Three Takeaways from Georgia Tech's win over South Carolina State

Georgia Tech had an offensive explosion in today's win

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Sep 10, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

In this story:

Sure, it might have only been South Carolina State, but Georgia Tech looked impressive on the offensive side of the football in getting their 48-13 win.

Aside from a fumble and a missed field goal, it was hard to point out much that went wrong for the Yellow Jackets on that side of the ball.

Next up for Georgia Tech is going to be a road trip to Ole Miss to have a rematch with the Rebels. The Yellow Jackets lost in a blowout in Atlanta against Lane Kiffin's team last season and will look to have a better performance next week.

So what are the big takeaways from today's game?

1. The offense dominated

It was hard to envision a better day for the Georgia Tech offense.

The Yellow Jackets put up 578 yards of offense today and it was a balance of both the run and the pass. In his second start, Haynes King went 21-29 for 290 yards and four touchdowns. He was accurate and efficient all day long and looked like he knew where he was going every play. Those kinds of performances will be needed against future opponents, but so far through two games, King has brought a lot to the offense.

The rushing attack was just as good. Jamal Haynes led the way with 114 yards on nine carries, averaging 12.6 yards per carry. Trey Cooley also did a lot on the ground with 10 carries for 93 yards, but he also caught two passes for 61 yards.

The wide receivers have shown what they are capable of through two games. True freshman Eric Singleton Jr. looks like a star in the making and caught three passes for 69 yards and a touchdown, while Malik Rutherford had 60 yards. Dominick Blaylock had a solid game as well.

The offensive line did not allow any sacks today either. True freshman Ethan Mackenny got his first career start and played well.

Georgia Tech averaged 8.6 yards per play, 8.1 yards per rush, and 9.1 yards per attempt through the air, all high marks.

2. The tackling leaves a lot to be desired

SCSU is a run-heavy football team that struggles to throw the ball, but giving up nearly 200 yards to a team is never a good thing. One of the reasons for the poor run defense was the tackling. In the second half, there were several missed tackles that let the Bulldogs move down the field on their first couple of drives.

The linebackers saw a lot of rotation today. Paul Moala, Kyle Efford, Braelen Oliver, and Trenilyas Tatum all played in this game.

Injuries could be a concern at defensive end too. Sylvain Yondjouen is out for the season and Eddie Kelly got hurt in today's game too. That is something to watch moving forward.

3. The kicking game is still a roller coaster

Gavin Stewart was 0-2 in the Louisville game last week and needed a confidence boost. After a missed field goal, however, he was pulled for Aidan Birr and Birr responded by hitting two field goals, including one from 42 yards.

While Birr did nicely in filling in for Stewart, the Yellow Jackets have to find more consistency at this position or it is going to cost them down the line. It will be interesting to see if Key uses Birr next against Ole Miss or elects to give Stewart another shot.

Georgia Tech travels to Oxford to take on Ole Miss next week. The game is at 7:30 and will be broadcast on SEC Network.

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