Tech blows first half lead and falls 39-34 to Louisville in the Benz

ATLANTA- Georgia Tech used a furious second quarter to jump out 28-13 in the first half against Louisville before the Cards outscored the Jackets 25-0 until late in the fourth quarter to win 39-34. The Jackets dropped to 0-1 in both overall record and in ACC play with the loss.

Head coach Brent Key was hoping to pull the upset and the Jackets did cover the spread which varied from -8.5 to -7 ahead of kickoff, but that was little consolation.

“Disappointing loss. Always disappointing when you don't come out on top, when you work to -- only get 12 chances a year to get these opportunities. So credit to Louisville and their staff. They did a good job of really making a couple of adjustments and sustaining us in that third quarter,” he said. “Did a good job with the field position in that quarter and we were really behind the 8-ball on the field position battle by the third. Ended up being a big factor in what we did.

Louisville’s Jeff Brohm also returning to his alma mater was just happy to escape Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a win.

“Well, we're happy to get out of there with a win. As everyone saw, it was a tough football game for our team. It wasn't a great performance in the first half for sure. So that was disappointing,” Brohm said. “But that's how college football works. I talk about it all the time to our football team. Nothing will ever be easy. We challenged our guys at halftime to play much harder, play much tougher, figure out a way to grind this thing out, and just try to win the half.”

Haynes King in his first career start delivered mixed results passing for 313 yards on 19/32 passing, with three touchdowns and an interception, but he also had a fumble in a key sequence with the Jackets down one, 29-28.

The Jackets went on a run in the second quarter outscoring the Cards 28-7 to take a 28-13 halftime lead.

“We just got things going,” Haynes King said of the second quarter 28-7 run. “A big part of our offense is tempo. After the first three drives we ended up getting a couple more tempo plays in, and they worked out perfectly for us. Second half, it just wasn't working for us. Sometimes it's like that.”

King was sacked and fumbled the ball. The Cards recovered and broke off a 74-yard run by Jawhar Jordan to go up 39-28 capping a 25-0 run.

Tech struggled to run the ball at times with King leading the team in rushing with 53 net yards on 10 carries. Trey Cooley had 52 yards on nine carries with a pair of touchdowns and Jamal Haynes added 51 yards on 11 carries plus four catches for 56 yards.

Chase Lane had three catches for 69 yards and a touchdown on a 48-yard screen pass from King in his Tech debut after transferring from Texas A&M this summer.

Freshman Eric Singleton Jr. didn’t get to touch the ball until the final drive, but he made a spectacular catch on a 29-yard pass from King and then toe-tapped in a touchdown from five yards out on the next play.

Gavin Stewart missed a 33-yard field goal in that same stretch that loomed large late and he missed a 54-yard attempt before halftime following an interception by Clayton Powell-Lee just ahead of halftime. That marked a six-point swing as well.

Jamal Haynes' 46-yard catch was the longest pass play for the Jackets since the Virginia Tech game last year when Nate McCollum hauled in a 56-yard touchdown from Zach Pyron to spur the fourth-quarter comeback win over the Hokies. That play was later topped by Malik Rutherford’s 55-yard catch and run.

Defensively the Jackets were sharp in the first half forcing three punts and two short field goals as well as an interception. In the second half that flipped and Tech gave up a field goal, and then touchdowns on four of the next five possessions. The Cards scored on five of six possessions in the second half.

Star safety LaMiles Brooks exited the game in the first half and did not return pushing Jaylon King and Clayton Powell-Lee onto the field for the first time as a duo in a game. Normally King and Powell-Lee rotate or play in subpackages together.

“I think me and Clayton were able to build a lot of chemistry last camp, spring and this past camp. It's just the first time we were able to step on the field and actually show that,” he said. “But LaMiles going down kind of changed a couple of our game-plan things in certain down-and-distance areas of the field. So we had to adjust to that.”

Jaylon King led the team with eight tackles including seven solo tackles while Kyle Kennard also tallied eight tackles as did Trenilyas Tatum. Jaylon King said he felt like his team got overly confident after closing the first half strong.

“Mood as a team, disappointed. Yeah, disappointed. I feel like we made the mistake of thinking we had the game at half. So once that outcome changed, we were really disappointed. That's really the biggest thing,” he said. “And our biggest takeaway from that is going into the games now we get to a hot start, the game isn't over until it hits all zeros at the end of the fourth quarter. Can't be satisfied at halftime what the score is; just gotta stick to the plan, execute.”

Tech’s defense held Louisville to 1 for 11 on third downs.

Louisville’s new quarterback Jack Plummer passed for 247 yards on 18 of 31 passing with three touchdowns and one interception. He managed to escape several pressures without getting sacked in the game and ran for 51 yards on nine carries with several clutch scrambles.

