Jackets Oust Previously Unbeaten DukeJackets Oust Previously Unbeaten Duke
Football

Jackets Oust Previously Unbeaten Duke

Behind two TD passes from King and 128 rushing yards from Haynes, Georgia Tech rallies for 24-14 win

Box Score

THE FLATS – Quarterback Haynes King engineered two fourth-quarter touchdown drives as Georgia Tech came from behind to grab a 24-14 Atlantic Coast Conference football victory over previously undefeated Duke on Saturday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field.

Behind a career-high-tying 128 rushing yards from Jamal Haynes, Tech ran for a season-high 245 yards and dominated time of possession by nearly 2-to-1, holding the ball for 39:27 to Duke’s 20:33. The Yellow Jackets outgained the Blue Devils, 412-279, which included a whopping 245-74 advantage on the ground.

Georgia Tech (4-2, 2-2 ACC) trailed 14-10 going into the fourth quarter, but King led the Yellow Jackets on back-to-back touchdown drives of 85 and 70 yards in the final period to lead the Yellow Jackets to the comeback win. King threw both of his two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter – a 3-yard toss to Haynes that gave the Jackets a 17-14 lead and a 9-yard pitch-and-catch to Eric Singleton, Jr. that extended the advantage to 24-14.

Tech took the opening kickoff and drove 60 yards on 12 plays to go ahead 7-0 on reserve quarterback  Zach Pyron’s fourth touchdown of the season, a 2-yard plunge. The Yellow Jackets then added a 23-yard field goal from Aidan Birr early in the second quarter to take a 10-0 lead. The Jackets stifled the Blue Devils defensively in the first half, permitting just 21 yards on the ground over the opening two quarters. However, Duke took advantage of two key penalties on its final possession of the half and scored on a 20-yard pass  just before the halftime to cut Tech’s lead to 10-7.

Duke (5-1, 1-1 ACC) scored the only points of the third quarter on a 65-yard touchdown pass and the Yellow Jackets found themselves trailing 14-10 going into the final period.

The Jackets dominated the fourth quarter in the come-from-behind victory, as they held the ball for 11:04, had a 121-46 yardage advantage and outscored the Blue Devils, 14-0.

King finished 23-of-31 through the air for 167 yards and a season-high-tying two touchdown passes. Malik Rutherford had a career-high eight receptions for 76 yards while Singleton caught six passes for 42 yards. Chad Alexander ran for 59 yards on 10 carries to complement Haynes’ 128 yards on the ground.

Defensively, Ahmari Harvey had a team-high seven tackles and recorded the Yellow Jackets’ first interception of the season, while Jordan van den Berg had a sack and two tackles for loss in his first start as a Jacket.

Georgia Tech travels to North Carolina (3-3, 0-2 ACC) next Saturday for a noon kickoff. The game will be televised nationally on The CW (Peachtree TV in Atlanta).

Jamal Haynes - Duke 2024
Jamal Haynes matched a career high with 128 rushing yards in Georgia Tech’s 24-14 win over visiting Duke on Saturday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. (Danny Karnik photo)

 

 

Postgame Notes

Team Notes

  • 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-Nov. 11, 2017.
  • Georgia Tech moved to 11-1 in games that have 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.

Individual Notes

  • r-Jr. RB 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.
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For the third-straight game, Georgia Tech held its opponent to less than 100 rushing yards, limiting Duke to just 74 yards on the ground in Saturday’s 24-14 win. (Danny Karnik photo)

 

Multimedia

Head Coach Brent Key Postgame Press Conference (Video)

Student-Athletes Postgame Press Conference (Video)

 

ACC Digital Network Highlights

ACC Digital Network Condensed Game

ACC Digital Network Full Game Replay

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2024 GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL TICKETS

Single-Game Tickets

Single-game tickets for Georgia Tech’s two remaining home games at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field in 2024 –  Nov. 9 vs. Miami (Fla.) and Nov. 21 vs. NC State – and a limited number of single-game tickets for the Notre Dame game on Oct. 19 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking HERE.

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

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