Georgia Tech had a tough day against No. 12 Notre Dame. The Yellow Jackets were shorthanded, but Notre Dame and their defense responded yesterday.
The Yellow Jackets’ running game couldn’t get going at any point yesterday, and their special teams play continues to deteriorate. In yesterday’s game alone, Georgia Tech had a field goal blocked, another field goal snap handling failure, and allowed Notre Dame a fake field goal and a fake punt. Special teams mistakes have become an embarrassment for Brent Key’s team, and if they don’t find a way to fix it, they’ll have a hard time finding a sixth win to clinch a bowl berth.
Zach Pyron started for Georgia Tech, but it was an up-and-down game for him. Without the help of the No. 1 rushing offense in the ACC, he also made mistakes in this game and isn’t as effective as Haynes King in the ground game.
As for Georgia Tech’s run game, it’s been a disaster, and what we’ve learned about this offense is that if they can’t run the ball, they don’t have much of a chance to win. In previous losses (Syracuse and Louisville), Georgia Tech struggled to get going. Jamal Haynes was playing his best football heading into the game, but give Notre Dame a lot of credit for not letting him get going. He gained 15 yards on eight carries. Chad Alexander had 5 of 19 carries and Pyron gained 45 yards on 13 carries. He threw for 269 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, one of which ended up being a pick-six.
The offense scored on the second and final drive. Everything in between was pretty ugly, but given the caliber of defense they were playing, it wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility. Notre Dame limited Georgia Tech to 333 yards, 5 yards per play. Today against Georgia Tech, he had two sacks and four tackles for loss. They did a good job of containing the offense today, especially after Georgia Tech took an early lead.
Georgia Tech’s defense played well at times, giving up just 24 points in the game. Notre Dame gained 385 yards on 69 plays, averaging 5.6 yards per play. Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard went 20-29 for 203 yards and also rushed for 51 yards and two touchdowns.
So how did the Yellow Jackets perform in this game on Pro Football Focus? Snap counts are in parentheses.
1. RT Jordan Williams – 77.9 (67)
2. LT Corey Robinson – 68.1 (67)
3. RB Chad Alexander – 64.6 (33)
4. WR Eric Singleton Jr. – 64.1 (57)
5. WR Bailey Stockton – 63.7 (11)
6. RG Kaylan Rutledge – 63.3 (67)
7. WR Abdul Jaane – 62.2 (29)
8. WR Malik Rutherford – 60.6 (49)
9. TE Jackson Hawes – 60.4 (33)
10. TE Avery Boyd – 60.2 (8)
11. C Tana Aro-Tupuola- 60.0 (1)
12. LT Harrison Moore – 58.6 (6)
13. C. Weston Franklin – 56.9 (66)
14. WR Isaiah Canyon – 59.2 (10)
15. WR Chase Lane- 53.5 (61)
16. LG Joe Fusil – 53.2 (68)
17. QB Zach Pyron – 52.9 (67)
18. RB Jamal Haynes – 52.9 (38)
1. DT Zeke Biggers – 72.7 (35)
2. DB Omar Daniels – 72.1 (32)
3. LB Trenillius Tatum – 71.2 (45)
4.DB Warren Burrell – 70.7 (63)
5. DT Jason Moore – 67.7 (13)
6. DT Thomas Gore – 68.7 (17)
7. LB EJ Lightsey – 67.5 (30)
8. LB Jackson Hamilton – 67.3 (26)
9. DB Clayton Powell-Lee- 67.0 (53)
10. DE Sylvain Yonjuan- 65.1 (39)
11. DB Zachary Tobe – 64.0 (4)
12. DT Machius Scott – 63.0 (30)
13. DT Jordan van den Bergh – 61.8 (35)
14. DB Ramiles Brooks – 61.0 (29)
15. DE Jordan Boyd – 60.0 (1)
16. DE Josh Robinson – 60.0 (23)
17. DE Romero Height – 59.6 (36)
18.DB Saeed Gibbs – 58.6 (39)
19.DB Ahamari Harvey- 58.0 (67)
20. DE Kevin Harris – 56.6 (35)
21. LB Taj Butler – 55.6 (33)
22. DB Tay Seymour – 39.3 (52)
