For a while last season, it really did feel like Georgia Tech might sneak into the College Football Playoff conversation.

That sounds crazy if you zoom out and remember where this program was not that long ago.

But the Yellow Jackets went 9-4, finished 6-2 in the ACC, climbed as high as No. 7 in the AP poll, and had their first nine-win season since 2016.

And unlike 2016, Georgia Tech did not need a bowl win to get there. The Jackets were already a nine-win team before bowl season. The last time that happened was 2014, when Paul Johnson won 11 games.

So now the question is simple.

Was last year the start of something real under Brent Key, or was it the high point before a step back?

Because Georgia Tech was good last year.

But now Haynes King is gone.

And that changes everything.

HEAD COACH:

• Brent Key, entering another important year at Georgia Tech
• Key is 27-20 at Georgia Tech, including his interim time.
• Georgia Tech went 9-4 last season and 6-2 in the ACC.
• The Yellow Jackets have had a winning record in all three of Key’s full seasons.

I think people have stop[ed wondering if Brent Key can be a great coach.

He can.

Georgia Tech has had a winning record every full season under Key. That is not nothing. He did not take over some machine that was already rolling. He took over a program that needed stability, needed belief and needed someone who understood what Georgia Tech could be.

He has given them that.

Now comes the harder part.

It is one thing to build momentum. It is another thing to keep it when you lose the quarterback who has been the heartbeat of your offense.

That is where Georgia Tech is now.

Haynes King was the guy the last couple years. When Georgia Tech needed a first down, a big run, a tough play, something to settle the offense, King gave them that. He was not perfect as a passer, but he made the offense go.

Now Georgia Tech has to prove the program is bigger than one quarterback.

That is the next step for Key.

QUARTERBACK:

The new name is Alberto Mendoza, and if that last name sounds familiar, it should.

His brother, Fernando Mendoza, just became a college football star at Indiana, won the Heisman Trophy, led the Hoosiers to the national title game, and became the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.

Now his brother is expected to get his shot at Georgia Tech.

Alberto Mendoza transferred in from Indiana, where he backed up his brother last season. He played in nine games, mostly in mop-up duty because Indiana blew out a lot of teams. In his career, he’s completed 19 of 25 passes for 292 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.

He also showed he can run, finishing with 187 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 15 carries.

Now, we do have to be fair here.

That was not a full season of high-pressure football. That was not starting against ACC defenses every week. That was a quarterback getting late-game opportunities on a team that was rolling people.

But there are things to like.

Mendoza had five straight appearances last season where he did not throw an incompletion. He was the No. 55 quarterback in the country by ESPN coming out of high school and was a three-star prospect.

The talent is there.

The question is whether he is ready to replace a player who meant as much to Georgia Tech as Haynes King did.

That is not a small ask.

And the offense is changing around him too.

Buster Faulkner is gone, and George Godsey replaces him as offensive coordinator. So this is not just a new quarterback. It is a new quarterback with a new offensive voice trying to rebuild an attack that had been built around King’s toughness, legs and playmaking.

That is why the quarterback situation is the whole season.

If Mendoza is good, Georgia Tech can stay dangerous.

If he struggles, the Yellow Jackets probably take a step back.

THE REST OF THE OFFENSE

This is where Georgia Tech has a real chance to help Mendoza.

The run game could be good. Really good.

Justice Haynes transferred in after stops at Alabama and Michigan, and he has the talent to be a true No. 1 back. Last season, when he was healthy, he had over 100 rushing yards in six of seven games and averaged around 17 carries per game.

That tells you something.

Haynes can be the bell cow if Georgia Tech needs him to be.

But the scary part is that the Jackets may not need him to carry everything by himself because Malachi Hosley is also back.

Hosley ran for 697 yards on 98 carries last season. He is probably not going to be the 20-carry-a-game guy, but he does not need to be. If Haynes is the hammer, Hosley can be the change-up. Together, they have a chance to be one of the better running back duos in the ACC.

That is how you help a new quarterback.

You run the football. You stay ahead of the chains. You do not ask Mendoza to be a hero in September.

The offensive line has two important pieces back too: Malachi Carney and Ethan McKinney. Both earned honorable mention All-ACC recognition, and both need to play like all-conference guys again.

That is especially important because Keelan Rutledge is gone after being taken late in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.

Rutledge was a mauler. That dude opened lanes in the run game.

Georgia Tech has to replace that.

The bigger concern is receiver.

The only returning wide receiver who caught a pass last season is Jordan Allen, who had 22 catches. That is not much returning production.

So the transfer additions matter a lot.

Jaylen Mbakwe comes in from Alabama as a former five-star recruit. He has played both wide receiver and defensive back, and it will be interesting to see if Georgia Tech uses him on both sides of the ball. I am not saying he is Travis Hunter, but he is talented enough to be used creatively.

Isaiah Fuhrmann comes in from Elon, and he is one of the most interesting players on the roster. If there is one transfer name Georgia Tech fans should know, it might be him.

He can stretch the field.

His long receptions in different games last season went for 47, 53, 62, 76, 81 and 96 yards.

That is explosive.

