Georgia Tech vs UCF: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly From The Gasparilla Bowl

Georgia Tech won their first bowl game since 2016 last night

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Dec 23, 2023 12:20 PM EST

In this story:

Georgia Tech has won a bowl game.

Brent Key guided the program to its first bowl win since 2016 and the Yellow Jackets finished with a 7-6 record after their impressive win over UCF. It was a good ending to a great first year under Key and this program has momentum going into the 2024 season.

After a tough first quarter, the defense for the Yellow Jackets settled in and made adjustments while the running game took over on offense and running back Jamal Haynes won the game MVP.

Let's break down the good, the bad, and the ugly from last night.

The Good

Jamal Haynes running the ball for Georgia Tech — Georgia Tech running back Jamal Haynes was the Gasparilla Bowl MVP
Nathaniel Caudell

Georgia Tech won. That is always a good thing, no matter how it happens.
With the win, Georgia Tech finished 7-6 on the season, good for its first winning since 2018.
The bowl victory was Georgia Tech’s first since its 33-18 win over Kentucky in the 2016 TaxSlayer (Gator) Bowl
Georgia Tech moved into 26-20 all-time in bowl games.
Georgia Tech moved into a tie with Clemson, Nebraska and Ohio State for 10^th all-time with 26 bowl wins.
Georgia Tech moved into 11^th all-time with a .565 bowl winning percentage (min. 15 bowl wins).
The win was Georgia Tech’s third in its last four bowl games.
Georgia Tech trailed 14-0 just 8:34 into the game. The 14-point deficit was the largest that the Yellow Jackets have ever overcome in a bowl victory (prev.: 12-0 deficit in a 20-18 win over Tulsa in the 1944 Sugar Bowl).
The 14-point deficit is also tied for the fourth-largest that Georgia Tech has ever overcome in any win and the largest deficit that the Yellow Jackets have overcome since they trailed 17-0 in last season’s 21-17 win at No. 11 North Carolina (Nov. 19, 2022).
Georgia Tech closed the season with wins in four of its last six games.
Georgia Tech moved to 4-2 all-time against UCF.
After UCF gained 243 yards and scored 17 points on its first four possessions, Georgia Tech held UCF scoreless and limited the Knights to 181 yards over their final seven possessions.
After Georgia Tech was held scoreless on its first two possessions, it scored on seven of its final nine possessions (not including kneel-downs at the end of the end of each half).
Haynes ran a career-high 128 yards on just 18 carries (7.1 avg.).
The 100-yard rushing game was Haynes’ fourth of the season and his career.

Dontae Smith dodging a UCF defender — Georgia Tech running back Dontae Smith
Nathaniel Caudell

Haynes finished the season with 1,059 rushing yards, good for the first 1,000-yard rushing season by a Yellow Jacket since QB Ta’Quon Marshall (1,146) and RB KirVonte Benson (1,053) both went over the 1,000-yard mark in 2017.
Haynes’ 1,059 rushing yards are the 15th-most in Georgia Tech single-season history.
King finished the season with 2,842 passing yards, 737 rushing yards, 27 touchdown passes, and 10 touchdown runs. Since 2000, the only other ACC quarterbacks that have had at least those same numbers in a season are Louisville’s Lamar Jackson (2016 and 2017), Virginia Tech’s Jerod Evans (2016), and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson (2015).
King set a new Georgia Tech single-season record with 37 touchdowns responsible for, breaking the previous record of 35 set by Joe Hamilton in 1999.
Kyle Efford had a team-high nine tackles and finished the season with team-high 81 stops. Despite not entering the starting lineup until the seventh game of the season, Efford became the first freshman to lead Georgia Tech in tackles since Daryl Smith tied for the team lead with 99 tackles in 2000 and is the first freshman to lead the Yellow Jackets outright since Ricardo Wimbush in 1999 (91).
Horace Lockett’s forced fumble in the first quarter was the first of his career.
Myles Sims’ recovery of Lockett’s forced fumble was his first fumble recovery of the season and third of his career.
Ahmari Harvey’s interception in the fourth quarter was his third of the season and third of his career.

The Bad

UCF quarterback John Rhys-Plumlee
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

UCF did gain 169 yards on the ground, averaging five yards per carry.
UCF wide receiver Javon Baker had nine catches for 173 yards and Georgia Tech struggled to defend against the pass early in the game
The defense gave up over 400 yards
UCF was 7-14 on third down