Georgia Tech is halfway home.
The Yellow Jackets, who have alternated losses and wins through six games, get the weekend off after going three up and three down to start the 2023 season. Tech (3-3, 2-1, ACC) has six games remaining in the regular season starting Oct. 21 when it hosts Boston College at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
First-year head coach Brent Key has led a team that has been a bit all over the map, in terms of results. But it goes into the idle week feeling good thanks to an improbable, last-second win at No. 17 Miami on Saturday.
“The bye week’s coming at a good time, it really is,” Key said Saturday after a 23-20 victory. “We’ve played six straight games and (had) preseason camp. I think everybody needs a little bit of a mental break from it. A chance to get in and clean up this (Miami) game and get some fundamentals done in practice and get ready to play the second part of the season.”
The Jackets started the season on the first day of September losing to Louisville by five points in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Cardinals (6-0) haven’t lost and are now ranked 14th by The Associated Press.
After an easy win over South Carolina State at home, Tech faltered down the stretch in a 25-point setback at Ole Miss (now ranked No. 13). Key’s group then went up to Wake Forest to open conference play and won 30-16 thanks to an impressive defensive performance.
Once again though, Tech couldn’t handle some prosperity and inexplicably lost 38-27 at home to Bowling Green in a game that wasn’t as close as the score would indicate.
The Jackets then went to south Florida as heavy underdogs against the Hurricanes and pulled off a victory to remember.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of these kids, this coaching staff,” Key said. “You talk about resilient, we just kept on plugging away.”
Here’s a closer look at how the Jackets have performed and where they can be better at the halfway point of their season:
Offense
Tech’s offense, by and large, has been pretty good under the direction of offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke.
The Jackets are scoring 30.8 points per game after managing just 17.2 points per game last season. Tech only scored 206 points total in 12 games in 2022 and have already put up 185 points this season.
Quarterback Haynes King has been the catalyst on that side of the ball. The sophomore transfer from Texas A&M has completed 62.3% of his passes, totaled 1,631 yards through the air and connected on 16 touchdown throws. He also has 222 yards on the ground on 51 carries and has scored twice via the run.
King has been judicious in distributing the ball as well. Five different players have caught at least 12 passes and 14 different Jackets have at least one reception. Eric Singleton has burst onto the scene as a freshman with 355 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns, both team highs.
If there is an area that needs to show some improvement down the stretch, it’s the team’s rushing offense. Tech ranks 64th nationally with 156 yards per game on the ground and has been held to just 168 yards in the last two games.
Jamal Haynes and Trey Cooley have proven to be a formidable 1-2 punch with 644 combined rushing yards and six combined rushing scores.
Tech’s offensive line has consistently featured Ethan Mackenny at left tackle, Joe Fusile at left guard, Weston Franklin at center, Connor Scaglione at right guard and either Jordan Williams or Jakiah Leftwich at right tackle. That unit has only surrendered seven sacks in six games.
Defense
The big story for Tech’s defense has been the change in leadership after five games. Key handed control over to linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer and made former defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker in charge of the team’s safeties ahead of Saturday’s game at Miami.
That move paid immediate dividends when the Jackets went on the road and collected five takeaways while holding the Hurricanes to 20 points. Tech also had five takeaways in its win at Wake Forest on Sept. 23.
Junior defensive end Kyle Kennard is putting together a possible all-conference season with 33 tackles (5.5 for a loss) and four sacks. Senior linebacker Paul Moala, a transfer from Idaho, has been a big addition with 5.5 tackles for loss and 24 stops.
In the secondary, six different Jackets have made an interception led by Jaylon King’s two. Juniors LaMiles Brooks and K.J. Wallace led the team with four pass breakups each.
Statistically overall, however, Tech hasn’t been great. The Jackets are last among ACC teams in rushing defense, total defense, stopping teams on third down and having surrendered 132 first downs, 12th in points allowed per game and sacks and 10th in passing defense and red zone defense. Tech has allowed at least 400 yards of offense against every FBS opponent this season.
Special teams
One of the more unheralded moves by the Tech coaching staff was to make a change at kicker.
After junior Gavin Stewart started the season 0-for-3 on field goal tries, freshman Aidan Birr was inserted into the lineup and hasn’t left since. Birr is 7-for-8 on his field goal attempts and 12-for-12 on extra points.
Junior David Shanahan has only been called upon 17 times to punt. His average of 42.94 yards per kick would rank 39th nationally if he had enough attempts to qualify.
Tech’s return game has been solid with Dominick Blaylock averaging 11 yards per punt return (ranking 19th nationally) and Christian Leary averaging 21.7 yards per kickoff return (sixth among ACC players). As for kickoffs, Stewart has retained his job there and has 26 touchbacks on 34 kicks.
What’s next?
The Jackets end the month of October with two games, both at home, starting with the Oct. 21 matchup with Boston College (3-3, 1-2 ACC). No. 12 North Carolina (5-0, 2-0 ACC) then comes to Atlanta on Oct. 28.
Tech’s November starts with two back-to-back road games at Virginia (1-5, 0-2 ACC) and at Clemson (4-2, 2-2 ACC), respectively. Syracuse (4-2, 0-2 ACC) comes to Bobby Dodd Stadium on Nov. 18 before No. 1-ranked Georgia (6-0) shows up Nov. 25.
Key’s team needs to find at least three wins out of those six matchups to return to a bowl game for the first time since 2018. ESPN Analytics predicts the Jackets to go 2-4 in its final six.
NOTES
- The Tech offense ranks 26th nationally on third down (46.8%), 24th in sacks allowed (1.17 per game), 28th with 13.5 yards per completion, 35th in passing offense (275.2 yards per game), 43rd in total offense (431.2 yards per game), 98th in red zone offense (76.9 %)
- Tech’s defense ranks seventh nationally with 13 takeaways, eighth with six fumbles recovered, 19th with seven interceptions, 94th in tackles for loss (five per game), 111th on third down (45.8%), 114th in total defense (434.3 yards allowed per game), 116th in red zone defense (91.7%), 117th with 132 first downs allowed and 127th in rushing defense (214.3 yards per game)
- Tech’s highest-graded players so far this season, according to Pro Football Focus, are Singleton (74.5) on offense, senior linebacker Andrew White (77.1) on defense and senior defensive back Jaylon King (91.8) on special teams.
- Quarterback Haynes King ranks fourth nationally with 15 passing TDs, eighth with 96 points responsible for, ninth with 331.2 yards of total offense per game, 10th with 1,480 passing yards, 12th in passing yards per game (296) and 23rd in passing efficiency (164.3).
- King’s 16 touchdown passes are tied with Eddie McAshan and Reggie Ball for the sixth-most in a single Tech season. Joe Hamilton, who holds the program record with 29 in 1999, is fifth with 17 in 1998.
- King ranks third nationally with 16 passing touchdowns, eighth in points responsible for (108) and 19th with 1,631 passing yards.
- The Jackets’ 12 opponents are now a combined 45-23. Tech’s three wins were against teams that are currently 9-6, its three losses against teams a combined 13-5 and its remaining six games are against teams that are a combined 23-12.
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