I felt like we kind of got sloppy in the second half. I wouldn't say it was scheme. It was more tackling and containing the quarterback in the pocket. There was times where he got out of the pocket and was able to pick up a little more yards than we wanted him to make, a couple of throws that we should have had bottled up,” Jaylon King said.

Plummer was just 8/17 passing for 90 yards with one touchdown an interception at the half.

“Not my best first half of football, that's for sure. I came back. Proud of myself for battling back in the second half, and I thought I played really well in the second half. Just got to start off quicker, and it's probably a different game if I start the game off right and do my job,” Plummer said.

Receiver Jamari Thrash racked up seven catches on nine targets for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

The Jackets will aim to level the 2023 record with a game against South Carolina State next week in Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Tech started on their own 18 after a short kick return by Christian Leary. King was hit on third down and the ball bounced up in the air and was intercepted by Ramon Puryear.

After an 11-yard run on first down by Jawhar Jordan, the Jackets defense stiffened and forced a short field goal by Louisville to trail 3-0 after stopping a pair of Jack Plummer passes including a PBU in the end zone by Kenan Johnson.

After another short kick return to the GT17, King tripped over Weston Franklin but hit Chase Lane for eight yards. Dontae Smith had no yards on second down. Luke Benson hauled in a 7-yard pass from King to move the sticks. On second down, King picked up six yards and Ben Perry hit him helmet-to-helmet while he was sliding. Perry was ejected and the Jackets had first and 10 at the Louisville 46. Jamal Haynes picked up two yards on the next play. King took a shot for Malik Rutherford downfield and a Louisville defender grabbed his should as the ball was arriving, but there was no flag. King missed Lane on third down forcing a punt. Shanahan’s punt was down at the Louisville9.

The Cards started at their nine and picked up seven yards on a Jordan run first down. Kyle Kennard and Trenilyas Tatum stopped down for a one yard gain on the next play. The Cards had a false start on the next play moving it back to 3rd and 7 at the 12. Plummer grounded a throw on third down to force a punt. Dominick Blaylock returned the punt three yards to the GT43.

King hit Leary for two yards on first down. Evan Dickens picked up one yard on the next play on his first carry. King overthrew Leary under pressure on third down to force a Tech punt. Kenyatta Watson II dropped the Louisville punt returner for a loss at the Cards 8.

After a short run, the Cards picked up 40 yards on a play where Clayton Powell-Lee tripped on his own legs and Kevin Coleman was left wide open. Ahmari Harvey stopped the play from being bigger. Tech forced a fumble on an 8-yard pass but it rolled out of bounds and the Cards moved the ball to the GT20 on the next play by Maurice Turner. Jimmy Calloway picked up seven yards to the GT13. Plummer grounded another second-down throw. K.J. Wallace saved a touchdown on the next play with a great PBU and forced a 30-yard field goal by Brock Travelstead to make it 6-0.

After a touchback, the Jackets started at their own 25. Dontae Smith picked up five yards on first down to end the first quarter. King picked up 12 yards on a QB keeper and Jamal Haynes picked up 46 yards on a swing pass to the GT12. Dontae Smith ran for 7 yards on first-down. King just missed Benson in the end zone on a long rollout. Smith picked up three yards to set up first and goal. Smith missed on first down picking up one yard and then on second down getting stuffed. Brett Seither hauled in a touchdown pass on a rollout left, a one-yard touchdown. Gavin Stewart hit the PAT to make it 7-6 Georgia Tech with 11:50 left in the first half.

Gavin Stewart forced a touchback on the kickoff and Plummer misfired on a rollout on first down, hit Jordan for six yards on second down and missed Nate Kurisky on third down on a PBU by Trenilyas Tatum. Blaylock fair caught a 41-yard punt at the GT28.

Trey Cooley ran for five yards on his first carry at Tech. King hit Malik Rutherford for 55 yards to the Cards 12. Cooley ran 11 yards to the one on the next play to set up first and goal. Cooley punched it in on the next play to make it 14-6 GT.

Stewart punched his kickoff through the end zone setting Louisville up at their own 25. Louisville picked up 11 yards on a reverse to Ahmari Bruce-Huggins to their 36. Bruce-Huggins picked up seven yards on the next play. Isaac Guerendo picked up the first down on the next play and then caught a 13-yard pass to the GT40. Plummer ran for 16 yards to the GT24. Kenyatta Watson II picked up a pass interference in the end zone to set up first and goal at the GT9. Coleman caught a touchdown and beat Watson to the corner for the touchdown to make it GT14 and Louisville 13.

Jamal Haynes took the first play after a touchback nine yards. Haynes picked up the first down with another nine yard to the GT43. Abdul Janneh hauled in a rope by King for 28 yards and Trey Cooley scored his second touchdown of the day on a 23-yard run to make it 21-13.

Tech’s defense forced a three and out on the next series thanks to solid pressure on Plummer. Blaylock returned a 48-yard punt 10 yards to the GT35.

Haynes picked up 13 yards on his first carry of the series. He ran for five yards on the next play. King hit Lane on second and five on a screen pass and he took it 48-yards to the house to make it 28-13 Georgia Tech.

The Cardinals were called for an illegal blindside block on a touchback by Stewart to start their drive at their own 13. Clayton Powell-Lee picked off Plummer on second down with five seconds left in the half.

Stewart tried a 54-yard field goal and it fell short and right to end the half.

After a short kickoff and a return to the LOU27, the Cards started the second half picking up a first down on a seven yards run by Guerendo. Calloway broke a tackle from Johnson and picked up 16 yards. To the GT46. Powell-Lee broke up a pass on third down. The Cards went for it fourth-down and Jamari Thrash broke loose for 21 yards. The Cards pushed the ball to the GT8 to set up first and goal. Plummer threw the ball away on second down and goal. Paul Moala and Tatum boxed up Plummer on third down to force a short field goal to make it 28-16 with 8:19 left in the third quarter.

Tech took over following a touchback at their 25. Haynes picked up two yards on a pass from King on first down. King couldn’t connect on the next plays forcing a punt. Henry Freer picked up a snap infraction penalty backing the Jackets up to the 22. Shanahan punted the ball 43 yards under duress to the Louisville 35 where it was fair caught.

Taking over at their 35, the Cards picked up eight yards on first down and converted with a two yard run to the LOU45. Thrash picked up a first down (14 yards pass) on the next play and then Chris Bell went 33 yards on a quick pass to the GT8 to set up first and goal. K.J. Wallace went out of the game with an injury and Omar Daniels came in at nickel. Thrash scored two plays later on a crosser to make it 28-23 Georgia Tech.

Tech started the next drive at their own 25 after a touchback. On second down, King scrambled for 12 yards and a first down to the GT37. The Jackets ran twice for three total yards and King was force to scramble short of the stick forcing another Shanahan punt of 50 yards. Coleman returned the punt seven yards but a hold backed the Cards up to their own 8.

Starting at the LOU8. The Cards had an illegal formation call on first down to move them back to their own 4. Plummer picked up nine yards on the next play to make it 3rd and one, but a false start backed them up to the LOU12 and made it 3rd and six. Wallace broke up the third pass to force a punt.

Blaylock returned the Louisville punt to plus territory at the LOU49. Cooley ran it once for a yard to end the quarter. Cooley picked up two yards on second down and then King hit Rutherford for nine yards and a first down. King hit Lane for 14-yards and another first down at the LOU19. Tech was bottled up on three runs and Stewart missed a 33-yard field goal.

Starting at the 20, Plummer dodged a sack and hit Coleman for 16-yards and a first down to the 37. The Cards drove to the LOU44 before Plummer hit Thrash for another chunk play to the GT34. Calloway picked up seven on the next play to the GT26. Guerendo picked the first down. Thrash got behind King and gave the Cards a 29-28 lead. The two-point conversion failed due to good pressure by the Tech defensive line.

Tech took over at the 25 and King nearly threw an interception trying to throw the ball away on first down. Haynes was stopped for a one-yard run on the next play. King ran for yards on the next play to the GT39. A defensive holding call on and second and ten moved the Jackets to the GT49. Louisville lined up offsides on the next play. Cooley picked up a first down on the next play to the LOU40. King picked up 10 yards on the next play to the LOU30. Rutherford hauled in a 14-yard pass on the next play to the LOU16. Dezmond Tell sacked King forcing a fumble that Kam Wilson recovered.

Jordan went 74 yards on the next play for a touchdown. The Cards hit the PAT to go up 36-28.

King ran for four yards on first down. Blaylock couldn’t haul in the second down pass. King overshot everyone on the field on third down and then Seither couldn’t catch the fourth down pass as Key went for it.

Plummer ran for six yards on first down. Jordan ran for two yards on second down as Key burned his timeouts. The Cards ended up having to kick a fie with 2:37 left to go up 39-28.

King hit Haynes twice to set up third and short and Haynes converted with a run to the GT41. King hit Leary for 25 yards to the LOU33. Eric Singleton Jr. hauled in a 25-yard catch that was SportsCenter worth, his first career catch and then catch touchdown from 5-yards out to make it 39-34 after the two-point play failed.

The onside kick nearly worked, but the Cards recovered and kneeled twice to ice the game 39-34.