Georgia Tech loses to Ole Miss 48-23, falls to 1-2 for the season

Georgia Tech heads to Wake Forest next week

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Sep 16, 2023 11:00 PM EDT

In this story:

Georgia Tech made its first-ever trip to Oxford tonight and they were facing the No. 17 Ole Miss Rebels, who were coming in without some of their top playmakers on offense.

After a close loss against Louisville, Georgia Tech bounced back with a huge performance on offense against South Carolina State, but their toughest test was still to come. Ole Miss beat Georgia Tech 42-0 in Atlanta last year, but that was before Brent Key took over the program.

Tonight, Georgia Tech played in the first half, but could not convert their red zone opportunities. A poor start in the second half put the Yellow Jackets in a 24-3 hole that they were unable to dig out of. The loss drops Georgia Tech to 1-2 this season with a very important game against Wake Forest on deck for next week.

Let's recap the game for Georgia Tech.

1st Quarter

Ole Miss won the toss and elected to receive the ball to start the game. After much speculation throughout the day, star running back Quinshon Judkins did play for the Rebels.

It was evident that GT was going to try and blitz early to try and affect Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart. Ole Miss moved the ball well on the first drive, but the Georgia Tech defense was able to hold them to a field goal and the Rebels led 3-0.

Georgia Tech took over and began the drive by running the ball and running it well. Trey Cooley had four carries for 28 yards and Jamal Haynes had nine yards on three carries. Haynes King was hitting short passes, but could not pick up a 3rd down.

Then disaster struck for Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets came out to attempt a field goal, but it was blocked and Ole Miss returned it to the Yellow Jackets 34-yard line.

Ole Miss took over and went and punched it in in eight plays, with quarterback Jaxson Dart getting the one-yard touchdown run. The Rebels led 10-0 with 3:02 left in the first quarter.

Georgia Tech needed a bounce-back drive and that is exactly what they got. Haynes King looked composed and hit some passes to continue the drive, including a 16-yarder to tight end Brett Seither to get the Yellow Jackets in red zone territory. Ole Miss led 10-0 after the 1st quarter, but GT was going to have an opportunity to pull closer.

2nd Quarter

Jamal Haynes — Georgia Tech lost to Ole Miss on the road tonight
Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

The quarter started with a Jamaly Haynes run on 3rd and goal that came up short of the end zone and Brent Key was faced with a decision on 4th down. He opted to go for it and it looked as if King had found Dominick Blaylock for a touchdown, but the ball was knocked loose and Ole Miss took over at their own five-yard line. It was another missed red zone opportunity for the Yellow Jackets to score some points.

Ole Miss took over and after a big third-down pass to get the Rebels a new set of downs, Dart had a big 68-yard run to get the Rebels into Georgia Tech territory. It looked like the Rebels would go up three scores on Ole Miss. After a couple of solid plays, the defense had Ole Miss in a 4th and goal and cornerback Myles Sims broke up a big pass to get the ball back for the offense. It was a huge play in the game and kept the Rebels off the board.

Georgia Tech took over for its third drive and continued to move the ball on the Rebels defense. King found Christian Leary for a first down and then proceeded to pick up another with his legs. The tight ends have not been featured much in the passing attack this season but had some nice plays in the first half.

GT drove the ball into the red zone again, but could not find the end zone. Aidan Birr came out for another field goal and nailed it.

Ole Miss did not have much time for a drive and tried a long field goal to end the half, but Georgia Tech got a piece of it and the Rebels went into the half with a 10-3 lead.

The red zone miscues and Dart's ability to get yards on the ground were the difference in this game in the first half.

Ole Miss outgained Georgia Tech 209-203. Haynes King is 12-17 for 103 yards. GT has 100 yards on 23 carries. Dart has 118 yards on eight carries. Judkins has 27 yards on seven carries.

Time of possession: GT 20:20, Ole Miss 9:40

3rd Quarter

Haynes King and Jamal Haynes — Georgia Tech is now 1-2 after a loss to Ole Miss
Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia Tech got the ball coming out of the half and was not able to do much with the ball. King did get one first down via a scramble but held the ball too long on the next third down and GT had to punt. It was the first drive of the game for the Yellow Jackets in which they did not get into Ole Miss territory. It was also the first punt of the game for either team.

