Notre Dame football deep dive: A Week 8 brawl in the offing with Georgia Tech
Week 8 pits Notre Dame football against an ACC foe that we’ve actually gotten a chance to watch already this season.
Georgia Tech started their season off tremendously, defeating No. 10 Florida State, 24-21, in Dublin on a last-second field goal. Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key is now 5-0 against ranked ACC teams.
It was noted on the broadcast that Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King is “one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the nation,” and King made that clear Saturday afternoon. He finished the game with a 68% completion rate and 200 yards of total offense.
The big takeaway was the way in which the Yellow Jackets moved the ball. Georgia Tech is a physical team, and Key’s squad “out physical-ed” the Seminoles. Georgia Tech converted five of nine third-down plays, extending drives and eating up the clock in the process. Junior runningback Jamal Haynes stood out, rushing for 75 hard-earned yards and punching in two touchdowns.
The Georgia Tech defense was equally as impressive, holding Florida State to just 98 yards on the ground. The big moment came on the Seminoles’ second drive, which ended in a huge turnover on downs in Yellow Jacket territory. FSU quarterback DJ Uiagalelei found runningback Lawrance Toafili on a 4th-down slip screen, but GT cornerback Ahmari Harvey came up with a clutch open-field tackle to give Georgia Tech possession.
The ensuing GT drive ended in a punt, but that play ignited the Yellow Jacket defense and made for tough sledding the rest of the way for Florida State.
Now, the big question: Is this a one-time thing for Georgia Tech? Or are the Yellow Jackets the real deal?
Believe the hype. Georgia Tech is for real.
Georgia Tech lost 32 players to the portal this past offseason, highlighted by cornerback Eric Reed and edge rusher Kyle Kennard. They reloaded with 16 incoming transfers and the 33rd-best recruiting class in the nation.
Luckily for them, the offense stayed intact. Runningback Dontae Smith and receiver Dominick Blaylock depart, but every other major contributor from 2023 is back for the Yellow Jackets.
On defense, Georgia Tech returned a solid core which included three of last year’s top four tacklers (Kyle Efford, Clayton Powell-Lee, and LaMiles Brooks). 12 of Georgia Tech’s 16 incoming transfers are on the defensive side of the ball. The Yellow Jackets had talent, now they have depth.
Maybe Georgia Tech is the real ACC worry for Notre Dame football
Also, say what you want about Florida State. I know that the storyline of last bowl season was that Florida State made a big fuss and proceeded to get dismantled by Georgia. Just remember that Florida State had 23 players opt out of the Orange Bowl, including QB Tate Rodemaker, RB Trey Benson, WR Keon Coleman, and 10 players on the defense. And on top of that, of course, QB Jordan Travis was out.
But on paper, the 2024 Seminoles might be just as good. They lose Travis, Benson, and Coleman, but they bring in a top-10 transfer class (247Sports) that includes 10 four-star transfers. Uiagalelei has had flourishes of greatness (including his performance against Notre Dame when he was with Clemson in 2020). Five transfers from Alabama, four from other SEC schools. That’s nearly half of their entire transfer class.
Georgia Tech beat that FSU.
The Yellow Jackets have that service-academy mentality to running the football. You know they’re going to run it. Everyone knows it… and they’re going to do it anyway. On defense, they swarm the ball. If someone gets caught alone in the open field, there’s a good chance Georgia Tech makes the tackle anyway.
Expect the unexpected grudge match for Notre Dame football in this one.