You ever get that feeling when the past and present collide in a way that almost feels like a sports movie? That’s exactly what’s about to happen in Boulder. On August 29, Brent Key, the head man at Georgia Tech, is taking his squad into Folsom Field to face off with his childhood idol. None other than Deion “Prime Time” Sanders. The twist? There’s nothing sentimental about this matchup. Both coaches are rolling into Year Three of their playoff dream, and only one can start 1–0. For Key, the challenge is massive: beat the Buffs, built like an NFL team, coached by his childhood hero.

Colorado isn’t some feel-good story anymore. Deion has them built like a machine. Last year, the Buffs went from a defensive disaster to one of the nastiest turnover-hunting units in the country under Robert Livingston, their DC fresh out of a decade plus in the Bengals’ system. The stats don’t lie: they went from giving up 34.8 points per game to 23.1, chopping off over 100 yards per contest in the process. They picked off quarterbacks 15 times, stacked 39 sacks, and turned every second half into a crime scene.

The Yellowjackets HC is clearly aware of that. Key didn’t sugarcoat it at his presser on August 24: “They have a lot of guys back on D. And their defense coordinator, I mean, Robert Livingston, I believe, he has done a fantastic job there in one season. You’re just really changing the direction of their defense and how they play. Been in the NFL 10 years previously. And then offensively, where they do, we are expecting more new guys coming in. Talk about it being free agency. I mean, their offensive coordinator’s been in the NFL for 20 years. Pat (Shurmur) has been a head coach for four, been an offensive coordinator in the league for 20 plus years. So he’s going to know how to be able to get those guys in the right position and play together. They’re big up front, they’re going after size and mass. They might be, if not the biggest, one of the biggest offensive lines in the country.”

He wasn’t lying either about biggest offensive lines in the nation. Colorado’s O-line averages 329 pounds per man, third-heaviest in the country, with lineman tipping scales like they’re auditioning for World’s Strongest Man. For Tech’s D-line, it’s like running into a brick wall over and over again.

Prime’s staff is basically a retired-Pro-Bowlers club. We’re talking Marshall Faulk coaching running backs, Warren Sapp assisting the D-line, Pat Shurmur dialing plays after 20 years as an NFL OC, and Byron Leftwich sliding into an assistant role. Altogether, that’s over 160 years of NFL brainpower guiding the Buffs.

But let’s not get it twisted: Brent Key’s Jackets aren’t pushovers. Georgia Tech is coming off back-to-back bowl trips after they ripped off seven wins last season. They straight-up shocked then No. 4 Miami in one of the nastiest upsets of 2024, and almost pulled the biggest upset of the year against the Georgia Bulldogs in an 8 OT thriller last season. They’ve got Jamal Haynes, a back who’s churned out over 2,000 yards the past two years and a defensive core led by Kyle Efford, who just snagged a spot on the Bednarik Award Watch List. Key knows the Buffs’ trenches are loaded, but he also knows his guys can throw haymakers if given the chance.

Vegas isn’t exactly siding with the Jackets. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor has Colorado favored with a 52.7% chance, and the Buffs sit as slight betting favorites. The edge comes down to home-field advantage. But Tech knows this dance. They’ve been underdogs before, and they’ve ruined dreams before. And this one feels easier, at-least on paper. 

Brent Key gives props to Deion Sanders

It is rare to get the opportunity to meet your childhood heroes. Well, Key’s about to meet his on Friday night. But before the ball’s even kicked, he gave Prime his flowers. “When you grow up an avid sports fan in the Southeast… obviously, my team was the Braves growing up in Birmingham. To see him be able to perform and play at both sports at such a high level. It was just the coolest thing because there were two guys then that were doing it. It was him and Bo Jackson. And those were the two guys I wanted to be like when I grew up.”

Key wasn’t exaggerating. Sanders is literally the only man alive to suit up in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. Eight Pro Bowls, 39 MLB homers, 186 stolen bases. The man was built different. And Bo? A Heisman winner who still found time to crank 141 home runs and 415 RBI in the majors. For a kid in Birmingham, those weren’t just athletes, they were superheroes.

Of course, Key admits with a laugh he couldn’t hit a curveball or run fast enough to cover anyone, so the dream died young. But the respect stuck. Now he is staring across the field at one of the men who lit that fire in him. It’s poetic, really, the fan turned coach, lining up to test himself against his idol. Brent Key’s about to meet his hero. Whether it’s the dream scenario or a harsh reality check depends on how his Jackets handle business.