Georgia Tech has traveled a long road already. It’s beginning yet another treacherous trek at 8 p.m. Saturday.
“We had a gauntlet at first, and now we’re gonna have to get in this gauntlet as well,” Tech quarterback Haynes King said.
After playing five games, three of which were against ACC foes, two of which were on the road and one of which was in Dublin, the Yellow Jackets (3-2, 1-2 ACC) begin October with a showdown with Duke (5-0, 1-0 ACC). That’s the first of four consecutive games this month for Tech before the season’s next bye.
Duke, meanwhile, has won its first five games under coach Manny Diaz, who is in his first season with the Blue Devils. Three of those wins have been by a total of 12 points and the last one was over archrival North Carolina by a 21-20 score in Durham, N.C. The Blue Devils haven’t been undefeated through five games in 30 years.
Tech is playing its first conference home game of the season. Winning the matchup is crucial for the Jackets if they want to keep their faint conference title-game hopes alive.
“I enjoy winning. I don’t care how it has to happen,” King added. “I wanna win and coach knows that. Whatever he decides and whatever Buster calls, I’m gonna run it to the best of my ability. I enjoy winning, and if that takes me to carry the ball 20 times a game, I’m gonna do it. Whether it’s handing it off, throw it, run it, it doesn’t matter to me. I just wanna win, find ways to win.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Kickoff: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Bobby Dodd Stadium (51,913)
TV: ACC Network
Streaming: Available via Watch ESPN
Weather: 76 degrees at kickoff, 2% chance of rain
Tickets: Plenty of tickets remain available starting at $40 through Tech’s ticket site and $18 on secondary sites.
Georgia Tech football social media: X | Instagram | Facebook
Duke football social media: X | Instagram | Facebook
Top storylines ahead of Duke at Georgia Tech
Full Steam Ahead: Georgia Tech continues to heavily invest in its athletics program, the latest venture being what’s called the Full Steam Ahead campaign by the school’s fundraising arm the Alexander-Tharpe Fund.
Word of the campaign began to leak on social media Thursday and was confirmed Friday morning in an official announcement by Tech. The Full Steam Ahead Campaign is, “a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Tech’s goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics – to all members of the Georgia Tech athletics community.”
Tech lends hand to Blazers: The Georgia Tech athletics department and football program opened its door to Valdosta State this week, a team displaced by Hurricane Helene.
The Blazers, in preparation for a game at Shorter at noon Saturday, have been housed on Georgia State’s campus for much of the week, according to a report by FootballScoop.com. Last weekend’s game against West Alabama was canceled because of Helene.
Two-year anniversary: A shade more than two years ago, Brent Key stepped into Bobby Dodd Stadium for the first time as the interim head coach at his alma mater Georgia Tech. The opponent that day? Duke.
Key would lead the Yellow Jackets to a 23-20 victory in overtime. It was his second game overall and second consecutive win of what now is a 26-game tenure leading Tech.
Since that 2022 night in Atlanta, Key has gotten the Jackets back to a bowl game, secured a winning record in his first full season as full-time coach and defeated five ranked ACC teams. His next immediate challenge is to somewhat right the ship after a 31-19 setback at Louisville on Sept. 21 and a bye week.
Oh, and to knock off an undefeated ACC opponent at 8 p.m. Saturday, an opponent which happens to be named Duke.
Tech still hopeful to get ground game in high gear: The expectations for Georgia Tech’s offense, especially the ground attack within that offense, were high entering the 2024 season. Tech became one of the best rushing units in the country over 13 games in 2023, and most of the players who helped make that happen a season ago came back to build on those laurels.
But the Yellow Jackets (3-2, 1-2 ACC) have seen their rushing stats pan out to rest at a similar spot through five games this season compared with the first five games of last season.
New analyst on the airwaves: Andrew Gardner will be in the radio booth starting at 6 p.m. Saturday ahead of Tech’s showdown with undefeated Duke (8 p.m., ACC Network). He was hired by 680 The Fan this month to call Yellow Jackets football alongside play-by-play voice Andy Demetra. Gardner takes the place of Tech legend Joe Hamilton after 680 chose to, “move in a different direction.”
Saturday’s game for Gardner will be his first in the specific role he was hired to do. The former Tech offensive lineman and longtime professional player has been on the radio before, but never as on-air live analyst.
Jackets should be well-rested: After a much-needed bye week, Georgia Tech returned to serious work this week in preparation for a crucial string of games spanning this month.
The Yellow Jackets (3-2, 1-2 ACC) last played Sept. 21, a 31-19 loss at Louisville, the end of five consecutive games to open the season. That concluded an exhaustive stretch for coach Brent Key’s team that included trips to Dublin, Syracuse and Louisville, respectively, and three conference games.
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