Biggest Takeaways From Georgia Tech's 48-36 Loss To NC State

I mean, Haynes King was phenomenal and continued to counter-punch with massive plays down the field all night long. The Heisman candidate came ready to play and put up eye-popping numbers. By himself, King put up 450 yards of offense. He was 25-35 for 408 yards and two touchdowns through the air. He also rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The most impressive part was his resilience and response. He never changed his demeanor or tone and was consistent throughout the night despite getting a lot of quarterback hits and being sacked multiple times. King showed that, no matter the environment or team he faces, he will always be ready to play and produce for his team.

2. The offense was solid

A lot of the chatter coming in was if the Georgia Tech offense could get off to a faster start and avoid a slow start. Yellow Jackets did offense started the game the right way and put the team in position throughout the game for points. They finished with 213 total yards through the first half. It felt like the offense did all they could in the game to keep the Yellow Jackets in it, but the defense couldn’t get any stops. The offense finished with 559 yards of offense and averaged eight yards per play. Another impressive stat is that the offense averaged 16.3 yards per completion, showing how explosive it was in primetime. An area that hurt them in the red zone was settling for field goals despite being 6/6. If they could have converted that better, it would have been a flawless night for the Yellow Jackets on offense.

3. Georgia Tech has a young stud WR

Yes, it wasn’t a great night for the team, but Jordan Allen was superb and showed he can be a future building block for the team moving forward. Allen made big play after big play. He had a 33-yard catch and run as he broke free against the defense. The true freshman finished with five catches for 110 yards. He is the first 100-yard receiver for the Yellow Jackets this season and has proved he can be a go-to wide receiver moving forward.

4 Georgia Tech's defense was not good against NC State

The Yellow Jackets forced just one punt in the first half. Coming into the game, Georgia Tech gave up just 16 points in the first quarter, and NC State nearly surpassed that total, scoring 14 points on its first two drives. Other than that, the Wolfpack marched up and down the field, scoring touchdowns. CJ Bailey was 16-22 for 215 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone. The Yellow Jackets gave up 579 yards of total offense. To make matters worse, NC State didn’t have Hollywood Smothers, and Justin Joly didn’t play in the game. They lead the Wolfpack in rushing and receiving, and it didn’t matter on Saturday as they sliced and diced the Yellow Jackets' defense. A hobbled CJ Bailey carved up the Yellow Jackets for 340 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Simply put, Georgia Tech couldn’t get stops, and its defense looked confused with multiple busted coverages throughout the game. The Yellow Jackets need their key pieces back, especially with Pittsburgh and Georgia remaining on the schedule.

5. NC State RB Jayden “Duke” Scott had a career night

Scott rushed for 192 yards and a touchdown. He had a career night in the absence of Smothers. He averaged nine yards per carry on Saturday night against Georgia Tech and punished a porous run defense. Scott has been a backup this season behind Smothers, but he showed he can carry the load and be a dependable back moving forward for the Wolfpack. He had the game-clinching run for the Wolfpack on a 30-yard scamper that put the game out of reach. One thing you saw on his runs was his physicality. It didn’t matter if Georgia Tech got the initial stop behind the line of scrimmage. Scott continued to churn his legs all night, turning one-yard gains into seven and eight, which was devastating for the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech gave up 200 rushing yards on the ground and didn’t have an answer on Saturday night against the Wolfpack, who averaged seven rushing yards per carry as a team. Scott has a bright future moving forward for the Wolfpack.

6. Georgia Tech Playoff Hopes In Jeopardy

On Tuesday night, the committee for the College Football Playoff will unveil its rankings, and Georgia Tech had a golden opportunity to be one of the top 10 teams that didn’t lose on Saturday, but it couldn’t overcome the dragon that slayed three ranked teams on Saturday. The AP Poll will be released tomorrow at 2:00 PM, and surely the Yellow Jackets will drop. There was a lot of chaos on Saturday, but Georgia Tech missed a golden opportunity to take advantage of a team missing multiple starters and having a plethora of injuries. The Yellow Jackets will now look to get healthy and finish their final three games strong with big matchups coming up against Pittsburgh and Georgia.