BLACKSBURG, Va. – Georgia Tech outgained Virginia Tech by a whopping 356-233 margin, but managed just two field goals in a 21-6 loss to the Hokies on Saturday at Lane Stadium.
Playing without starting quarterback Haynes King, who missed his second-straight game due to injury, Georgia Tech (5-4, 3-3 ACC) kicked field goals on two of its first four possessions, but was held off the board the rest of the way.
Defensively, Tech played perhaps its best game of the season. The Yellow Jackets limited Virginia Tech (5-3, 3-1 ACC) to 233 yards, 124 below the Hokies’ season average, and nearly 100 below their previous low output of the year (330 vs. Rutgers on Sept. 21). The 233 yards were the fewest that the Jackets surrendered to an NCAA Division I FBS opponent in nearly a decade, dating back to holding Clemson to 190 yards in a 28-6 win on Nov. 15, 2014.
It was also the fewest yards that the Jackets have allowed away from home since it held USC to 205 in the 2012 Sun Bowl (a 21-7 GT win) and the fewest they’ve surrendered in a true road game since they allowed just 198 yards in a 34-9 win at Virginia on Oct. 24, 2009.
Georgia Tech also held Virginia Tech – the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top rushing team coming in at 209.3 yards per game – to just 99 yards on the ground. VT running back Bhayshul Tuten, who was the nation’s leading rusher with 871 yards coming into the game, managed just 79 yards.
Tech racked up a season-high 11 tackles for loss, including two-and-a-half from senior defensive end Sylvain Yondjouen. Defensive end Romello Height chipped in with 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble for the Yellow Jackets’ defense, which was playing without its leading tackler, linebacker Kyle Efford, who also missed a second-straight game due to injury.
However, the Jackets’ offense could not take advantage of the defensive effort, as they were held without a touchdown for the first time since a 42-0 loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 17, 2022.
A bright spot for the Yellow Jackets offensively was true freshman quarterback Aaron Philo, who threw for 184 yards in a little more than a quarter of work after entering the contest late in third period. In the first significant action of his career, Philo gave the offense a spark, leading the Jackets to 211 total yards in five series and driving them into Virginia Tech territory three times before each of the possessions stalled out as Tech tried to rally from a 15-point deficit.
Sophomore WR Eric Singleton, Jr. had a game-high 90 receiving yards on five catches while junior wideout Malik Rutherford led all players with six receptions.
Georgia Tech, which combined with last Saturday’s 31-13 loss to No. 12/11 Notre Dame has lost consecutive games for the first time in two years, also saw its four-game winning streak at Virginia Tech snapped. The Yellow Jackets fell just one win short of becoming only the second visiting program to ever record five-straight victories at VT’s Lane Stadium but remain one of only two teams to win as many a four in a row at the formidable venue (joining Clemson, who won five-consecutive games at Lane Stadium from 1977-95).
The Yellow Jackets have their second open week of the season before returning to action on Saturday, Nov. 9 against currently undefeated No. 6/5-ranked Miami (Fla.) at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Kickoff time, which is currently TBA, could be announced by the ACC and its television partners as soon as Monday, Oct. 28.