Georgia Tech has a magic number in rushing that more often than not leads to victory

That rushing mark has been consistently hard to come by this season with running back Jamal Haynes dealing with an array of nagging injuries, dual-threat quarterback Haynes King having missed two games with a shoulder issue and the offense not having a steady No. 2 running back available because of youth, inexperience and more injuries.

But the lack of relative success on the ground has been a bit perplexing considering Tech’s veteran offensive linemen Jordan Williams at right tackle, Weston Franklin at center, Joe Fusile at left guard and Corey Robinson at left tackle. And right guard Keylan Rutledge, a newcomer, has become the team’s second-best run blocker, according to Pro Football Focus.

Key hinted Tuesday that an off-weekend to start November helped him and his offensive coaching staff assess what can be changed schematically to aid the Jackets in a return to rushing success, including that Tech was the ACC’s best rushing team in 2023.

“No. 1 is the detail in execution. No. 2 is then it becomes on us,” Key said Thursday. “All schemes are personnel-driven. When you have some personnel changes within, you want your schemes to be able to do what’s best for the personnel that’s in there. But you can’t always do that in the course of four days, five days. You can attempt to, but sometimes it makes it worse than it does better.

“So it’s a combination of both. We’ve done that this past, really, week and a half now. We want to do what fits best to the personnel that’s on the field.”

The good news for Tech on Saturday, when the Jackets host No. 4 Miami at noon at Bobby Dodd Stadium, is that King, named an offensive captain for the contest, could return to the lineup (although Key on Thursday still termed King as day-to-day), workhorse Haynes should be refreshed from the bye week, and backup Chad Alexander also may be healthy enough to get carries — Alexander did not play Oct. 26 at Virginia Tech because of injury.

Tech also may continue to give touches in the ground game to speedy wide receivers Malik Rutherford and Eric Singleton Jr. That duo has 16 combined rushing attempts for 122 yards this season.

The bad news for Tech is that Miami’s run defense is stout. The Hurricanes have allowed more than 140 yards rushing in a game once this season, and that was in a 38-34 victory over Virginia Tech when the Hokies totaled 206.

Opponents are managing only 3.6 yards per carry against Miami. Ball State, on Sept. 14, finished with a measly six rushing yards, and Florida A&M, South Florida, California and Duke each was held to less than 80 yards rushing.

Senior defensive tackle Simeon Barrow (28 tackles) and senior defensive end Tyler Baron (30 tackles), who have combined for 16.5 tackles for loss, have been outstanding at leading Miami’s rush defense. The Hurricanes, as a team, average 6.8 tackles for loss per game.

“They’re very talented. They’re talented and deep in the front seven. They do a good job of supporting with the safeties,” Key said. “But when you can control the run game with the front four, the front six, the front seven, depending on what personnel, you’re gonna have a chance. They’re very multiple up front. They play, really, all three fronts that you can play. They move, they stem, they twist, they can wreck the game pretty quick. It’s gonna be a big challenge for the guys up front.”

Oddly enough, Tech had one of its worst rushing games of the 2023 season at Miami when it finished with only 99 yards. Yet it still pulled out a miraculous 23-20 victory.

The Jackets may not need another miracle Saturday, but they almost certainly need those 180 rushing yards to stand any chance against the mighty Hurricanes.