Georgia Tech survived a major upset bid from Boston College on Saturday as they came out with a 36-34 win. Saturday marked the Yellow Jackets ninth win for the Yellow Jackets, which is the first time they have won nine games since 2016. Let’s take a look at some key takeaways from the win.
Birr has been a big-time player for the Yellow Jackets since coming to Georgia Tech in 2023. In 2025, alone, he has been special, nailing 19 of his 21 field goal attempts. Birr delivered a 24-21 upset win over Clemson during Week 3 of the regular season earlier. Birr has immediately made 54 career field goals with the Yellow Jackets. In the waning seconds of the game vs Boston College, Birr anthem a 23-yard game-winning field goal with 11 seconds left in the game to help Georgia Tech complete the comeback. Birr is very dependable and showed that no moment is too big for him.
Rutherford came up big time for the Yellow Jackets on Saturday and had his best game of the season. He opened up the game for the Yellow Jackets with a 71 yard screen pass, which he took the distance for a touchdown. The touchdown gave the Yellow Jackets an early lead in the game and a much-needed explosive play. Rutherford finished with five catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, averaging 24.2 yards per catch. His explosiveness was critical in helping a comeback victory. The dependable and explosive wide receiver showed he can play at a high level whenever Georgia Tech needs him.
The Heisman candidate simply won’t go down without a fight. Despite being down 11 points in the fourth quarter, he didn’t flinch but instead kept throwing blows. One of his best plays came on a QB counter where he ran through a defender to convert a first down. The best part of it is he talked back to the defender who came at him and showed he is not a pushover. King is also mild-mannered and very humble, but sometimes you have to remind people who you are. He did just that and was a key piece in not allowing Georgia Tech to fall in defeat. King finished with 425 yards of offense and a touchdown. In those key moments, he is also unfazed and makes the right play. His leadership coupled with his grit, character, and toughness, makes him one of the best players in college football.
The last few weeks have been tough sledding for the Yellow Jackets on the defensive side of the ball. From missed tackles, bad contain, not generating pressure, busted coverages, and confusion this defense has had an exorbitant amount of problems. Against a porous offense that is averaging just 323 yards per game, the team put up 537 yards of total offense. Turbo Richards rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns and averaged 12.8 yards per carry. Just a week before, Georgia Tech gave up 583 yards of offense to NC State.The defense simply has not been good enough the past few weeks and is beginning to cost the Yellow Jackets. Fortunately, they were able to overcome it with a red-hot offense. If Georgia Tech wants any chance to make the College Football Playoff or an ACC Championship, its defense needs to step up.
This issue has become more prevalent over the last few weeks. Georgia Tech is simply not creating enough negative plays like sacks or tackles for loss. Their opponents are getting to the second level without being touched most times. Georgia Tech had zero sacks and zero tackles for loss in the first half. The Yellow Jackets went on to finish with three tackles for loss and one sack. The majority of that production came from Akelo Stone and Jordan Van Den Berg, who are both defensive tackles. Stone is the leader on the team with four sacks this year. Outside of those two, Georgia Tech lacks a consistent player to make plays and dominate. It’s been an issue the past few years and reared its head again on Saturday. Georgia Tech needs a game wrecker. Until they get one, it will be more of the same result as on Saturday.
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