ATHENS — Georgia football keeps its attention on itself while many others wonder, “How long can Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs keep this up?”

At some point, Georgia has to lose again even if it does appear it will be later than sooner in the 2023 season.

SEC road games at Auburn and Tennessee are pointed to as true “tests” for these Bulldogs, who figure to be the overwhelming choice for the preseason No. 1 spot.

But the road trip at Georgia Tech this season whas the placement to be an ideal “trap” Game between what figures to be a high-profile matchup with the Vols and a likely SEC Championship Game appearance.

Second-year Yellow Jackets coach Brent Key changed the mindset at Georgia Tech last season, scoring wins over Top 25 teams Pitt and North Carolina and giving Georgia all it wanted for a half.

Indeed, the Yellow Jackets actually out-gained the Bulldogs 187-153 through the first 30 minutes at Sanford Stadium last season, becoming the first team to score a first-quarter TD on Georgia all season and trailing just 10-7 at halftime.

Key’s team lost by a 37-14 count, and the former Georgia Tech player and Nick Saban assistant took little consolation in the first half effort as his team finished the year 5-7 after he won four of the final eight games.

You play the game to win, you don’t play the game to come in second,” Key said. “You play the game to win, and that’s what we prepared for in the week.

“There is no other outcome that is acceptable, and that’s the way we approach the football game.”

Key was asked at ACC Media Days last month if Georgia Tech can carry over its momentum into this season, and his answer was revealing.

“You talk about the continuation of last season, but I don’t see it that way,” Key said. “Every season is a new season. We have new players. We have new coaches. It’s a new program.”

If that sounds familiar to Georgia fans, it’s because Kirby Smart approaches things the same way.

Albeit, the Bulldogs have much more talent than the Yellow Jackets.

Louisville, the team Georgia Tech opens against at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 1 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, might have more talent, too.

But the Yellow Jackets have brought in a new offensive coach in Buster Faulkner who proved himself at a championship left with the Georgia Bulldogs the past two seasons.

Faulkner will have the benefit of four returning starters on the offensive line, even while they reload their skill positions with hopes of ranking among the top 70 in the nation in yards per game for what would be the first time since 2018.

The defense, too, will need to take a positive step after finishing last in the ACC in rush defense and 12th in total defense.

Of course, statistics aren’t what matters to Key when it comes to his team’s mental approach..

“I expect them to walk on the field every week and expect to win every game we play,” Key said. “Is that going to happen? Probably not. Look at the history of college football. It’s hard. It’s hard to win.

“But to expect to go on the field and be able to go and compete regardless of who you are going against, that’s what they have to do.”

And that’s what Georgia Tech did last season under Key, in terms of changing the approach after former coach Geoff Collins was fired last September.

H”ow did it happen last year? We quit waiting on bad things to happen,” Key said. “We went out there starting to expect to win as opposed to waiting for something bad to happen to end up losing.

“It’s contagious. It’s a growth. It’s a disease that happens. Winning grows in your locker room just like losing does.”

It’s hard to know exactly where Georgia Tech will be as a team, physically or mentally, by the time its game with Georgia rolls around on Nov. 25.

The Yellow Jackets will have played five straight Saturdays leading in against Boston College, North Carolina, Virginia Clemson and Syracuse.

But it’s a good bet Georgia Tech will take an approach of shocking the world, looking for what would be its first win over Georgia since Smart’s first season at the helm in 2016.