Tech can't overcome miscues in 31-13 loss to #4 ND
ATLANTA- Georgia Tech continued to struggle to put points on the board for the third straight game as the Jackets fell 31-13 to #4 Notre Dame at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Irish controlled the game 198-yard edge in total yards in the game. The loss also capped a rough stretch for Tech who has given up 152 points while only scoring 47 in the last three contests with two of them coming against top 5 teams in Clemson and Notre Dame.
The Jackets run game managed just 88 yards on 33 carries led by Jahmyr Gibbs 61 yards rushing on 14 carries and he was also the leading receiver with five catches for 49 yards. Jordan Mason got on the scoreboard with Tech's lone offensive touchdown on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter to make it 31-13. The Jackets got near the red zone three times with just one score to show for it. Head coach Geoff Collins was pleased that his offense kept trying despite a tough first half.
"You got to give credit to Notre Dame. I mean, that is one of the top defenses in college football," Collins said. "We kept trying to move things around to get something started. We found our rhythm in the second half, really proud of the way they continued to battle, our offensive staff continuing to communicate and finding some good rhythm."
Jeff Sims hit on 15 of his 26 passes for just 150 yards and he had a key fumble as well that took points off the board. He also was sacked five times.
"We just got to finish our drives, and we do a good job out in the field. But um, you just got to execute when we get in the red zone, and I'm just gonna stay locked in and finish the drive off," Sims said. "I missed on a couple of passes that would've changed the momentum of the game."
Senior receiver Jalen Camp gave his theory on some of the issues this year finishing drives for the Tech offense.
"We get the ball rolling. And then once we get to that 35 (yard line) I think we stub our toe," Camp said. "I think it was a collective effort. We weren't finishing hard drives."
Defensively the Jackets gave up 426 yards in a low possession game. The Irish averaged 6.1 yards per play and converted 10 of 15 third downs. The Irish ran for 227 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 44 rushes. Tech only converted 5 of their 12 third downs and was 0-for-2 on fourth downs as well.
"We've got to get off the field," Collins said of the third-down defense. "In those situations the same thing offensively, we got to convert third downs, I would think that's the story of the day is just the third down the turnovers, protecting the ball trying to get the ball out."
Juanyeh Thomas forced the fumble that led to the game-tying score at the beginning of the game. Zamari Walton returned the fumble 93-yards for the score to thwart a Notre Dame scoring drive and tie the game at 7. Walton outran Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book who had an angle on him.
"We had a huge fumble return for a touchdown in the red zone. Really proud of the Zamari showing the speed that he's got, and the guys just battling two huge stops down in the redzone," Collins said.
The Irish were five for seven in the red zone with the fumble and a stop at the end of the game by the Tech defense on the two.
Book was 18 of 26 passing for 199 yards with a touchdown in the air and he ran for 46 yards on the ground as the Irish used three different backs in different roles to combine for 181 yards on 35 carries.
"I thought Andrew Thacker caught a really good game, defensively, moving some stress around, where we continually have to find ways to shore up our pass rush lanes," Collins said. "A lot of them came on just we had great coverage on the back end. And then just the quarterback, you know, he's a really good athlete. He's heard a lot of people with his feet, but just making sure the pass rush lanes are secure, to not let those the scrambles hurt us on third downs as well."
Linebacker Quez Jackson led all tacklers with 11 tackles. Djimon Brooks had two TFLs and a sack and Kaleb Oliver had a sack as well/
The Irish outgained Tech 240 to 66 in the first half converting on six of eight third downs to take a 17-7 lead at the break.
SCORING DRIVES
The Irish drove right down the field on the opening drive of the game on 15 plays covering 81 yards and converted four third downs to take a 7-0 lead.
The Irish marched down the field on their second possession to the GT7 before Juanyeh Thomas stripped a running back and Zamari Walton scooped it up and scored on a 93-yard return. That was the longest fumble return in Georgia Tech history.
"We had been working on that play I just opened it up and filled the hole and then tried to strip the ball out," Thomas said.
Walton was surprised by the lack of any Irish players around the ball.
"I saw Juanyeh strip it and I looked around and there was just an offensive lineman around so picked it up and just took off," Walton said. "The QB had an angle on me so I had to speed up a little bit and it was just a lot of daylight."
Notre Dame answered on the following drive going 75 yards in 7 plays to take a 14-7 lead.
The Irish added a 32-yard field goal before the half on an 8-play 35-yard drive that stalled at the GT14.
After a Jeff Sims strip-sack, Notre Dame drove 65 yards on six plays to take a 24-7 lead in the third quarter.
The Jackets missed a field goal late in the third quarter and Notre Dame drove the ball 74 yards on 9 plays to take a 31-7 lead on a C-bo Flemister two-yard touchdown run. Flemister was a one-time Jacket commit during the Paul Johnson-era before flipping and signing with Notre Dame.
Georgia Tech scored the first offensive points of the game with 7:15 left on an 8-play 69-yard drive capped by a couple of hard Jordan Mason runs. That ended a three-quarter drought for the offense. It was the ninth drive for the Jackets before they finally scored.
SPECIAL TEAMS REMAIN SPECIAL
Georgia Tech missed a 44-yard field goal attempt by Jude Kelley on the game and did not attempt an extra point as they continue to be the worst kicking team in the country.
Punter Pressley Harvin III even had a rough day by his standards with zero punts inside the 20 and a touchback on a punt the gunners missed downing. He still ended up with a 41.2 average.
Dontae Smith had the lone kick return of the game for just 10 yards to give the Jackets a long field on a possession. Tech used three different punt returners who fielded three punts for a total of four yards.
UP NEXT
The Jackets have a much-needed bye week with key injuries on the defensive line and slot receiver Ahmarean Brown banged up as well. The Irish face #1 Clemson.