Georgia Tech vs Duke: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly From the Yellow Jacket's 24-14 win Over Duke

Georgia Tech got their fourth win of the year on Saturday night by beating previously unbeaten Duke 24-14

Aug 31, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Jamal Haynes (11)runs the ball against Georgia State Panthers in the fourth quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It took a perfect fourth quarter, but Georgia Tech was able to overcome a second half-defecit to defeat 5-0 Duke. The Yellow Jackets played excellent defense, ran the ball very well, and got their first interception of the season to cap off a win vs Duke. It was far from perfect, but Georgia Tech needed this win and they got it.

Let's break down the good, the bad, and the ugly from this game.

The Good

• Georgia Tech moved to 4-2 on the season overall and evened its record in Atlantic Coast Conference play at 2-2.
• The 4-2 start is Georgia Tech’s best since it also began 4-2 in 2017.
• Duke (5-1, 1-1 ACC) suffered its first loss of the season and had its seven-game overall winning streak snapped.
• Georgia Tech moved to 3-0 at home this season, which is its longest home winning streak at Bobby Dodd Stadium since it won eight-straight home games from Oct. 15, 2016. 11, 2017.
• Georgia Tech moved to 11-1 in games that immediately followed a defeat under head coach Brent Key.
• The win was Georgia Tech’s fourth-straight over Duke.
• Georgia Tech moved to 55-35-1 all-time versus Duke, including a 32-14-1 record versus the Blue Devils at home.
• Georgia Tech moved to 3-1 all-time versus Duke in games when the Blue Devils entered with a record of 5-0 or better.
• Georgia Tech moved to 6-0 in games when ACC Network’s “The Huddle” programming is on-site.
• Georgia Tech, which trailed 14-10 after three quarters, rallied to win a game that it trailed after three quarters for the first time since it came back from a 35-24 deficit after three quarters in last season’s 46-42 win over No. 17 North Carolina (Oct. 28, 2023).
• Georgia Tech allowed less than 100 rushing yards for the third-straight game, limiting Duke to just 74 yards on the ground. It marks the first time that Georgia Tech has surrendered less than 100 rushing yards in three-straight games since Oct. 19-Nov. 2, 2013 (Syracuse – 75 yds., at Virginia – 68, Pitt – minus-5).
• Georgia Tech has held four of its first six opponents of the season to under 100 rushing yards, which is the most opponents that it has held less than 100 yards on the ground since 2013 when it allowed less than 100 rushing yards six times.

•  Jamal Haynes finished with a season-high 128 rushing yards on 19 carries (6.7 avg.). He matched his career high of 128 rushing yards in last season’s Gasparilla Bowl win over UCF (Dec. 22, 2023) and his previous season high was 84 rushing yards vs. Georgia State (Aug. 31). He also had three receptions, including a touchdown.
• The 100-yard game is Haynes’ first of the season and fifth of his career.
• r-Jr. WR Malik Rutherford set a career high with eight receptions (prev.: 7, which he achieved three times in the last four games, including on Sept. 21 at Louisville).
• With his eight receptions, Rutherford moved into 11th place in Georgia Tech history with 111 career receptions, surpassing John Sias (110 – 1966-68).
• Rutherford had at least one reception for the 22nd-straight game, which extends the ninth-longest streak in Georgia Tech history.

• Chad Alexander ran the ball well. He finished with 10 carries for 60 yards and had some big runs in the second half.

• Ahmari Harvey got Georgia Tech's first interception of the season.

• Jordan van den Berg continued his strong play and got one sack in this game.

• Georgia Tech was 3-3 on fourth down.

• Georgia Tech held Duke to 279 yards of total offense.

• Georgia Tech's defense held Duke to 3-11 on third down.

• Eric Singleton Jr caught six passes for 42 yards.

• A win is always good.

• Aidan Birr was 1-1 today. It was only 23-yards, but he had been struggling.

• David Shanahan punted the ball well, including some key ones when Georgia Tech was backed up.

• Duke was one of the top pass rushing teams in the country, but Georgia Tech's offensive line only allowed one sack. It was the first sack they allowed all year.

The Bad

• The passing game was not fantastic. Haynes King finished 23-31 for 167 yards and two touchdowns. King did not play that bad, but the passing game could not really hit anything downfield and it was mostly screen game stuff for Georgia Tech. Aside from Rutherford and Singleton Jr, the Yellow Jackets could not get much going in the passing game. Georgia Tech only averaged 7.3 yards per completion.

• The Yellow Jackets only averaged 5.2 yards per play. \

• The defense played well, but they did give up a 65-yard yard touchdown in the second half.

• The offense went into a lull after the first drive of the game. After going up 7-0, Georgia Tech had several chances to really stretch the lead and they did not do it.

• Georgia Tech only had one sack and four TFLs. They put more pressure on Murphy but only got home once. We talk about the pass rush a lot, but against more formidable passing attacks, one sack might not cut it. I might be nitpicking, but the Yellow Jackets defense should be creating more havoc.