Before the start of the fourth quarter, the song “Jump” by Van Halen played loudly inside Wallace Wade Stadium. Appropriate, as the motto for No. 12 Georgia Tech football in 2025 has been to take that next jump forward as a program.
The Yellow Jackets went out and scored 17 points in a span of less than nine minutes to take control of the ballgame and outlast Duke in a 27-18 victory. The final score wasn’t quite indicative of how much a struggle the Blue Devils were throughout for Tech, yet once again this 2025 team continues to not be rattled by anything thrown their way.
“It’s a special group of kids. Men. Special group of men. They are,” Tech coach Brent Key said with his white hat flipped backward, the word “jump” written on one side.
Tech (7-0, 4-0 ACC) trailed 10-7 early in the second half but, in all honesty, could have been in way worse shape.
Duke outgained Tech 238-110 in the first half, made 14 first downs and averaged six yards a play. But the Blue Devils had a drive end at the Tech 1 with a fumble, another drive that ended at the Tech 25 with a botched field goal and another drive that ended at the Tech 29 with a missed field goal.
Coach Manny Diaz’s team had averaged 42.6 points per game in three straight wins. It had 10 before a desperation touchdown with 73 seconds to play.
“When you boss a game like we did for the first 37 minutes and only have a three-point lead, at some point a team as good as Tech, they’re gonna have a response,” Diaz said.
Even after a 95-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Tech’s Omar Daniels in the first quarter, it never really truly felt like the Jackets could sustain any sort of momentum Saturday. Perhaps this team doesn’t need it.
Tech turned the ball over in three straight possessions to start the season at Colorado. It gave up leads of 13-0 and 21-14 at home to Clemson. It trailed Wake Forest 20-3 on the road.
The Jackets won all those games and won Saturday after being down 10-7 in the third quarter and not scoring an offensive touchdown until there was less than five minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
“I think something we have as team right now is a lot of veteran leadership,” tight end Josh Beetham, who transferred to Tech from Michigan after the Wolverines won the 2023 national championship, said. “We have a lot of old guys on this team. Just a lot of dudes that have been through a lot of things, ups and downs. We’re prepared to face anything when it comes to the football game.”
“We have a veteran group of leaders and nobody really panics. At times, some people rip into each other, but that’s just brotherly love,” Tech quarterback Haynes King said. “At the end of the day nobody really panics. Toward the end of the game, everybody almost has that same goal, that same mentality that we’re gonna will ourselves to win, whatever it is, we’re gonna find a way.”
Saturday’s win not only made Tech 7-0 for the first time in nearly 60 years, but it also made the Jackets 4-0 in ACC and put them in the driver’s seat to reach the ACC title game. Virginia (3-0 and playing out of conference Saturday) and Southern Methodist (3-0 after beating Clemson) were the only undefeated teams in league play after Saturday’s results.
The Jackets will get to play at home again next, putting their seven-game win streak, six-game ACC winning streak and nine-game home winning streak on the line at noon against Syracuse.
“You can’t let the anxiety creep in. You talk about the noise and all that. And yeah, they hear the noise, you gotta hear the stuff. But what do they choose to give their full attention to? That’s what matters. What do they give their full attention to? And really that comes back to trust. Do they trust me? Do they trust me and what I say? Do they trust their coaches and what they say versus what they hear on the outside?”
NOTES
- Daniels’ fumble return for a touchdown was Tech’s first fumble return for a touchdown since Jaylon King’s 40-yard return Nov. 21, 2021, at Miami.
- Tech’s previous long for a fumble return was Zamari Walton’s 93-yarder against Notre Dame on Oct. 31, 2020.
- Key is now 25-16 as Tech’s coach, 17-9 in ACC games and 10-8 in road games.
- Under Key, Tech is now 8-5 in October games, 19-3 when outrushing the opponent, 15-3 when winning the turnover battle, 17-10 when scoring first, 14-7 when leading after the first quarter, 18-3 when leading after three quarters, 24-9 when scoring at least 21 points and 14-1 when holding the opponent to 20 points or less
- Tech is now 56-35-1 all-time against Duke and 24-21 at Duke.
- The 7-0 start for Tech is only the eighth in the school’s 133 seasons of football (1917, 1928, 1942, 1947, 1952, 1964, 1966, 2025).
- King recorded his seventh game of at least 100 yards passing and 100 yards rushing.
- With 205 passing yards Saturday, King became the fifth Tech player to throw for more than 6,000 yards in a career.
- King’s 31 career rushing touchdowns are tied with Joe Burns for the fourth-most in a Tech career.
- Tech running back Jamal Haynes is now tied with Justin Thomas with 2,412 career rushing yards.
- Attendance on Saturday was announced as 27,486.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
