Georgia Tech Defeats Georgia State 35-12 to reach 2-0 For The First Time Since 2016

The Yellow Jackets offense had a huge night against the Panthers in their victory tonight. Georgia Tech will face Syracuse on the road next week

Aug 31, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Jamal Haynes (11) runs the ball past Georgia State Panthers safety Isaiah Holland (13) in the second quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Bobby Dodd Stadium was full tonight and Georgia Tech's famous new fan Sheamus was in attendance to see the first ever meeting between Georgia Tech and Georgia State. After pulling off a huge upset in Dublin, Ireland vs Florida State, Georgia Tech needed to avoid the letdown and take care of business against the Panthers in Dell McGee's first game as head coach.

It was not perfect but Georgia Tech got the win vs the Panthers and moved to 2-0 for the first time since 2016.

One of the big questions coming into tonight was how Georgia Tech was going to handle all the love they have been getting over the past week and there were some missteps tonight, but they made the big plays when they mattered. The defense got early stops in the red zone and Georgia Tech punched it in on a pair of 4th and goal situations in the first half. In the second half, the passing attack started attacking the Panthers vertically and hit some big plays against their defense. The end result was a win for Georgia Tech and they moved to 2-0.

Let's recap tonight's victory.

Georgia State started the game with the ball and they made it look easy on their first drive, until they got in the redzone. After the Panthers ran the ball for 57 yards, Georgia Tech's defense was able to hold Georgia State on 4th down and they took over backed up at their one-yard line. It was similar to how Florida State drove the ball down on their first drive of the game in Dublin last week, but this time, Georgia Tech kept the opposing team out of the end zone. The Yellow Jackets defense held Georgia State on 4th and goal and started their first possession on their own 1-yard line. The Panthers ran for 57 yards on the opening drive.

While they were able to get the ball out of the shadow of their own endzone, Georgia Tech's drive stalled out. There was a questionable call on third down where it appeared that tight end Avery Boyd made the line to gain, but was ruled short.

After a great punt from David Shanahan, Georgia Tech was able to force a turnover on the Panthers second possession.

Georgia Tech got the ball in great field position to start their second drive and they took advantage. It came down to a 4th and goal call, but Brent Key elected to go for it and Jamal Haynes punched it in for the first touchdown of the night. It was a short 20-yard drive. but Georgia Tech led 7-0.

The only three and out for the Georgia Tech defense came on the Panthers third possession, but they were unable to do anything with the ball and had to punt it back.

Georgia State's best offensive drive of the first half came on their fourth possession. They were clearly wanting to play keep away with Georgia Tech and make sure their offense stayed on the sideline and they executed that plan well. The Panthers picked up some timely third down conversions and methodically moved the ball on the Georgia Tech defense. The drive went 87 yard in 16 plays took 8:24 off the clock, but the goal line defense for Georgia Tech came up big once again and they held Georgia State to a field goal. It was 7-3 with around 3 1/2 minutes left in the half.

Georgia Tech could have used a time-consuming drive to end the half and that is what they got. The running game finally looked like it usually does and Georgia Tech got down into Georgia State territory. After failing to punch the ball in, Key had another big decision to make on 4th and goal, this time with only 15 seconds lef. Key opted to go for it and his aggressiveness worked. Haynes King ran the ball into the end zone and Georgia Tech extended the lead to 14-3 right as the half was about to end. Key had to make some big 4th down decisions in the game and they both ended up scoring the only two touchdowns of the 1st half.

Georgia Tech finished with 184 yards in the first half, Georgia State with 162. Haynes King 12-14 for 84 yards. GT outrushes GSU 100-66 and averaged 6.1 yards per play compared to Georgia State’s 5.4. GT 6.3 yards per rush, GSU 3.9. Georgia Tech is averaging 7.0 yards per completion while Georgia State is averaging 10.7. It was not a perfect half, but the turnover by Georgia State and better redzone execution helped Georgia Tech to their first half lead.

After Georgia State kicked the ball out of bounds to start the second half, Georgia Tech struck quickly. The Yellow Jackets went 65 yards in four plays and Eric Singleton Jr ran for a 32 yard touchdown. It was an impressive start to the second half and really put the pressure on the Panthers to respond.

After a three and out, Georgia Tech's offense kept their foot down and Haynes King found Malik Rutherford for a 52-yard touchdown to make it 28-3. It felt like the game was slipping away from the Panthers and Georgia Tech was comfortably in front.

Georgia State did drive the ball down the field, but had to settle for another field goal to make it 28-6. They gave the ball back to a red hot Georgia Tech offense, but the Yellow Jackets first turnover of the season came on the next drive when King was picked off by former Yellow Jackets defensive back Kenyatta Watson. There was under eight minutes to go in the game and Georgia Tech led 28-6.

It looked as if the Panthers were going to return the favor when Georgia Tech linebacker Kyle Efford picked off a pass, but an illegal substitution penalty wiped the interception away. The Panthers kept the ball and they would continue to drive the ball down the field and it ended with them getting their first touchdown of the night. Panthers quarterback Christian Veilleux found a wide open reciever for a touchdown to shorten the lead. Georgia State attempted to go for two, but the Yellow Jackets got a stop. The Yellow Jackets led 28-12 with 3:42 left in the third quarter.

After a holding penalty moved the offense back. King found Singleton for a big gain and it brought up a critical 3rd and 2, which was then picked up by Chad Alexander.

Entering the 4th quarter, the Yellow Jackets offense was driving. One sequence that can really summarize what kind of player Haynes King is was on this drive. After the officials missed a pretty blatant facemask and targeting penalty on Georgia State, King found tight end Avery Boyd for a touchdown to extend the lead to 35-12 with 14:14 left in the game.

That was the score for the remainder of the game. Georgia Tech stopped Georgia State in the red zone again to effectively end the game. Georgia Tech ran the clock out after that and got the victory vs the Panthers.

Georgia Tech outgained Georgia State 496-360 and the Yellow Jackets were able to rack up 225 yards rushing, with Jamal Haynes leading the way with 84 yards on 17 carries. Haynes King led an explosive passing attack, finishing 24-29 and 275 yards and three total touchdowns. Malik Rutherford had a huge day on offense, finishing with seven catches for 131 yards and one touchdown.

Georgia Tech averaged 7.8 yards per play while Georgia State averaged 5.7.

Georgia State rushed for 150 yards in this game and averaged 5.2 yards per carry. After a great performance against Florida State, I would say the defense did not perform as well tonight, although they made the big plays in the red zone that kept Georgia State off the board. The third down defense was also stout, holding the Panthers to 3-12. The defense finished with eight tackles for loss against the Panthers.

Next week will be a test for Georgia Tech. They hit the road to face Syracuse, who got a win today in their season opener against Ohio. That game is set for a 12:00 p.m. kickoff time next Saturday and will be televised by the ACC Network.