5 Key Takeaways From Georgia Tech's Loss to Louisville

Georgia Tech falls to 1-2 in the ACC after its 31-19 loss to Lousiville

Sep 21, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10) runs the ball against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech dropped their second game of the season this afternoon to Louisville and falls to 1-2 on the season in the ACC. It will be an uphill climb for the Yellow Jackets this season and a lot will have to go their way if they have a chance in the ACC. Here are some key takeaways from their loss to Louisville. 

1. Special Teams and critical offensive turnover play key factors in the outcome- It was a tough outing for kicker Aidan Birr, which I think resulted in some of the aggressiveness and decision-making for head coach Brent Key. Birr was 1/3 on the afternoon including a game-changing field goal block returned for a touchdown by Tayon Holloway that gave Louisville a 31-19 lead with seven minutes remaining in the fourth. This put all the momentum back on the side of Louisville and allowed them to play with their ears pinned back and essentially putting the game out of reach. QB Haynes King had a pretty good game from a numbers perspective throwing for 312 passing yards and finishing with a rushing TD. He made a critical mistake early in the first quarter when Georgia Tech held a 7-0 lead and the momentum in the game. King tried to throw a late pass to Rutherford after the defense collapsed on him in a hurry. It ended up being a backward pass that was batted down and returned for a touchdown by Louisville that helped them even up the game at 7-7. It was crucial because the Louisville offense struggled early, and they tied it up without being on the field. King responded with a deep pass on the next drive that set up a field goal for Birr but was missed wide right. 

2. Head Coach Brent Key's Aggressive Approach- Some will criticize his aggressiveness and decision-making in the game, but I thought Coach Key showed belief in his team. Going for it on 4th and goal at the end of the half was crucial for the Yellow Jackets and helped Georgia Tech cut the deficit to 17-14. Georgia Tech had momentum but couldn’t convert it to points in the second half scoring just five points after halftime. Coach Key maintained an aggressive approach in the second half leaving his offense on the field on critical four downs. The Yellow Jackets went for it five times and were 3/5 on fourth down. I thought coach Key handled and managed the game well given the circumstances and his kicker Aidan Birr struggling. It comes down to executing in all phases and the Yellow Jackets were unable to do that consistently on Saturday. In the end, you want a coach who believes in you and trusts you in critical situations. Coach Key proved that on Saturday and his team will be more willing to put it on the line for him going forward. I can’t state this enough but the Yellow Jackets have their guy to lead them to where they want to go. 

3. Georgia Tech Struggles on Third Down- The Yellow Jackets were 4-15 on third down and only converted 26% of their third downs. I think it was partially due to playcalling on early downs on some of the drives that resulted in second and longs putting Georgia Tech behind the sticks. A play in particular the defense figured out in the second half was the QB power run by King. The Louisville defense had answers and shut this play down consistently. Also, the running game was ineffective which made the Yellow Jackets have to pass it more on first down than they probably would have liked to. I think Georgia Tech could have run more screen plays for their playmakers like TE Avery Boyd, WR Malik Rutherford, and WR Eric Singleton Jr. It worked in the first half and the Cardinals' defense didn’t have any answers for it giving up big gains. Overall, there is a lot of blame that could go around and the Yellow Jackets couldn’t execute on this down and it played a key factor in the game and why they couldn’t score enough points in the second half. 

4. The running game struggles again against ACC Opponent- For the second time this season, the running game didn’t equal up to the reputation that it has built. The Yellow Jackets rushed for 98 yards and 37 carries which is 2.6 yards per carry. QB Haynes King was the leading rusher again with a team-high 58 rushing yards and a touchdown. Star running back Jamal Haynes was held to 12 carries for 25 yards and true freshman Trelain Maddox had eight carries for 14 yards. In comparison to the Syracuse game from earlier this season, the Yellow Jackets ran for 112 yards and King rushed for a team-high 67 rushing yards and two touchdowns. I don’t put all the blame on the running backs because it looked like there weren’t a lot of holes to run through and the Louisville defensive line dominated the line of scrimmage in the run game. The offensive line and running game have to be better if the Yellow Jackets are going to beat teams like Notre Dame, Miami, and Georgia later in the year. 

5. Dynamic WR Duo impresses again- Malik Rutherford and Eric Singleton cooked the Louisville defense combining for 12 catches for 201 receiving yards. Rutherford finished with seven catches for 113 yards and had a long of 45 yards. Singleton finished with five catches for 88 yards, including one of his best plays coming in the first half that set up a touchdown run by Jamal Haynes thanks to a 51-yard reception. Singleton Jr outran the double team and caught the ball in traffic. They both made history on Saturday. Singleton reached the 1,000-yard mark in his 17th game played in his career. He accomplished the feat in the first half. These two have been key factors in the explosiveness the offense has been seeing this season and are big plays waiting to happen when they have the ball in their hands. Expect both to continue to make plays and require a lot of defensive attention moving forward. 

There are some things that went well and things that went bad for the Yellow Jackets. The bye week comes at a good time for Georgia Tech where they can reset and get ready for the second half of the season.