What Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said about Notre Dame football before facing Irish

Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key spoke to the media Tuesday ahead of his Yellow Jackets (5-2) hosting No. 12 Notre Dame (5-1) in Atlanta on Saturday. Here are some of the key points he hit on related to the Fighting Irish in his weekly press conference.

Opening statement

“We have a big game this weekend on Saturday. I’m not going to sit here and say it’s not a big game. I’m not going to give you coach speak and say it’s the next game on the schedule and say all games are big games. This is a really big game. This is a really big opportunity for this program.

“But with all opportunities come challenges. The opportunity is Saturday, but the challenge is right now. The challenge is today. The challenge is tomorrow. The challenge is in our preparation and our detail and our focus and our toughness and how we prepare this week to be able to go into the game and play for a full 60 minutes, which I feel 100 percent confident our team will continue to do that, and we’ve got to continue to improve on the execution and decision-making within games, as I say, the line of fire, within the plays. We improve some then there are others when we have those things. We got to continue to improve on that.

“Started it on Sunday. Obviously on the field today, thought we had a good practice today. Went a little bit longer than we have. We’ll cut back some tomorrow to balance it out. We’re excited to play. We’ve got to prepare in a big way in order to play a big game. It is what it is.

“Talented football team we’re getting ready to play. What are they, 5-1? 6-1? Yeah, 5-1. I’m really confused with the 5-1s vs. the 6-1s with the extra game and Week 0. I’m all thrown off on this thing. Usually you just take your record and add it together and figure the other team is about the same, right?

“Marcus [Freeman] has done a really good job. Been there for three years now. His tenacity as a player when he was a player and as a defensive coach, you see that in the team. They’re at the top in almost every defensive category.

“They’re going to run the football. They’re a run-first team. Got a really good quarterback who’s good throwing the football as well as good with his feet. Very similar to our quarterback in what he does and what he can do. Probably a little more designed quarterback runs in the open field on normal downs than us. They have a big offensive line. They’re young. They have some guys in there that are playing for the first time this season but you see them each week come together more and more and become a more cohesive unit.

“We’re excited to play them. We’re excited to play Mercedes-Benz. Excited to have our fans there. Excited to have our student body come over, a mile down the road, and be a part of the outcome of this game. I know they will. Excited about it. Can’t wait to go play. We got a lot of work between now and then to get done.”

On how formidable Notre Dame’s defense is

“First off, formidable is a very good choice of word. I can’t spell it. ‘For-mid-a-ble.’

“They got good players and a good scheme. They’re not an ultra-complicated scheme. They got enough confidence in their scheme where it looks the same. They’ll blitz out of or send pressure out of tweaks in the coverage, but at the end of the day they’re going to line up and play four-down. They’re going to play man coverage and challenge you at the receiver spot and make you throw on time. Try to limit the run game with an extra hat in the box. They got good players doing it.

“Obviously, the head coach is a defensive coach. But they got one of the best defensive coordinators in the country in Al Golden calling the defense. I don’t know him personally, but people I’m very close to respect him a lot. Know him, played for him and know what type of coach he is. You see the tenacity in the defense and they take on that personality as well.”

On Georgia Tech starting quarterback Haynes King being -day-to-day’

“He’s day-to-day. We got a lot of guys who are banged up right now. Played a physical game, 60-minute game Saturday. But that’s what this time of year is. Everybody is playing in September, early September, everybody is rocking and rolling and expecting the best. You get to the point where we are in the season and have things to play for, it’s a blessing. It’s what we want. Are we banged up? Yeah, we’re banged up. We got several guys who will be day-to-day. We’ll make a decision at game time if they go or not.”

On what stands out about facing Notre Dame twice as a player at Georgia Tech

“That’s 27 years ago. I don’t think any of the players are the same. Bob Davie is not on the sideline. So you’re going back to the mystique of Notre Dame, aren’t ya? Twenty-seven years. That was my first start ever. I was a redshirt freshman. Went up there, first game I ever played in. It was a lot of memories. I can’t tell you the second, fourth, fifth, 10th, 30th, but I can tell you the first and the last. And I can tell you, probably, what would have been the 24th, which was the Gator Bowl in ’98.

“We were 1-1 vs. them when I was a player. Lost one time up there, won one time in a bowl game. Haven’t seen them on film a lot. We’ve played them a couple times since then. But it’s a big game. Their brand does a lot for them. It carries a lot of weight. When I say it does a lot for them it doesn’t play the game for them. But it does bring fans. They travel well. They’re going to have a lot of fans wherever they play. It’s a historic brand. You think college football, you think Notre Dame. Historically, you think college football, you think Georgia Tech. That’s our job right now is to make Georgia Tech the present as well as in the past.

“But that’s why it’s a big game. They’re going to have good players year in and year out. They’re going to have a good team year in and year out. They’ve got really good coaches. They’re well-coached. They try to limit mistakes like everyone does and not beat themselves, but it’s a great opportunity when you get to play a game like this. It really is.”

On playing Notre Dame in a venue like Mercedes-Benz Stadium

“It’s one of the greatest stadiums in the world. It’s a great venue to play a game in. The sight lines are good. The field is good. Everything about it. The facilities. The locker room. It’s great for the fans. It’s pretty cool when you talk about history, to play Notre Dame, I was in the first game at Mercedes-Benz. We opened up Mercedes-Benz. Have had a lot of chances to play in there. Gone to games there. Concerts. Soccer. Concerts. I think there is one beginning of next June. Pretty big one that’s coming in there. “Darkness, imprisoning me…” Yeah. That’s a lot time from now, but it’s a great venue. Excited to be able to play in it and be a part of it.”

On Georgia Tech sharing a common opponent with Notre Dame in Louisville

“Well, they lost. So, you’re saying we’re supposed to lose now? If you want to do that, OK, let’s see. You could go Georgia State, Vanderbilt … Ala— you could, it makes zero impact. It has zero impact on the game. We watch every team they’ve played this year. We’ve broke down every game, this year, last year going back probably five years for different things. We look at every bit of film. We don’t look at necessarily the common teams they’ve played. If they’ve played seven games, there’s seven games of film. This day and age in college football, it’s usually Saturday night before I get a chance to look at the scores from the week or from the day. And man, you line up in any given weekend and anybody can beat anybody. That’s what makes it fun. The parity right now in college football is what’s making it such a great sport for the fans. It’s also great for the payers and coaches to be able to have it that way.”

On if Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci preparing for Notre Dame with Duke last year helps him this year

“Um, not really. I don’t think so. There are a lot of teams we play year in, year out, and you start back at square one. It’s basically ground zero on Sunday when we start preparing for teams. Doesn’t matter if you played against players on that team or coaches against players on that team or played against a certain team or coached against them in the past. The past is just that — it’s the past. We’re looking at what’s relevant now. Schemes change. Coaches change. Players change. Week in, week out, people are going to change and make tweaks to their scheme as well. So I don’t think it really makes an impact.”