Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Outclassed by Duke, Lose 34-20
The #20 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets lost to unranked ACC Coastal Divisional rival Duke on Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium by a final score of 34-20.
The Jackets once again seemed unable to gain any traction on the offense end, as Justin Thomas was consistently pressured by the Blue Devil defense. Duke S Jeremy Cash gave the Georgia Tech offensive line fits all day, constantly pressuring Thomas and the shutting down the Tech running game.
-= Related: Georgia Tech: 5 Players to Watch vs. Duke =-
On the day, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were only able to accrue 326 total yards, but were still had more yards than Duke, which had 279 yards on the day. The Jackets took an early lead off of 1st quarter field goal by Harrison Butker. Tech then dug an significnat hole that were ultimately unable to overcome as the Duke offense controlled the early portion of the game.
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QB Thomas Sirk did not have his best game — passing for only 114 yards and a rushing TD — but the Duke offense was efficacious enough to score when they had chances. Duke RB Shaquille Powell paced the Blue Devils with 88 yards on the ground, including the decisive score with under 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter — a 30 yard run on 4th & 1 to give the Blue Devils a 32-20 lead. The ensuing 2-point conversation was good.
For the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, B-back Patrick Skov once again was the centerpiece of the Tech offense, rushing for 85 yards on 19 carries, but was held without a score. QB Justin Thomas looked especially uncomfortable throughout the afternoon, and was forced to pass the ball more than Head Coach Paul Johnson probably liked — throwing for 114 yards, 1 rushing TD, 1 INT and a disastrous fumble near the end of the game that spelled defeat for Georgia Tech.
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The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets offensive line provided no protection for Justin Thomas or the running back corps, as the Duke defense was able to consistently force third and long situations and halt drives. With the offense struggling in the game, the Jackets never really seemed to gain any momentum, even when they closed the Duke lead to 26-20 in the middle of the fourth quarter after a Justin Thomas TD run. The Tech offense had 3 turnovers on Saturday.
As aforementioned, it cannot be emphasized enough the effect that Duke S Jeremy Cash had on this game. He would blitz and pressure the quarterback, disrupt the run game, and played excellent covered.
This is a crushing blow to the #20 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and they will certainly fall out of the Top 25 in tomorrow’s AP Poll. They still have a shot at the ACC Coastal, but as today’s game showed, they will have a lot of work ahead of them to get back to playing at the same level they were last season.
Next: Georgia Tech Clashes with Duke on Road
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