Bleav in Georgia Tech: Instant Reaction and Takeaways From the Yellow Jackets' 59-12 Win

Georgia Tech defeated Gardner--Webb 59-12 to move to 2-0. The Bleav in Georgia Tech crew breaks down the win and the key players

Aug 29, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key following the game winning touchdown by quarterback Haynes King (10) (not pictured) in the fourth quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech got off to another slow start, but they ended up dominating in Saturday's 59-12 win over Gardner-Webb. The Yellow Jackets once again turned the ball over on their first two possessions of the game, but that is the only reason they did not finish with over 700 yards of offense. The Yellow Jackets had explosive plays everywhere, averaging nearly 12 yards per play and finishing with 680 yards of offense.

On the latest episode of Bleav Georgia Tech, Jackson and RJ break down what happened in this game, key players, and overall takeaways as the Yellow Jackets move to 2-0.

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Starting Philo

Aaron Philo Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech Athletic

The big story yesterday was redshirt freshman Aaron Philo getting his first career start and Haynes King missing the game with a lower body injury. Of course Philo had played before, being a key player in wins over Miami and NC State last season, but this was the first time that he got the start. After a couple of early turnovers, Philo settled in and was 21-28 for 378 yards and one touchdown. After the game, Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key explained the decision to start Philo and not play King:

"Yeah, it was a decision that was really right up into game time you guys saw he was he went out for pregame warm -ups he's got a just a nagging lower body injury you know that you know I trust I put a hundred percent trust in faith in our medical staff and our doctors and our training staff and you know as much as you want somebody to play you know they're gonna do its best for them so they can you know not have one week turned into four or five or six so they made the right decision, and then, you know, I'm going to support those people, the doctors, and back them up into any point in time."

Key knows that the offense has to get off to better starts, as Georgia Tech has made early mistakes in this game and in last week's game vs Colorado, but they found a way to win:

We have turnover drills and ball security drills in practice. All offensive guys don't go to defense and try to get the ball turned over. They're trying to protect it. Look, this is uncharacteristic of our football team and what we take pride in and what we work into the day. It's got to be fixed. We've got to continue to work these things. We've got to continue to put the players in positions that practice is game like and where they're they feel that pressure and the decisions and whatnot.

You look, some of the things from last week were drastically cleaned up this week and then you know something else, and like I said, you know, Aaron comes to the sideline after the second one. Hey, man, you did it. They're over with. All right, now let's go play ball.

First time guys get in there, when you really-- it's a little different when you're the guy as opposed to coming off the bench. So I was proud of the way that he settled back into the game and was able to compete the rest of the day."

Georgia Tech will host Clemson next Saturday (12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN).