THE FLATS – Highlighted by Haynes King (Longview, Texas/Longview H.S.) being named ACC Quarterback of the Week for the fifth time in his nine games this season, three Georgia Tech players have been honored by the ACC for their performances in the Yellow Jackets’ 36-34 win at Boston College. In addition to King being QB of the Week, right guard Keylan Rutledge (Royston, Ga./Franklin County H.S.) was named ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week and place kicker Aidan Birr (Kennedale, Texas/Kennedale H.S.) was tabbed as the conference’s Specialist of the Week on Monday.
King continued to elevate his status as a Heisman Trophy frontrunner by accounting for 424 yards of offense (371 passing, 53 rushing) and leading the Yellow Jackets to a whopping 628 yards of total offense as a team in the victory (the most by any team in an ACC game this season). King was once again at his best in crunch time, engineering four scoring drives in the fourth quarter alone (two touchdowns and two field goals) to help bring the Jackets back from a 28-17 deficit going into the final period. He was especially impressive on Tech’s 13-play, 69-yard drive that set up the Jackets’ game-winning field goal, as he accounted for 52 of the 69 yards on the drive (25 passing, 27 rushing), including four-straight runs (9, 3, 5 and 1 yards) to cap the drive and set up Birr’s 23-yard game-winner with 11 seconds to go.
King has now led Georgia Tech back from a fourth-quarter deficit three times this season, as the Yellow Jackets are a remarkable 3-1 in games that they trailed entering the final period.
As has become the norm each week, King’s performance against BC etched his name further into Georgia Tech’s record book:
- The 300-yard passing game was eighth as a Yellow Jacket and third in a row. His eighth 300-yard passing game set a new Georgia Tech career record (breaking a tie with Heisman Trophy runner-up Joe Hamilton, who had seven from 1996-99) and he is the first Jacket with three-straight 300-yard passing games since George Godsey in 2000.
- King completed 26-of-34 passes (76.5 percent), which was good for the fifth-best completion percentage in Georgia Tech history for a passer with at least 30 attempts in a game. He now holds six of the top seven single-game completion percentages in Tech history (min. 30 att.).
- He completed passes to nine different receivers, including two that had 100 yards – Malik Rutherford (121) and Eric Rivers (119) – which marked the first time since 2005 that Tech had two 100-yard receivers in a game.
- King became the fourth player in Georgia Tech history with 7,000 passing yards (7,215 in 33 games as a Yellow Jacket).
- King also became the fourth player in Georgia Tech history with 9,000 yards of total offense (9,346, which ranks third in Tech history).
King now leads the nation with 340.7 yards of total offense per game.
Rutledge earned the recognition for his role in the record-setting offensive performance, particularly in the running game. Behind the Lombardi Award semifinalist and the rest of the Jackets’ offensive front, Tech averaged 6.1 yards per rush and had three different 50-yard rushers – running back Malachi Hosley (107 yards), wideout Jordan Allen (65) and King (53).
Birr matched a career high with three field goals made, including the game-winner with 11 seconds to go that lifted the Yellow Jackets to the win. The game-winning field goal was his second of the season and third of his career. In all, the junior connected on field goals from 34, 26 and 23 points, while also making 3-of-3 extra points on a cold, windy day in New England. Seven of his 12 points came in the fourth quarter, as Georgia Tech erased an 11-point deficit.
For the season, Birr now leads the nation with 22 field goals (tied with Hawai’i’s Kansei Matsuwama).
In addition to it being his fifth of the season, the ACC QB of the Week award is King’s eighth in three seasons as a Yellow Jacket. Rutledge earned the recognition for the second time this season and third time in two seasons, while Birr was also honored for the second time this season and third time in his career.
King, Rutledge, Birr and the No. 15/12-ranked Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1 ACC) can clinch a berth in the 2025 ACC Championship Game with a win over Pitt on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. A limited number of tickets for one of the biggest home games in Georgia Tech history are still available. Click HERE to purchase tickets online.
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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