SYRACUSE, N.Y. — In his first visit as head coach to a university renown for its school of communications, Georgia Tech coach Brent Key learned a valuable lesson about the power of words.
And that lesson is, be careful what you say around Syracuse coach Fran Brown. A seemingly innocuous comment that Key made about Saturday’s Tech-Syracuse game was turned into a personal affront and a rallying point for the Orange, who rode the emotional edge to a 31-28 win over the Yellow Jackets at the JMA Wireless Dome.
“I want to make sure that everyone understands that, when you play us, just be quiet,” Brown said.
At his Tuesday news conference, Key first said that the game wasn’t going to be decided by plays, coverages and the like.
“This game’s about our ability to go be the most physically tough football team we can possibly be from 12 until about 4 o’clock on Saturday. That’s it. Hands down.”
Coaches make similar statements frequently. But here’s what Brown, the first-year coach hired from coach Kirby Smart’s staff at Georgia, had to say about it afterward.