Jackets Wisely Vanquish Temple Owls
Saturday, September 20 was an unexpectedly intriguing day for the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech. They gained a win, 45-21 over Temple, to go 4-0 --but the path to victory was uneven at best.
Tech showed up at Bobby Dodd Stadium ready to take care of business, heavy favorites facing the Owls. Tech and Temple had played only once before, in Philadelphia in 2019, resulting in a 24-2 trouncing by the hosts during the first year of the tenure of the Georgia Tech coach who immediately preceded Brent Key . On that occasion, Temple had come in as a nine -point favorite.
This time around, Tech was heavily favored-- by 24.5 points to be precise. And they were looking to extend their record to 4-0 on the young season, and to set the stage for resuming their ACC schedule in earnest next week, following a landmark win over Clemson a week earlier.
Mother Nature put all of that on pause, though, by producing a lightning threat that pushed the kickoff back by 30 minutes.
When the game finally started– in bright sunshine, just to complete the weather prank– the Jackets came out looking powerful, smooth and efficient. Temple won the toss, elected to receive the ball, and following a deep kickoff by PK Aidan "Touchback" Birr, they quietly went three and out, and punted.
Five plays later, Tech had a 7-0 lead on a 17 yard touchdown run by QB Haynes King to cap a five- play, 71 yard drive.
( photo- RamblinSports)
After another Birr touchback, came another brief Temple possession (one first down prior to punting) and then another quick punch– a five- play scoring drive by Tech. This one ended with a 24 yard touchdown by WR Malik Rutherford, who weaved his way to the promised land after a short toss from QB Haynes King.
And...repeat., a la Groundhog Day--another puny possession by the visitors, followed by yet another quick score by Tech. This time it was a 65 yard, six- play drive ending with a 37 yard pass to Isaiah Canion to take the score to 21-0 Georgia Tech.
To say it was a dominant first quarter by Tech is an understatement. Brent Key would later acknowledge " That's about as well as we can play".
Unfortunately, the Jackets were not able to sustain that success. In fact, the second quarter was almost the exact reverse for the home team. As if a switch had been flipped... three possessions, zero first downs and only nine total yards total gained for the entire second quarter was the sad tally for Tech.
Key later wryly summed up tbe second quarter, saying " Then we showed the type of play that anybody can play."
At that point, the task for Brent Key and crew suddenly had a different tone. Namely, how to maintain the focus and execution needed to put to bed an inferior opponent.
Ultimately it all worked out. But for a moment in the third period, things felt somewhat iffy. Temple had scored in the second quarter, and when Tech's first possession in the 3rd period ended with a fumbled handoff by King, it was Temple's turn to enjoy a quick score. QB Evan Simon hit WR Jojo Bermudez with a 28 yard scoring strike, and suddenly it was Temple with the momentum and only a seven point deficit.
But the Jackets snapped out of their sluggish phase with two more touchdowns in the third period, both by RB Malachi Hosley on the ground. On the first of those runs , Hosley went right before turning back wide left and outrunning the Temple defense to reach the endzone.
From there, the Yellow Jackets were back in firm control, and they exchanged a couple more scores with Temple en route to the 45- 24 final score.
Post-game, Key acknowledged the obvious– his team was happy to win, and yet somewhat dissatisfied, and feeling eager to improve the problem areas. He lamented that "... we left a lot on the table", in explaining his resolve in finding and correcting the issues Tech had encountered.
In a roundabout way, this game vs. Temple served Georgia Tech quite well. They got win number four and also got to play some significant back-ups .
At the same time, the players and coaches experienced and survived a focal risk that instills the respect that underdog opponents always deserve.
Key understandably prefers his team aim for the high standard of perfect execution, no matter the adversary. Realistically though , if you as coach can prompt your team to truly respect each opponent, and execute at a level in line with that respect, that is a noteworthy accomplishment in and of itself.
In this win over Temple, Tech experienced and overcame an almost mysteriously sluggish second quarter. That awareness and resilience allowed the Jackets to avoid a " trap game" loss. The fact that they were able to do so may indicate a growing maturity within this team, compared to say, the Bowling Green game in 2023– another home game in which Tech came out fast, built a two- score lead, and then got lost in the exhaust of a reinvigorated opponent.
Senior safety Clayton Powell- Lee stated it from a big- picture perspective.
" We're happy about the win, but we know we've got a lot more work to do...", said Powell- Lee, reminding all that he and his teammates would prefer to play " 15 or 16" games this season.
The Jackets' next opponent will be Wake Forest, in Winston- Salem. Tech is an early two touchdown favorite. Will tbe lessons of that Temple game hold forth?
Time will tell. Two issues that have been nagging this 4-0 team showed up again on Saturday. Namely, turnovers and penalties. Tech was penalized six times for 55 yards. And for the third time in four games, they lost the turnover battle, albeit by a narrow 1-0 margin.
Those are habits that make thar weekly Mountain a bit if a steeper climb for Key and his team. In the meantime, Georgia Tech is 4-0.
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports