Georgia Tech rushes for 372 yards to top Bowling Green
Georgia Tech rushed for touchdowns the first seven times it had the ball with TaQuon Marshall, Jordan Mason and Tobias Oliver scoring twice each as the Yellow Jackets dominated Bowling Green 63-17 on Saturday.
Marshall also had a big day as a thrower. The senior quarterback completed 5-of-6 passes for 160 yards — an average of 32 yards per completion — to help Tech (2-3) break a three-game losing streak.
He opened the game with a rare pass, in fact, connecting with wide receiver Jalen Thomas for 33 yards to jumpstart the Jackets.
“Well, that’s a lot more fun,” coach Paul Johnson after Tech won for the first time since a seasonopening blowout of Alcorn State. “I thought offensively we were very efficient. We went back and tried to simplify and just make sure we do things the right way.”
Tech recovered its only fumble, a snap, and did not turn the ball over one week after fumbling eight times in a 49-21 loss to No. 2. Clemson. Bowling Green (1-4) lost a fumbled and two interceptions.
Bowling Green entered the game last in the nation in run defense, allowing 333.5 yards per contest. The Jackets finished with 372 rushing yards as their spread-option offense, especially the triple option plays, confounded the Falcons.
“For a lot of us, it was our first time playing a triple-option team,” said Bowling Green defensive back Marcus Milton. “It’s very difficult to stop because you don’t know where the ball is.”
The Falcons had some success passing the ball in Bobby Dodd Stadium, where sophomore quarterback Jarret Doege completed 27-of-44 for 305 yards and a score.
He was intercepted twice, though, once by David Curry in the end zone and when Anree Saint-Amour returned a deflected pass three yards for a Tech touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The visitors gained little on the ground. They finished with 63 rushing yards, including just one yard as they fell behind 28-10 in the first half.
Georgia Tech seized control of the game early in the second half when their first possession ended on a 33-yard scoring run by Mason, a redshirt freshman fullback.
Moments later, Doege fumbled when sacked by Tech linebacker Victor Alexander, and reserve end Antwan Owens returned the ball 21 yards. That set up fullback Jerry Howard’s 5-yard scoring run to give the Tech a 42-10 lead with 7:44 left in the third quarter.
Bowling Green ran 31 more offensive plays than Tech, yet the Jackets gained twice as much per snap (9.5 yards per to Bowling Green’s 4.5) with a sprinkling of big pass plays and repeated servings of the run game.
Oliver, Tech’s backup quarterback, led all rushers with 116 yards, including a 62-yard score late in the game.
“We knew they would pose a problem with their scheme and (us) having limited time to prepare for it,” said Bowling Green coach Mike Jinks. “They got rolling, and we didn’t have an answer for it.”
Bowling Green: Nobody can accuse the Falcons of scheduling down. They’ve also suffered lopsided non-conference losses of 58-24 at Oregon and 45-14 to Maryland. At least the program earned $900,000 for traveling to Atlanta.
Georgia Tech: The Jackets treated Bowling Green - Tech’s first-ever opponent from the state of Ohio - like a tuneup before returning to conference play for six consecutive ACC games, and it could hardly have gone better.
There wasn’t much to be disappointed about for Georgia Tech, yet surely the Jackets were not happy to see freshman Juanyeh Thomas’ 96-yard kickoff return called back in the third quarter. Sophomore Bruce Jordan-Swilling was called for holding.
With a 41-yard reception in the second quarter, senior wingback Clinton Lynch became the first player in Georgia Tech history to bank 1,000 career rushing yards (1,138) and 1,000 career receiving yards (1,015). He has averaged 9.3 yards per rushing play, and 27.4 yards on 37 receptions.
“I was really listening in for the announcer . . . once he said like ‘40-something’ I knew I did it,” Lynch recalled. “I had my little moment and just went out to the next play.
Bowling Green: With a rare Friday game, the Yellow Jackets return to ACC action at Louisville.
Georgia Tech: The Falcons will dig back into a Mid-American Conference rivalry when they travel 25 miles to play Toledo next Saturday.