For a team that hung its hat on offensive line play and an ACC-best rushing attack in 2023, Saturday’s performance for Georgia Tech was as alarming as it was confounding.
The Yellow Jackets managed just 98 yards rushing — 23 of which came on a Haynes King touchdown run in the first quarter — and averaged just 2.6 yards per carry at No. 19 Louisville in a 31-19 loss. That marked the first time since Oct. 7 at Miami that Tech has been held to less than 100 yards on the ground.
“(Louisville) did a really good job scheming us up,” King said. “We’re gonna have to find a way. Doesn’t matter what they’re doing, whether it’s a stunt, scheme, we gotta find a way.”
What was more concerning for Tech than its rushing total was its inability to move the chains in short yardage situations:
- Early in the second quarter, Tech needed a yard on third down on its own 24, but running back Trelain Maddox was stuffed for a yard loss.
- Needing a yard on the Louisville 4 in the third quarter, Maddox was stood up at the line of scrimmage for no gain. Tech would take a delay of game on fourth down and then have Aidan Birr kick a 26-yard field goal.
- To start the fourth quarter, the Jackets had three yards to gain at the Louisville 3 on fourth down, but King could only scrap for two trying to burrow his way through the line of scrimmage toward the goal line.
- Finally, on consecutive plays which sealed Tech’s fate late in the fourth quarter, Maddox gained only a yard on 3rd-and-2 and then Jamal Haynes was stonewalled for no gain on 4th-and-1 at the Louisville 21.
“It doesn’t matter if they have six, eight, 12 guys on the line of scrimmage, you gotta be able to move the guy,” Tech coach Brent Key said. “Going into the bye week that’s something that we will address. In two losses we’ve had two opportunities on a 4th-and-1 to possibly keep the chains moving and keep the game moving.
“That’s something we do work on, we’ll work on it, we’ll address it, we will look at it and we will have a plan to improve in that.”
Part of Tech’s ground game struggles can be explained by leading rusher Haynes dealing with nagging injuries throughout the early part of this season, Key said Thursday on his weekly radio show on 680 The Fan. A junior who ran for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns last season, Haynes has totaled just 238 yards through five games this fall.
Over the last three outings the former Grayson High School star is managing only 2.6 yards per carry. He had just 25 yards on 12 carries Saturday.
“(Wednesday’s) practice was the first time that my man (Haynes) has been 100%, full speed in a while,” Key said. “Jamal Haynes is one of the toughest people I’ve ever come across. He, pound for pound, is the toughest person I’ve ever come across. He’s truly tough in regards to playing the game of football, every way he goes about it, doesn’t wanna miss a rep in practice. To see him rolling the last couple days in practice with that big smile on his face again has been great.”
Defense better, still not great
All things considered, Tech’s defense showed signs of improvement against a Louisville offense that had scored 111 points in its first two games of the season.
The Jackets surrendered just 17 defensive points Saturday and held the Cardinals to 57 rushing yards. It was little consolation in the loss, but a sign of hope that Tech has figured some things out after the poor showing Sept. 7 at Syracuse.
“I’ll definitely say we’re starting to settle down and really get used to our defense,” Tech linebacker Kyle Efford said. “The more we play the longer we go and the more comfortable (we get), we’ll start to play faster and faster.”
Tech held Louisville to 2 of 9 on third down and to just 14 first downs, steps in a positive direction. But it did give up 269 passing yards and 7.1 yards per play.
The one glaring mistake of the day came at the end of the third quarter when Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough threw a deep ball down the right sidelines, Tech cornerback Ahmari Harvey lost control of his man and was eventually flagged for pass interference, and U of L wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks hauled in what would be a 57-yard score. That turned out to be the game-winner.
Ten losses after a win
Key took over Tech’s program in September of 2022 after Geoff Collins was fired. The former Tech offensive lineman has won 14 games with the Jackets and lost 12 since then (going 10-8 against the ACC), but a concerning trend is Tech’s inability to string victories together.
Tech is now 3-10 under Key following a win. That mark includes being 1-2 this season, having lost to Syracuse after beating Georgia State and lost to Louisville after beating Virginia Military Institute. The Jackets have three winning streaks under Key, all of just two games.
“It’s hard to win. We know that. That’s for sure. Every game’s hard to win. This one’s obviously no exception,” Key said. “This doesn’t change what the goals are. It doesn’t change what we work to do and what we’re working to do.”
The good news, however, is that Tech is 10-1 under Key following a loss. The Jackets, after a bye week, host Duke (4-0) on Oct. 5.
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