It didn’t quite matter who was or who wasn’t playing for Georgia Tech on Saturday, the Yellow Jackets were beaten every which way by No. 12 Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium to the tune of a 31-13 score.
Without starting quarterback Haynes King and linebacker Kyle Efford, the team’s leading tackler, Tech (5-3) played sloppy and silly throughout, especially after taking a 7-0 lead through one quarter. The Jackets gave up 385 yards of offense to the Fighting Irish (and 5.6 yards per play), muffed a field-goal try, had another one blocked, gave up a fake punt for a first down, allowed three fourth-down conversions, managed only 64 rushing yards and went 4-of-14 on third downs.
“You don’t deserve to win when you play that way,” Tech coach Brent Key said bluntly afterward.
Zach Pyron, who started in place of the injured King, was 20-of-36 passing for 269 yards and added 45 yards on the ground. But running back Jamal Haynes had only 15 yards on eight carries.
Tech next returns to ACC play when it travels to Virginia Tech (4-3, 2-1 ACC) at noon Saturday.
Tech’s defense made the game’s first notable play Saturday in what looked like it would turn out to be a good day for the local team. After Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard had picked up a first down with his legs on a fourth down, the Notre Dame quarterback launched a deep ball from the Tech 45 toward the end zone. Tech cornerback Warren Burrell tracked it down, caught it with one hand in the end zone and returned it to the Tech 29.
The Jackets took advantage of the momentum swing and scored 13 plays later on a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Haynes, the final play of the opening quarter. Pyron threw a 3-yard pass on fourth down to Eric Singleton Jr. to pick up a key fourth down during the possession.
Notre Dame punched back with a possession that took more than half the second quarter. It ended with Leonard’s 1-yard touchdown dive at the seven-minute mark that tied the score at 7-7. The Irish went 3-for-3 on third downs during the series, which took 14 plays.
Tech did itself no favors by going three-and-out on the following possession, a possession that included a curious reverse call on a third-and-2. Notre Dame marched back out and scored on a five-play drive that saw Leonard split through the right side of the line for a 12-yard touchdown run, making the score 14-7.
The Jackets got the ball back with 1:48 on the clock and drove to the Notre Dame 22. But, after clocking the ball on first down, ran a fade route on second down and a short pass to Singleton that was dropped on third down. Aidan Birr then lined up for a 39-yard field-goal attempt, but the snap was botched and the attempt failed.
That kept the score at 14-7 at the break. The Irish racked up 190 yards of offense and gained 6.8 yards per play in the first half. Haynes, meanwhile, had only six carries for 14 yards.
“As every game is in the game of football, it’s a line-of-scrimmage game,” Key said. “You gotta be able to establish the line of scrimmage and be able to have positive plays, otherwise it puts a lot of pressure on the throwing game, the timing throwing game. We weren’t able to do that today.
Jeremiyah Love scored from a yard out for Notre Dame four minutes into the third quarter, making the score 21-7. That capped a 60-yard drive that took only six plays and followed a three-and-out by the Tech offense to start the second half.
Tech showed a pulse later in the third quarter when Pyron completed a 60-yard pass to Abdul Janneh. But the next three plays went thusly: 3-yard gain, 1-yard loss, 4-yard sack and a 35-yard field-goal try by Birr that was blocked by defensive lineman Bryce Young.
The Jackets got another momentum boost with a fourth-down stop on its own 39 less than a minute into the fourth quarter. But one play later Pyron threw a long pass to his right and straight into the arms of Notre Dame cornerback Xavier Watts.
The Irish added a 42-yard field goal by Zac Yoakam with 10:01 left in the game that made the score 24-7. Tech never hinted it was interested in any sort of comeback attempt from there, and the exits began to fill with Tech fans when Pyron threw a 36-yard pick-6 to Notre Dame safety Adon Shuler with 2:37 left.
Pyron’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Chase Lane with 23 seconds on the clock was little consolation.
“I thought we had a very focused week of practice. Thought we were very focused before the game leading up into the game. I thought the guys were detailed during the week, good execution during the week. Get out in the arena and the lights come on, and we’re not able to execute,” Key said. “When you play a good football team, you’ve gotta be able to execute and make plays.”
Leonard threw for 203 yards and rushed for 51 for the Irish, who have outscored Tech 117-26 over the past three meetings.
The 64 rushing yards for Tech were its fewest since being held to 40 by Georgia on Nov. 26, 2022. The 13 points scored were its fewest since losing 16-9 to Virginia on Oct. 20, 2022.
“They were definitely a good defense, but it doesn’t matter who you playing, you always gotta go out there and give ‘em your best,” Tech right tackle Jordan Williams said. “We gotta get better.”
NOTES
- Freshman Tah’j Butler started at linebacker in place of the injured Efford.
- Williams started his 48th consecutive game for Tech, tied for fourth-most by a Jacket in program history and tied for the most by an offensive lineman in program history. Roddy Jones holds the overall Tech record with 52 consecutive starts.
- Tech receiver Malik Rutherford has at least one reception in 24 straight games.
- Rutherford now has 118 career catches, the seventh-most in Tech history.
- Haynes moved into 27th on Tech’s all-time rushing list with 1,160 career rushing yards.
- The Jackets are now 4-11 under Key following a victory.
- Key is now 16-13 overall as Tech’s coach.
- Tech is now 6-31-1 all-time against Notre Dame.
- Tech lost its third consecutive game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and is now 1-3 there since 2021.
- Attendance on Saturday was announced as 59,021.
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