Georgia Tech’s slide got uglier in Week 4, and the loss to Stanford exposed just how many problems are piling up for the Yellow Jackets. They dropped to 1-3 after being outscored 24-7 in the second half, and the game turned on a few costly mistakes that wiped out what had been a more competitive showing early.
At quarterback, Mendoza put up usable numbers - 26-for-39 for 268 yards and two touchdowns, plus 16 yards rushing - but the finish was rough. A late interception while Georgia Tech was down seven and an intentional grounding that backed the Jackets into a 4th-and-45 situation helped seal the loss. He was under pressure for much of the night, and the offensive line gave him little relief, but the final sequence was still the kind of mistake-filled stretch that buried Georgia Tech.
The backfield did more to steady things, at least in the first half. Justice Haynes and Trelain Maddox both made their presence felt before the break, with Haynes flipping the field on a 46-yard run and Maddox punching in two touchdowns.
Haynes finished with another 100-yard outing, going for 106 yards at 5.9 yards per carry, while Maddox totaled 40 yards on six carries. Once the second half started, though, both backs disappeared along with much of Georgia Tech’s offense.
Malachi Hosley was missing, and this group still managed a solid night overall.
Georgia Tech’s receiver production was scattered, with Jordan Allen and Dalen Penson doing most of the work. Allen caught four passes for 64 yards, Penson added four grabs for 52 yards, and Jaiven Plummer scored on a 23-yard touchdown in the second half.
Beyond those plays, there wasn’t much spark. If it wasn’t Allen or Penson, the Yellow Jackets weren’t getting much out of the wideout group.
Kevin Roche Jr. was the one tight end who consistently showed up. He led Georgia Tech with six catches and finished second on the team with 59 yards, but the rest of that room didn’t offer much.
Chris Corbo had two catches for 15 yards, and Gavin Harris added one for 14. Outside of Roche Jr., the three transfer portal additions haven’t made much of an impact.
The offensive line remains the clearest frustration. Ethan Mackenny and Jameson Riggs were out again, and while this wasn’t as disastrous as some earlier outings, it still wasn’t a good performance.
Haynes had to create a lot of his own yardage, and Mendoza spent plenty of the night being flushed from the pocket and chased by Stanford defenders. That unit is still the biggest disappointment on the roster.
On defense, Georgia Tech’s front had a mixed night. The defensive line couldn’t generate steady pressure on Stanford, but it did hold up well against the run, limiting the Cardinal to 2.4 yards per carry.
Taje McCoy, Tawfiq Thomas, and Noah Carter each finished with a TFL, and Stanford was held to 55 rushing yards. Still, with the damage Stanford did through the air, it’s hard to praise the group too heavily.
The linebacker rotation was also shorthanded, with Kyle Efford out and E.J. Lightsey, Melvin Jordan IV, and Cayman Spaulding handling most of the workload.
They were uneven, but they did better against the run than they had earlier this season. Coverage, though, was a problem, and the group never produced a big play.
That mattered because Stanford quarterback Davis Warren had the kind of night Georgia Tech has been trying to avoid all season. He went 22-for-36 and piled up nearly 400 yards of offense with three touchdowns.
Georgia Tech had busts on several fourth-down plays, and the third quarter coverage was described as embarrassing. Stanford may not be the best passing attack Georgia Tech faces this season, and that’s what makes this result such a concern moving forward.
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Georgia Tech goes into the bye week with more questions than answers after a 1-3 start that includes a loss to Stanford and a stretch defined by self-inflicted mistakes. The Yellow Jackets have not been able to find much rhythm on either side of the ball, with penalties piling up alongside uneven offensive and defensive play, while injuries have thinned the roster in the trenches and forced the staff to keep adjusting on the fly.
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