Georgia Tech begins its harrowing month of November with a noon kickoff Saturday against No. 4 Miami.
The matchup is the first of just three for the Yellow Jackets (5-4, 3-3 ACC) who need one more victory to reach a bowl game for a second consecutive year. The program hasn’t been to back-to-back bowl games since 2013-13.
Tech had the first weekend of November off after losing to Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, respectively, to end October. It also has next weekend off before hosting North Carolina State on Nov. 21 and then ends the season with a trip to Georgia on Nov. 29.
The Jackets, 11-point underdogs Saturday, need to beat Miami and N.C. State to match their ACC record from a year ago. A victory over the ‘Canes also would be Tech’s first over a top-five ranked team since Oct. 17, 2009, when it beat No. 4 Virginia Tech.
Things to know about Saturday’s Georgia Tech-Miami game
Kickoff: Noon Saturday
Where: Bobby Dodd Stadium (capacity 51,913)
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN app
Weather: 69 degrees at kickoff, 3% chance of rain
Tickets: Per Tech’s official ticket website, plenty of seats are available starting at $60. Tickets can be found for less than that on secondary sites like SeatGeek.
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Storylines ahead of Georgia Tech-Miami game
Keylan Rutledge survives December car wreck: Keylan Rutledge, a 6-foot-3, 312-pound right guard who has started all nine games for Tech this season, is lucky to be alive after what happened Dec. 7.
Minutes after dropping off his mother and sister in Carnesville on that rainy day in northeast Georgia, Rutledge, driving a 2007 Nissan Frontier, merged back on to I-85 heading north for Clemson, South Carolina, having just completed a visit to Tech as a transfer recruit. As Rutledge neared Commerce, a black sport utility vehicle unexpectedly swerved toward Rutledge’s vehicle.
Driving in the left lane with a concrete divider to his left, Rutledge was caught with nowhere to go. He jerked his vehicle to the right on the slick road and suddenly his truck went tumbling off the road, flipping multiple times before landing in a ditch.
There is a magic number on the path to victory: The magic number is 180.
Since Brent Key took the reins of the Tech program as interim coach ahead of the fifth game of the 2022 season, the Jackets are 14-2 when rushing for 180 yards in a game — and they’re 5-0 this season when hitting that benchmark.
For Key, a former Tech offensive lineman, having his team’s ground game humming has been pivotal to the squad’s overall success. When the Jackets haven’t hit 180 rushing yards, they’ve gone 2-12.
Containing Cam Ward will be crucial: Tech has not faced an offense or a quarterback quite like this yet.
Miami, tabbed fourth in the first College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday, comes to Bobby Dodd Stadium to play the Jackets at noon Saturday sporting one of the nation’s best offenses in nearly every statistical category. And it’s an offense driven by two-time transfer quarterback Cam Ward, who is one the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy.
But perhaps what makes the Miami offense most dangerous is its ability to keep the attack for 60 minutes. The Hurricanes are averaging 14.5 points in the fourth quarter and 26.6 in the second half this season. Last Saturday against Duke, Miami blitzed the Blue Devils for 36 points after halftime.
No. 4 Miami is Tech’s biggest challenge yet: Tech has had a daunting run through its schedule to this point. But perhaps no test has been as great as what’s ahead this week.
“I tell you what now, this is a good football team. A really good football team. Hands down the biggest challenge we’ve had this year up to this point,” Tech coach Brent Key said Tuesday about facing the No. 4-ranked team in the country.
At noon Saturday, Key’s Yellow Jackets square off with Miami, an undefeated team on a crash course toward the ACC title game, a possible College Football Playoff spot, and maybe even a national championship. The Hurricanes (9-0, 5-0 ACC), the fourth ranked opponent for Tech this season (the Jackets are 1-2 in the previous three), are off to their best start since 2017 and bring to Atlanta one of the best squads in the nation in an array of statistical categories on both sides of the ball.
Tech has had extra time to prep for Hurricanes: After a weekend of rest and recovery, and recharging of batteries as Key metaphorically put it, the Yellow Jackets returned to business Sunday afternoon ahead of their showdown with No. 4 Miami at noon Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Tech (5-4, 3-3 ACC) had a much-needed break from the action this past Saturday. Key’s team has suffered two consecutive losses and limped into the bye week with significant injuries to starting quarterback Haynes King (right shoulder) and starting linebacker Kyle Efford (undisclosed), among other players also slowed by knocks.
The ‘Miracle in Miami’ remembered: Tech experienced one of the program’s more memorable wins when it beat Miami one year ago at Hard Rock Stadium, a win that transpired after an incomprehensible late fumble by the Hurricanes and a heroic performance by the Tech offense to drive for the winning score.
The lead up to the game and what happened behind the scenes made it even more storybook.
Big pregame show from Big Boi: Rapper, songwriter, producer and actor Big Boi, an Atlanta native, will be the featured performer at Helluva Block Party ahead of Tech’s game versus Miami on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Big Boi will take the stage on North Avenue in front of Tech Tower Lawn immediately following Yellow Jacket Alley, which occurs two and a half hours before kickoff at noon.
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