ATHENS — Georgia Tech coach Brent Key knows you know how he feels about his in-state rival, Georgia, and the “Clean, Old Fashioned Hate” that comes with it.

But just in case anyone forgot, Key doubled down after the Yellow Jackets moved to 7-4 and completed the regular season unbeaten at home with a wild 30-29 victory over North Carolina State (5-6) on Thursday night.

“I’m passionate about playing them, I’m passionate about those guys in the locker room, it’s the next game, come on,” Key said, looking forward to playing the No. 10-ranked Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. next Friday at Sanford Stadium in Athens.

“I mean, we came in the locker room and we got things we got to clean up tomorrow. We got things we have to correct. We’ll be out tomorrow.

“And look, we have the biggest game of the year coming up. I I mean, it’s in state rivalry game. That’s what it’s about, rivalry game.”

Indeed, and the passion runs deep for Key, a former Georgia Tech player won three of the four times he played against Georgia from 1997-2000.

The Bulldogs see it as a rivalry game, too, although they’ll be playing for much more as they remain in the thick of the race for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff field.

Georgia has won six in a row in the annual, home-and-home rivalry series dating back to a 28-27 loss suffered in Coach Kirby Smart’s first year at the helm at UGA.

Key, who has been Tech’s head coach in the most recent two meetings — a 37-14 loss in Athens in 2022, and a 31-23 defeat last year in Atlanta — made his feelings clear about the rivalry this preseason.

“There’s nothing I hate more in the world — it’s probably the only thing I actually hate,” Key said last June while speaking at a Georgia Tech alumni gathering in the school’s college of business.

“When I say hate, like truly despise everything about it, I really do.”

Key loves his football, team, though.

The Yellow Jackets have already proven capable of stinging elite competition and playing the role of spoiler, handing No. 8-ranked Miami its only loss of the season in Atlanta, 28-23, on Nov. 9.

As much anger and determination as Key is sure to muster in his team’s preparation for Georgia, Thursday night was reserved for the happy vibes of the program’s first unbeaten home season since he was a player in 1999.

“I’m happy for these kids I’m happy for all the kids, the kids in the stands, the students,” Key said. “I mean, the fans have come to the games and built, I mean, those last couple of drives when we had, it was really, it was loud, it was a good environment. That’s what I’m happy for.”