 30-17 win over the University of Central Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl.
After going down 14-0 early, the Jackets responded with 17 second-quarter points to tie the game up at 17-all heading to the break.
In the second half, their weakest unit all season stepped up in a big way. Tech's defense shut out UCF's offense in the second half in dominant form.
After the offense was led by quarterback Haynes King for most of the season, it was Georgia Tech's ground game that shined brightly in Tampa, Florida, on Friday night.
The Jackets rushed for over 270 yards, led by sophomore running back Jamal Haynes, who tallied 128 yards on 18 carries. King even provided a spark of his own with his legs, rushing for 89 yards on 12 carries -- including a 5-yard score in the second quarter.
The big play of the game came for the Jackets just before halftime, when King connected with wide receiver Malik Rutherford on a 41-yard touchdown pass to tie the game up with just 56 seconds before halftime.
The Yellow Jackets had a bounce-back year in head coach Brent Key's first full year as head coach. They were 7-6 overall and 5-3 in the ACC, with ranked wins over Miami (FL) on the road and North Carolina at home on The Flats.
It was Georgia Tech's first winning season since 2018, Paul Johnson's last season as head coach.
Key got some revenge over the team he used to coach for 10 years, from 2005-2015. In 2022, Tech lost to UCF in Orlando 27-10 under then-head coach Geoff Collins.
Key also defeated his wife's alma mater, which he joked about prior to the bowl game matchup.
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