The Pitt Panthers get Georgia Tech tonight at Acrisure Stadium, and the Yellow Jackets arrive with a season that has gone sideways fast. Pitt is 5-3 and trying to stop a three-game skid, while Georgia Tech comes in at 2-5 and still searching for traction in Brent Key’s fifth season.
Georgia Tech’s numbers tell a rough story. The Yellow Jackets rank 77th nationally in total offense at 378.7 yards per game and 82nd in scoring at 26.7 points per game.
On the other side of the ball, they’ve been hit even harder, sitting 117th in total defense at 407.6 yards allowed per game and 114th in points allowed at 30.2. The run defense has been especially vulnerable, giving up 210.4 rushing yards per game, which ranks 131st.
Pitt, by comparison, brings a much sturdier profile into the matchup. The Panthers are 30th in total offense at 444.2 yards per game and 44th in scoring defense at 20.8 points allowed per game.
They’re also second nationally against the run, allowing just 65 rushing yards per game. Georgia Tech’s pass defense, though, is not the softest area on the board; it ranks 41st at 197.1 yards allowed per game.
The Yellow Jackets have leaned on transfer quarterback Alberto Mendoza, who has completed 153 of 215 passes for 1,714 yards with 10 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Justice Haynes leads the ground game with 101 carries for 515 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Jordan Allen tops the receiving chart with 42 catches for 517 yards and one score. On defense, Tae Harris leads the team with 45 tackles, Noah Carter has 3 sacks, and CJ Gamble has 1 interception.
Georgia Tech opened last season 8-0, got into the national polls in mid-September and stayed there the rest of the way, even if the finish was uneven. That momentum carried some real optimism into this season.
The Yellow Jackets also made progress on the recruiting trail. But once the games started, the tone changed quickly.
They lost their opener to Colorado and have been chasing consistency ever since.
The one bright spot came on October 10, when Georgia Tech beat Duke. Outside of that, the Yellow Jackets have lost to every power-four opponent they’ve played.
Mendoza has had a difficult time steering the offense, and the run game hasn’t been nearly as dependable as it has been for this program in the past. Injuries up front have made matters worse.
The defense has been the bigger problem. Georgia Tech has given up more than 30 points in four of its seven games, and the run defense has been hit especially hard.
Last week against Boston College, the Yellow Jackets grabbed a 10-0 lead at Bobby Dodd Stadium, but that didn’t last. The Eagles piled up 399 rushing yards, including two 100-yard rushers, and Georgia Tech’s defense had no answer.
Mendoza also threw two second-half interceptions.
The injury list has taken a serious toll. Kyle Efford, a two-time senior captain at linebacker, was forced to medically retire from football.
Starting left tackle Ethan Mackenny, one of the team’s best linemen, has not played since week two. In all, 15 Georgia Tech players are listed as out for tonight’s game.
Another issue has been the lack of splash plays. Georgia Tech has forced only three turnovers all season, the worst total in Division I.
The Yellow Jackets have also recorded just 12 sacks as a team, or 1.71 per game, which ranks 98th nationally. That combination has left them giving up yards without creating enough disruption to flip games.
When these teams met last November in Atlanta, the setting was much bigger. Pitt still had a path to the ACC Championship, Georgia Tech was ranked No. 16, and the atmosphere at Bobby Dodd Stadium matched the stakes. Pitt stunned the home crowd and held on, helped by a 100-yard interception return from linebacker Braylan Lovelace.
This time around, the backdrop is different. Neither team is in position for an ACC title push, and both are trying to steady themselves late in the year. Georgia Tech’s earlier momentum has been swallowed up by a 2-5 start.
There’s also a familiar face on the Georgia Tech sideline. Tim Salem, who spent years on Pat Narduzzi’s staff at Pitt before moving on after the 2023 season, is now the Yellow Jackets’ special teams coordinator. He was part of Pitt’s 2021 ACC Championship team and was known as one of the staff’s top recruiters during his time in Pittsburgh.