In the minds of those that dictate it, Vanderbilt's matchup with Georgia Tech embodies something that doesn't come around much anymore.

Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea and Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key believe that their matchup in the Birmingham Bowl is a rare example of college football in its purest form.

"There is something really pure about this game," Lea said. "This is what college football is about, this is the game that Brent and I played back in our day. This is the game that our fanbases love. It's two passionate teams."

Perhaps the best part for those fanbases; this game matters for both teams. Both care.

Vanderbilt needs this one to clinch its first winning season since 2013, when it last won a bowl game, while Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King declared decisively a few days ago that he'd be playing despite an injury-ridden season.

King has drawn comparisons to Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia while the two programs have been known to be alike schematically, academically and in terms of their quick ascensions.

"[It's] an incredible matchup against two teams that really to me are mirror images," Lea said. "You're gonna have two teams that play a physical brand of football, that play a passionate brand of football. You have two head coaches that care deeply about the institutions that we represent, you have two schools that are among the greatest in our nation."

Georgia Tech was ranked as the nation's 33rd best educational university by US News while Vanderbilt was ranked 18th. Both are looking to achieve similar levels of athletic success and are in similar stages of their builds.

Key's Yellow Jackets finished the 2024 regular season 7-5 with two top-10 wins while Vanderbilt finished 6-6 with a win over No. 1 Alabama. A win would add a cherry on top for both programs.

The Georgia Tech head coach feels as if the matchup's parity could lend it some credence.

"The Birmingham Bowl got it right," Key said. "They got it right this year with two teams that are almost carbon copies of each other when you look at teams and how they play and how they compete...I think it's pretty special."

The program's similar blueprints have led them to go down similar alleys on the recruiting trail at times, which has led some to tout them as 'recruiting rivals.' Lea doesn't buy the claim, but believes that the matchup could define the narrative around his team moving forward.

The fourth-year head coach knows there's a big difference between 7-6 and 6-7.

"This is a legacy game for this team," Lea said. "[It is] a chance for the first bowl win, first winning season, since 2013. This is the 10th bowl game, I think, in 134 years of our program, which is a statement in and of itself. But again, the chance to finish with a winning season will be huge"