ATL — Haynes King threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score and Georgia Tech never trailed in a comfortable 35-12 win over Georgia State on Saturday night.
It was a balanced offensive effort for Tech, which accumulated 499 yards of offense (274 in the air, 225 on the ground). Five different Yellow Jackets scored a touchdown.
“The key to it all is being able to get guys touches,” Tech coach Brent Key said. “When you have a lot of guys who can be explosive, in order to be explosive you have to get the ball to explosive playmakers. We created different ways to get those guys the ball.”
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King completed 24 of 29 passes for 275 yards with an interception. King also rushed five times for 27 yards and a touchdown.
Jamal Haynes led the rushing attack with 84 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown.
Malik Rutherford had career highs with seven catches for 131 yards. “It felt good,” Rutherford said. “I’ve been wanting to get over that 100-yard hump. It’s my first time. It was just a good game all around. I’m excited.”
Erik Singleton Jr. rushed once for 35 yards and had four receptions for 43 yards.
“They made me look good,” King said of Rutherford and Singleton. “I don’t have to do too much. Just get them the ball in space and let them do their thing.”
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Georgia State tallied 360 yards with 210 in the air and 150 on the ground in its season opener.
Georgia State threatened to land the first blow after Tech won the toss and deferred to the second half. On their first possession, the Panthers marched 64 yards to the Tech 1 and had a first-and-goal.
Tech’s defense denied Georgia State running back Sy’veon Wilkerson three times before quarterback Christian Veilleux threw an incompletion on fourth down.
The Yellow Jackets played strong defense as Georgia State was 1 for 3 in red zone tries. Tech was 3 for 3 in the red zone.
“They executed and that’s the whole key to defensive football is getting a call, getting to the line and being able to execute what the call is,” Key said. “A couple of times the quarterback got free, which we have to do a better job on that.”
Tech took a 14-3 lead at halftime behind Jamal Haynes’ 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and King’s 2-yard scoring run that capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive with four seconds left before intermission.
Tech pulled away early in the third quarter. Eric Singleton Jr.’s 25-yard touchdown scamper and King found a wide-open Rutherford for a 52-yard touchdown connection that stretched the lead to 28-3 with 11:19 left to play in the third.
Rutherford was all by himself down the middle when he caught King’s pass.
“It (doesn’t get any) easier than that,” Rutherford said. “It was just a simple post route on a squeeze set and they kind of blew the coverage. Haynes saw me, I made the catch for a touchdown.”
The Panthers scored nine points on a field goal and 24-yard touchdown pass from Veilleux to Dorian Fleming later in the third quarter.
King then found Avery Boyd for a 22-yard touchdown about a minute into the fourth quarter.
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THE TAKEAWAY
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets are 2-0 for the first time since 2016 after beating the Panthers in the first matchup between the programs.
Georgia State: The Panthers kept it close for a half against the Yellow Jackets and will look for its first win with coach Dell McGee, a Columbus, Georgia, native with 22 years of experience that includes back-to-back national titles as the run game coordinator and running backs coach for the Georgia Bulldogs. McGee was named the program’s fourth head coach on Feb. 23.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech: Opens its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule on Saturday at Syracuse, which won its opener 38-22 at home against Ohio.
Georgia State: Hosts Chattanooga on Saturday.
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