Yes, he was doing it at Elon, and the ACC is different. But speed and big-play ability travel. If Fuhrmann can give Georgia Tech even a few of those chunk plays, it changes the offense.

Javan Plummer also comes in from Cal, giving the receiver room another new piece.

So the offense has a pretty clear formula.

Let Haynes and Hosley carry the early weight. Let the offensive line settle in. Use Mendoza’s legs when needed. Then hope one or two of the transfer receivers can become real ACC weapons.

That can work.

But it has to come together quickly.

DEFENSE

Georgia Tech has to be better on defense.

That is not optional.

The Jackets won nine games last year, but they were not good enough defensively for that to feel like a clean formula moving forward. Opponents averaged nearly six yards per play, Georgia Tech allowed more than 400 yards per game, and the Jackets gave up around 26 points per game.

That is too much.

You can survive that when your offense is humming and your quarterback is making big plays. But when you are replacing Haynes King, the defense has to carry more of the load.

The good news is Georgia Tech has some real pieces back.

Kyle Efford is the name that jumps out. He had 77 tackles last season and earned honorable mention All-ACC recognition. He is one of the most important players on the roster.

The Jackets also bring back Amaree Bradford and E.J. Lightsey at linebacker, Zachary Tobe in the secondary and A.J. Hoffler on the defensive line.

That is a solid starting point.

Georgia Tech also added Noah Carter from Alabama. He did not have huge production there, but he was a highly recruited player, and sometimes a change of scenery plus a bigger role is exactly what a player needs.

The defense does not have to become elite overnight.

But it has to become more reliable.

Georgia Tech cannot give up six yards per play again and expect to repeat last year’s record. The offense is going through too many changes for that.

If the Jackets want to stay in the upper half of the ACC, the defense has to be more than just “good enough if the offense scores 35.”

It has to win Georgia Tech some games.

SCHEDULE

The schedule is interesting because it looks manageable in some places and tricky in others.

Georgia Tech opens at home against Colorado, and that is a fun one right away.

Last year, the Jackets got behind early because of turnovers, but they came back and beat Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes. This time, the game is in Atlanta.

Then comes Tennessee in week two.

That is a big test, but maybe not as terrifying as it could be. Tennessee still has to answer quarterback questions, and while Josh Heupel usually figures out offense, this may not be a fully polished Tennessee machine early in the season.

Georgia Tech also gets nine days before that game, which helps.

After that, the Jackets host Mercer, then make the long trip to Stanford on Sept. 26.

That is the one big West Coast trip.

The good news is Georgia Tech does not play at Cal, and it does not play at SMU. In the new ACC, avoiding extra long-distance trips matters.

Then comes Duke, the defending ACC champion, in Atlanta.

So Georgia Tech plays four of its first five games at home.

That is huge.

But the games are not soft. Colorado, Tennessee and Duke all come to Atlanta, and the Stanford trip is not easy because of the travel.

After that, the Yellow Jackets alternate home and away for the final seven games. There is no brutal back-to-back road stretch, which helps.

The final five games are where things get serious:

at Pitt, Louisville at home, at Clemson, Wake Forest at home, and at Georgia.

That is a tough close.

Pitt should be solid. Louisville is dangerous. Clemson is still Clemson, even if there are questions. Wake Forest is a game Georgia Tech probably has to win if it wants another strong season. And Georgia is Georgia.

So the schedule gives Georgia Tech a chance early because of all the home games.

But it does not give the Jackets much room to fake it late.

OUTLOOK

I like Georgia Tech.

I like Brent Key. I like the direction of the program. I like the running backs. I like that the Jackets only lost 17 scholarship players from last year, which is not a crazy number in this era. I like the fact that Georgia Tech has started to feel like a real ACC factor again.

But I also think we need to be honest.

Last year was a lot.

Georgia Tech went 9-4. It got as high as No. 7. It had a veteran quarterback who fit the program perfectly. It had a first-round offensive lineman. It had an offense that knew what it was.

Now the Jackets are replacing Haynes King, replacing Buster Faulkner, rebuilding the receiver room and trying to fix a defense that gave up too many yards.

That is a lot to ask.

The best-case scenario is that Alberto Mendoza is ready right away, Justice Haynes and Malachi Hosley become one of the best running back duos in the ACC, one of the transfer receivers pops, and the defense improves enough for Georgia Tech to stay in the conference race.

If that happens, Georgia Tech can absolutely be a dangerous team again.

The worst-case scenario is that Mendoza is not ready, the passing game lacks weapons, the defense still gives up too many explosive plays, and the schedule catches up with the Jackets.

My gut?

I think Georgia Tech can still be good.

I do not know if I see another season where the Jackets are flirting with 10 wins or hanging around the playoff conversation deep into the year. That feels like a big ask with this much change at quarterback and offensive coordinator.

But eight or nine wins?

That is on the table.

And that says a lot about where Brent Key has this program.

Georgia Tech is no longer a team you just pencil in as a win.

The Yellow Jackets are good enough to make people uncomfortable.

Now they have to prove last year was not just a fun one-year ride.

Full disclosure: I use AI tools to format my research into an article encompassing all of the information.