Brent Key Declines to Say If There Will Be A Change in Play-Calling on Defense

It was one of the most forgettable homecomings that Georgia Tech could have imagined on Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets hosted the Boston College Eagles, who came into the game 3-3 and a team that barely beat FCS opponent Maine earlier in the year, and lost by 22 points. After leading at halftime 13-12, Georgia Tech lost the second half 37-14.and the Boston College rushing attack totaled nearly 400 yards. It was another dismal performance for that side of the ball and coordinator Jason Semore, and after the game, there were questions about if head coach Brent Key was going to make a change with the defensive play-calling.

As of this moment, Key is declining to answer that question, but has taken responsibility for how the team played.

"Yeah, I won't talk about changes. Again, we'll talk about all that in-house. But right now, with that performance on the field, obviously what we've been doing is not working. And I'm not talking about just that position. I'm talking about across the board. So I told the team in the locker room, I'm going to play with you guys. I want to play. I want to compete. Same with everybody in the organization."

Will a change help the defense?

To be fair, injuries did play a big role in how the game played out on Saturday, but it was still no excuse for how Georgia Tech played.

They were missing Tawfiq Thomas, Noah Carter, Savion Riley, Kelvin Hill, Vincent Carroll-Jackson, A.J. Hoffler, and Daiquan White, among several others, but allowing a team such as Boston College to run for 399 yards, average 8.5 yards per rush, and nearly eight yards per play is something else entirely.

Semore was brought in because of his ability to coach up linebackers like he did previously at Georgia Tech with Charlie Thomas and Ace Eley, as well as his defenses at Marshall and Southern Miss being able to create takeaways and get to the quarterback. Georgia Tech is one of the worst teams in the country at creating turnovers, aside from getting five sacks against a porous Virginia Tech offensive line they are one of the worst teams at getting to the quarterback, and the linebacker play is some of the worst in the ACC on any given week.

Safe to say that through the first seven games of the season, Semore has not worked out at all and it looks to be another misfire at the defensive coordinator position for Brent Key.

Key criticized the coaching job his staff did against the Eagles, citing how BC was able to run the same play again and again for effectiveness:

"No, look, the kid's (BC quarterback Mason McKenzie) a good football player. I'm not taking anything away from him and the job he did and the job they did on offense by any means. They did a good job, right? It was the same play consistently over and over. I evaluated, like I said earlier, based on guys in position to make a play and do they win the job or win the rep or not win the rep. But when guys are not consistently in place, To make the play, that's 100% on myself who's coaching."

While this does not correlate with just Semore, Georgia Tech has lost halftime leads in multiple games this season, which also comes down to coaching.

"Yeah, I mean, that's five out of... Five out of seven games, we've been ahead at halftime. Five out of seven, we've been ahead at halftime. And lose the second half. So out -adjusted, out-coached at halftime, out-coached in the second half, out-played in the second half."

This season continues to spiral for Georgia Tech and it will be worth watching to see if any changes are made to the staff before the season ends.