On the first play of the half for Ole Miss, it looked like GT had Dart wrapped up, but he found Judkins at the very last second for a big gain. Dart then found Jordan Watkins and was able to get into GT territory. Backup running back Ulysses Bentley IV was put in the game and his next carry was for a touchdown to put Ole Miss up 17-3. Georgia Tech was in need of a good drive on their next possession.

The Yellow Jackets had the worst drive they could have.

The offense moved backward and Georgia Tech was faced with a 4th and nine, instead of punting or leaving the offense on the field, Key opted to go for a fake punt. It appeared there was a holding penalty, but no call. Still, it was a questionable decision that cost the Yellow Jackets field position.

Just a couple of plays later, Dart ran it into the end zone and Ole Miss stretched the lead to 24-3. It felt like the dagger in the game.

The offense for Georgia Tech took over and they needed someone to step up. The guy that did was none other than true freshman Eric Singleton Jr. Singleton caught two big third downs, including a 51-yarder to set the Yellow Jackets up in the red zone. After it appeared that Jamal Haynes got in the end zone, the play was reviewed and reversed. That was no problem and King carried the ball into the end zone on the next play to cut the lead to 24-10 with 2:07 left to play in the 3rd quarter.

Ole Miss took over at their own 25-yard line and looked to regain the momentum in the game. The offense moved backward thanks to some penalties and the Rebels had to punt to start the 4th quarter. GT would have a massive drive to start the final frame of the game.

4th Quarter

Georgia Tech would take over trailing 24-10 at the start of the 4th quarter.

King got in a rhythm early by finding Singleton again for a first down and then Cooley. The Yellow Jackets had the ball across the 50 and looking to cut into the lead. Cooley would have a big carry and then King faked out a defender to move GT into the red zone.

With the Yellow Jackets facing a 3rd down, it looked as if former Yellow Jacket Zamari Walton would be called for a flag, but the refs put the flag back in their pocket and reversed course. King and the offense were faced with the biggest 4th down of the game at the Ole Miss 15-yard line. King stood in the pocket and found Singleton for the touchdown and all of a sudden, it was 24-17 and GT had scored 14 unanswered.

After trailing 24-3 earlier in the half, Georgia Tech had cut it into a one-possession game on the road against the No. 17 team in the country.

Ole Miss took over and all the momentum was on the side of Georgia Tech.

The biggest play of the drive came on a 2nd and nine when Georgia Tech appeared to get enough pressure on Dart, but the Rebels quarterback hung in the pocket and completed a pass for a 40-yard gain.

The Yellow Jackets held though and held Ole Miss to a field goal attempt, which they hit to make it 27-17.

Georgia Tech took over with 7:45 left in the game and they needed a big drive and to score quickly.

The Yellow Jackets went three and out and had to punt the ball away. Ole Miss took over at their own 32 with 6:40 left in the game.

After a run for no gain from Judkins, Dart found Jordan Watkins deep for a 68-yard touchdown that put the game firmly out of reach. The score was 34-17 and only 5:59 left on the clock.

Ole Miss took over again after Georgia Tech could not do anything with the ball and scored a touchdown to make it 41-17 with 3:40 left in the game.

King found Avery Boyd for a garbage-time touchdown to make it 41-23, but the game had been over.

Ole Miss opted to keep trying to score on offense and put another touchdown on the Yellow Jackets, taking the lead 48-23.

There were some positives to take away from the game, but too many self-inflicted plays and poor defense hurt this team's chance to win. It was good to see them battle back in the second half after going down 24-3, but the defense giving up a big bomb at the end of the game can't happen, just like the defense can't give up the amount of rushing yards that they did. This team is improved, but the defense is going to continue to cost them if it does not get fixed, the rushing defense is perhaps the worst in the country and that could cause them to lose some games they need to win to make a bowl game this year. Still, a loss is a loss and this team has a lot of cleaning up to do ahead of the rest of their schedule.

Next week, the 1-2 Yellow Jackets hit the road for their first road game in the ACC this season as they take on Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons survived a tough test from Old Dominion this week and are 3-0 heading into this game. The game will kick off at 6:30 and be televised on the CW Network.

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