On a day when the GT defense delivered its best performance of the season, it simply wasn’t enough to overcome a hobbled offense. Georgia Tech, playing their second straight game without starting QB Haynes King, outgained Virginia Tech 356-233 but ended up falling 21-6 in Blacksburg in the 2024 edition of the Techmo Bowl. The loss dropped the Jackets to 5-4 for the season and 3-3 in ACC play.
The story of the day was twofold. The negative was the offense’s inability to finish drives, which ultimately cost the team the game. Quarterback Zach Pyron drove the Jackets downfield for a field goal on their first possession and started the game 8-for-10 through the air, but he faltered as the game went on, going 2-for-12 for 7 yards the rest of the way and ending his day with an interception thrown into double coverage. True freshman Aaron Philo took over in the third quarter—getting the first serious game action of his career—and gave the offense a major spark, throwing for 184 yards in roughly a third of the game, but he couldn’t quite finish drives against a VT defense that got good pressure in key moments.
The QB passing lines don’t illustrate the entire story, though; GT had a number of uncharacteristic drops at crucial moments on would-be first downs, including two by Malik Rutherford on Pyron passes and one by Avery Boyd on Philo’s final throw of the day. And the run game was largely ineffective, with Jamal Haynes and Anthony Carrie combining for just 80 yards on the ground…