Two games in, two wins in the books for the Yellow Jackets who are off to their best start since 2016.
Georgia Tech cleared the hurdle of a Week 1 matchup with Georgia State by winning 35-12 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in a game Tech never trailed. Coach Brent Key’s team had a few too many penalties and took a while to get into an offensive rhythm, but eventually took the contest by the horns with three straight touchdown drives to build an insurmountable 28-3 lead.
Here are a few more takeaways from the Tech victory, the program’s sixth in the last eight games dating to last season:
Defense stands tall again
Tech’s defense stole the headlines in the team’s win over No. 10 Florida State in Dublin on Aug. 24. That unit put on a show again Saturday by holding State to 12 points.
Part of the Jackets’ success was due to making stops on fourth down and inside their own 20. It started at the game’s outset when Georgia State had a first down at the 1, but lost a yard on a run to the left, gained a yard up the middle and was stuffed for no gain by cornerback Ahmari Harvey on a third down run play.
On fourth down, GSU quarterback Christian Veilleux dropped back to pass, moved to his left when he couldn’t find an open receiver and ended up firing a pass high over his intended receiver out of the back of the end zone.
“We always say once they get in the red zone, it’s bend, don’t break,” Tech safety Clayton Powell-Lee said. “So it’s like we know they gonna try to run the ball, but I got a dude over here (defensive lineman Zeek Biggers) that’s gonna stuff the gap, so all of us we just know that it’s time to play dirty. It’s time to really get grimy in the trenches and just make them tackles and fit the gap. They gotta go to alternative things.
“We’re just showing to the rest of the country that in the red zone running the ball is not your best option, truthfully. Hopefully we can just continue to keep stacking those red zones and keep on getting them off the field.”
Tech also got a turnover, a fumble recover from Biggers that led to the Jackets first touchdown of the game. It would get another goal-line stand at the end of the second quarter that resulted in a State field goal and another red zone turnover on downs in the fourth quarter.
The Jackets held GSU to 3 of 12 on third down and recorded eight tackles for loss.
Tech’s 33 points allowed through two games is its fewest total since surrendering just 24 through two games to start 2016.
“Coach (Tyler) Santucci has a great defensive scheme and learning it for so long, now we’re at seven or eight months of getting his scheme down, we’re just picking it up real quick,” Powell-Lee said. “Even the little adjustments that we may make in the game, it’s not like we’ve never run it before. So it’s easy to make those adjustments, keep on playing fast and keep on swarming to the ball.”
Rutherford’s big day
In 29 previous games with the Jackets, receiver Malik Rutherford had never crossed the 100-yard threshold. Until Saturday night.
“Man, oh my God. It was about two minutes left, at the two-minute warning, (quarterback) Brody (Rhodes) actually came to me and told me, ‘You probably got, like, 140.’ I’m like, ‘Man, nah, I probably got like 97.’ It felt good,” Rutherford said. “I’ve been wanting to get over that 100-yeard hump. It’s my first time. Good game all around, I’m excited.”
Rutherford set a career high with seven catches for 131 yards in the win. No catch was bigger than his 52-yard haul early in the third quarter that gave Tech a 28-3 lead, a catch he made wide open down the left seam going toward Tech’s rowdy student section.
He ended the play with a little dance in the end zone.
“It don’t get no easier than that,” Rutherford said. “It was just a simple post route out of a squeeze set. They kind of blew the coverage. Haynes saw me, just made the catch. Easy touchdown.”
Added King: “We were gonna max protect, try to throw a shot. We had a post with dig over there. I came off the fake, saw they busted him. I was just gonna put it on him because nobody was around him. Didn’t have to lead him, didn’t have to do anything, just put it on him.”
The junior from Miami, Florida, also had receptions of 20, 18 and 31 yards. His previous high for catches in a game was six in 2022 at North Carolina and twice during the 2023 season in games against Bowling Green and UNC. Rutherford hadn’t totaled more than 85 yards in a game before the 131 against Georgia State.
“I don’t know if we have enough time to talk about (Rutherford). He’s one of my favorite people in the world,” Key said. “You talk about a guy that’s got energy every single day. He loves playing the game. He loves playing football, he really does. To see him get out and do so many different things, he’s so versatile, whether it’s playing slot receiver, whether it’s the deep balls in play action, the screens, the rounds, the different things he’s able to do — he’s a such asset for us and huge piece of what we do on offense.”
Too many flags on the field
Penalties were not a major issue in Tech’s season-opening win over Florida State. But the flags were flying Saturday in the direction of the white and gold.
“We’re definitely gonna make a point this week to try to clean that up,” King said. “That’s part of one of our four pillars is discipline. We can’t be having that, whether it’s false start, holding, whatever it is. We have to be one of the most-disciplined teams out here.”
The Jackets had eight penalties for 72 yards against Georgia State. A holding call negated a 60-yard touchdown run by King. An illegal substation call negated an interception by Efford.
Tech only averaged a little more than five penalties per game in 2023.
“We’ll take a look at ‘em on film, see what the issues are, especially some of the perimeter holding plays. It gives us good stuff to look at and really make corrections on and adjustments.”
