The last time the Jackets were ranked, “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars was the number one song on the Hot 100. It’s rather fitting that Tech football seems to have adopted the mantra, “Don’t believe me? Just watch.”
Plenty of people questioned whether their 24-21 win over the Florida State Seminoles in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic was simply the result of luck or playing a mediocre opponent. While the Seminoles certainly did not look any better after a 28-13 drubbing by the Boston College Eagles, the Jackets continued to look like a force in the ACC. They handedly beat their crosstown rivals, the Georgia State Panthers, by a score of 35-12. By moving to a 2-0 record on the season, the Jackets were ranked as the No. 23 team in the nation by the Associated Press.
Things did not start out well for the Jackets’ defense. They allowed a long Georgia State drive, headlined by a massive 41-yard run from senior running back Sy’veon Wilkerson through Tech’s run defense. The Jackets’ defense had similar starting problems against Florida State last week, but they made critical improvements in the red zone. The Panthers got down to Tech’s 1-yard line before junior quarterback Christian Veilleux sailed a fourth-down pass over the head of redshirt senior receiver Ja’Cyais Credle. Even though Tech’s offense was forced to punt on the next drive, the defense set a tone that the Panthers would need to earn every one of their points.
Senior defensive tackle Zeek Biggers punctuated that message by scooping up the fumble for Tech after a botched snap by Veileux. Tech’s redshirt junior quarterback Haynes King took advantage of this by finding redshirt senior tight end Jackson Hawes for his first catch as a Jacket. Hawes’ 10-yard grab set up a touchdown run by redshirt junior running back Jamal Haynes. Haynes split the defense and then hit a split of his own in the end zone to celebrate.
Both teams traded punts, but Tech’s defense clamped down on GSU’s offense to force a three-and-out. Redshirt junior Ahmari Harvey drove redshirt senior receiver Tailique Williams into the dirt to force the punt, which carried over from the sound tackling on display in Tech’s Dublin game. Unfortunately, the Panthers drove down the field for their second series inside Tech’s red zone. They were turned away on the 1-yard line once again, but GSU still got on the board with a field goal. Now holding a 7-3 lead, the Jackets responded with an 11-play drive that ended with a touchdown run by King.
Coming out of the half 14-3, the Jackets capitalized on having possession with a scoring drive that ended in a creative way. Sophomore receiver Eric Singleton Jr. took the handoff on a jet sweep to the outside and ran into the end zone to go up 21-3. The deficit only widened on Tech’s next drive, where King connected with redshirt junior wide receiver Malik Rutherford for a deep touchdown. Now in possession of a commanding 28-3 lead, the Jackets began to let up. Georgia State got into field goal range on a roughing-the-passer call from redshirt junior defensive end Romello Height and made it a 28-6 game. On offense, King threw an ill-advised pass straight into the hands of redshirt senior Kenyatta Watson II, a former Jackets defensive back.
The Panthers were able to use the turnover to spark new life into their offense—they rolled through the Jackets’ defense for a touchdown. However, Tech did not let GSU back into the game. They iced the game on the arm of King, who found Rutherford for a 35-yard gain and senior receiver Avery Boyd for the 22-yard touchdown that sealed the Jackets’ win. GSU got the ball back for two more drives but was not able to capitalize on either opportunity.
Despite the final score, this was definitely a more inconsistent effort from Tech’s defense. They looked much better in the red zone, only allowing one touchdown on the night and stopping GSU on two fourth down attempts. However, the overall run defense was shakier. After holding FSU’s run game to 98 rushing yards on 31 carries, they allowed GSU to run for 150 yards on 29 carries. Even though the Seminoles have not looked great so far, it is highly unlikely that GSU has a better roster than FSU. This could be a case of the Jackets looking ahead to their matchup against Syracuse, but it should be noted as a possible concern.
On a more positive note, the Jackets’ passing attack looked better in their second appearance. King hit on 24 of his 29 passes for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns with one interception. The interception stands out as a blemish on the night, but King looked decisive and effective when moving the ball through the air. Despite King’s solid outing, Tech’s offense is still clearly strongest on the ground. They ran for 225 yards as a team and Haynes had 84 yards with one touchdown as the lead back. He has had a nice start to the season but will need to continue that start in this weekend’s matchup with Syracuse. The Orange just allowed the Ohio University Bobcats to run for over 200 rushing yards, so they could be susceptible to Tech’s rushing attack.
Tech fans will find out whether the Jackets can continue proving the naysayers wrong and move up the rankings by beating Syracuse on Sunday, Sept. 7 in the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, NY.