ATLANTA (AP) — Malachi Hosley ran for 129 yards and a touchdown, Haynes King had two scoring runs and No. 13 Georgia Tech used a strong start to beat short-handed Virginia Tech 35-20 on Saturday.
Georgia Tech (6-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won its first six games for the first time since 2011. The Yellow Jackets scored the game’s first 18 points.
King led Georgia Tech with another productive and efficient display of his dual-threat skills. King completed 20 of 24 passes for 213 yards with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Malik Rutherford and added 60 rushing yards with scoring runs of 26 and 2 yards.
The highlight was King’s 26-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter that extended the lead to 35-14.
“That was a heck of a run, wasn’t it,” said Georgia Tech coach Brent Key, who welcomed the senior quarterback to the sideline with a hug.
Virginia Tech (2-5, 1-2) listed 20 players as out due to injuries and other reasons and fell to 2-2 under interim coach Philip Montgomery. The Hokies have an open week before their next game, and Montgomery said the break will be crucial “because we need to try to get healthy. We’ve got a lot of guys that are banged up.”
The Hokies cut Georgia Tech’s lead to 21-14 early in the second half on Kyron Drones’ 33-yard scoring pass to Ja’Ricious Hairston.
Drones threw a 3-yard scoring pass to Hairston in the fourth quarter and ran for 83 yards with a score. Drones was stopped on a fourth-down run from the Georgia Tech 10 with 2:20 remaining.
Defending Drones
Georgia Tech sacked Drones four times.
“Our front did a great job providing pressure and getting him on the run,” said linebacker Kyle Efford, who led Georgia Tech with seven tackles and one sack.
Key was not as happy about pressure which forced Drones to scramble, sometimes for gains.
“He had some big runs, some scrambles in the second half,” Key said. “We’ve got to be better than that. We’ve got to keep him in the pocket.”
Montgomery said Drones “played his tail off. The guy just battled.”
Shutout on third downs
Virginia Tech was 0-for-8 on third-down conversions. It was the first time Georgia Tech held a team without a third down conversion since a 24-10 win over Chattanooga in 1988.
The twist: The Hokies were successful on three of four fourth-down plays. Both of Drones’ touchdown passes to Hairston came on fourth-down plays.
Another hundred for Hosley
Hosley, a transfer from Penn, recorded his second 100-yard game this season. He had 100 yards in a 59-12 win over Gardner-Webb on Sept. 6. Hosley recorded 10 100-yard games in 2023-24 at Penn.
Hosley is pushing Jamal Haynes, who had 14 carries for 69 yards, for bragging rights as the Yellow Jackets’ top running back.
“He’s a good football player,” said Key of Hosley. “We knew he was when we brought him in. We were short on numbers at that position last year. It was good to see him continue to be productive and continue to improve.”
The takeaways
Virginia Tech: One week after being held to 263 yards in a 30-23 loss to Wake Forest, the Hokies were held to 95 yards in the first half. They finished with 379 yards thanks to a strong second half by Drones, who passed for 193 yards and two touchdowns.
Georgia Tech: Cornerback Ahmari Harvey was carried off the field with an apparent serious leg injury with 3:51 remaining.
Up next
Virginia Tech: Following an off week, the Hokies will host California on Oct. 24.
Georgia Tech: Visits Duke on Saturday.
