ACC FOOTBALL COMPANION GUIDE • ALPHABETICAL 6 OF 17
2026 Season Snapshot • Atlanta, Georgia
9–3 (regular season)
ACC
Live schedule, lines and results for Georgia Tech.
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HEAD COACH
Brent Key — 4th season at Georgia Tech
LIFETIME COACHING RECORD
27–19 at Georgia Tech (incl. 8 games as interim)
A Georgia Tech alum and former offensive lineman who took over as interim head coach in Sept. 2022 after the program had gone 10-38 over its previous 48 games. Delivered the program's best season since at least 2016 in 2025 (9-3 through the ACC slate), earning a 5-year extension through 2030 at $6.5M annually — up $2M from his prior deal.
GEORGIA TECH ATS RECORD
No single published career ATS figure
Georgia Tech finished 2025 at 9-3 in the regular season (best since at least 2016) before fizzling over the final five games and a Pop-Tarts Bowl loss to BYU. Key was explicit that he's "not happy" with a 9-win season, setting national-championship-level expectations for 2026.
HEAD COACH SALARY (2026)
$6.5M
TEAM NIL VALUATION (EST.)
Not disclosed
PRIMARY NIL COLLECTIVE
Not publicly named
Coach salary per ESPN/Yahoo Sports (new 5-yr deal through 2030, signed Dec. 2025, up $2M from his prior contract). Georgia Tech has not disclosed a team NIL figure. Departed QB Haynes King individually carried a $1.7M NIL valuation in 2025 (tied for 25th nationally), by far the highest on the roster; OL Keylan Rutledge was next at $695K.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Buster Faulkner's successor • 1st season • Multiple
Both coordinators are new for 2026, a real total offensive and defensive scheme change in the same season the team also replaces its starting quarterback. Alberto Mendoza (brother of Indiana's Fernando Mendoza) inherits a run game built around Justice Haynes (857 rush yds, 10 TD at Michigan in 2025) and returning leading rusher Malachi Hosley (697 yds, 7 TD).
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
New hire • 1st season • Multiple
A full defensive coordinator change alongside the offensive one; beat writers note the defense actually returns more experienced talent than the offense and had a strong portal/recruiting cycle to build around it.
2025 RECORD
9–3 (regular season)
Pop-Tarts Bowl: L to BYU. The program's best regular season since at least 2016, capped by a signature win at Colorado, but undercut by fading down the stretch and a bowl loss — real, mixed evidence entering a higher- expectations 2026.
HOME FIELD
Bobby Dodd Stadium
Legion NXT turf, Atlanta. A program with real, hard-earned momentum after going 10-38 before Key's arrival — now setting national-title-level expectations for a team replacing its Heisman-caliber quarterback.
| SLOT | PLAYER | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB1 | Alberto Mendoza | — | ★★★★★ | TOP TRANSFER Three-star signee (Christopher Columbus HS, Miami; back-to-back state titles); has never started a college game. The younger brother of Indiana's Heisman-winning Fernando Mendoza, taking over for departed ACC Player of the Year Haynes King in one of the more pressure-filled QB transitions in the conference. |
| RB1 | Justice Haynes | — | ★★★★★ | TOP TRANSFER Former five-star-caliber Alabama signee who saw modest usage there (600+ yds, 9 TD) before transferring to Michigan (857 yds, 10 TD in 2025). Chose Georgia Tech specifically for Key's championship-focused pitch. |
| RB2 | Malachi Hosley | — | ★★★★★ | Led Georgia Tech with 697 yds, 7 TD in 2025; returns as a proven complement to Haynes in a run-game-focused offense. |
Three-star signee (Christopher Columbus HS, Miami; back-to-back state titles); has never started a college game. The younger brother of Indiana's Heisman-winning Fernando Mendoza, taking over for departed ACC Player of the Year Haynes King in one of the more pressure-filled QB transitions in the conference.
Former five-star-caliber Alabama signee who saw modest usage there (600+ yds, 9 TD) before transferring to Michigan (857 yds, 10 TD in 2025). Chose Georgia Tech specifically for Key's championship-focused pitch.
Led Georgia Tech with 697 yds, 7 TD in 2025; returns as a proven complement to Haynes in a run-game-focused offense.
| PLAYER | POS | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line rebuilt after Rutledge's exit | OL | — | ★★★★★ | Loses back-to-back First-Team All-American Keylan Rutledge (2026 first-round NFL Draft pick, Houston Texans) — real, significant production to replace up front. |
Loses back-to-back First-Team All-American Keylan Rutledge (2026 first-round NFL Draft pick, Houston Texans) — real, significant production to replace up front.
| PLAYER | POS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Front seven with real returning talent | DL | Beat writers specifically note the defense returns more experienced talent than the offense; a genuine strength to lean on during the QB transition. |
Beat writers specifically note the defense returns more experienced talent than the offense; a genuine strength to lean on during the QB transition.
| PLAYER | POS | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Efford | DB | ★★★★★ | Featured alongside Key, Haynes, and Hosley at the 2026 ACC Kickoff; part of a secondary with real returning experience heading into the season. |
Featured alongside Key, Haynes, and Hosley at the 2026 ACC Kickoff; part of a secondary with real returning experience heading into the season.
2025 ATS
7-6
53.8% cover rate — 33rd of 82
2025 Straight up
9-4
Point differential +93
Scoring environment
57.2
Combined points per game — 17th highest of 82
Home / road ATS
4-2 · 2-3
Totals 7-6 O/U (4-2 home, 3-2 road)
Points scored / allowed
32.2 per game scored (17th) · 25 allowed (48th)
Margin & schedule
Margin of victory +7.2 (31st) · Strength of schedule -1.9
SRS power rating
+3.7
41st of 82 — projected points vs. a league-average team on a neutral field
Offensive SRS
+2.7
38th of 82
Defensive SRS
+1.3
46th of 82
Points (margin of victory)
+7.2 · 31st of 82
Against the spread
7-6 (53.8%) · 33rd of 82
Totals (combined PPG)
57.2 · 17th of 82
Computed from CollegeFootballData 2025 results and closing consensus lines.
Saved Just J research for Georgia Tech.
Haynes King was the ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year (Georgia Tech's first since 2008), finished 10th in Heisman balloting, and is gone — replaced by Alberto Mendoza, who has never started a college game.
Georgia Tech's 2025 season was both its best since 2016 and defined by fizzling over the final five games — worth watching whether that repeats in 2026's tougher-expectations environment.
Justice Haynes (Alabama's top recruit before disappointing usage there, then Michigan, now Georgia Tech) specifically cited Key's championship-focused pitch as his reason for choosing the Yellow Jackets — a real, articulated recruiting philosophy.
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