TOTAL BREAKDOWN FOR JACKETS

Thwarted on offense and trampled on defense, Georgia Tech suffered a most humbling thrashing in a college football mecca.

Up against a Notre Dame motivated to play for spot in the College Football Playoff, the Yellow Jackets took the field with a depleted roster and compounded their disadvantage with continued mistake-filled play. The 55-0 loss takes its place among the worst defeats in Tech’s history.

The loss comes a week before the Jackets will face an even more daunting opponent, No. 1 Georgia.

The defense of coach Geoff Collins was shredded again. Losing

players in pass coverage, getting defeated at the line of scrimmage and missing tackles, the Tech defense was no match for the No. 8 Fighting Irish.

From the start, Irish receivers and tight ends ran wide open for quarterback Jack Coan, who completed 15 of 20 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns in a little more than a half. By passing efficiency, it was the best game of his career, making him the latest Tech opposing quarterback to enjoy a field day at the Jackets’ expense.

On a day full of lamentable plays, one stood out — a 52-yard touchdown pass from Coan to tight end Michael Mayer that raised the lead to 24-0. Mayer, possibly the top NFL prospect at his position

in college football, had been properly identified as a player the Jackets needed to track. However, Mayer was barely slowed coming off the line of scrimmage and caught Coan’s pass with no Tech defender within 5 yards. The play continued Tech’s season-long pattern of pass-coverage breakdowns that have led to big pass plays.

But it was hardly the only one, as it was one of six plays of 20 yards or more given up by the defense.

While Notre Dame (10-1) is a legitimate powerhouse, the Irish hit their scoring high against the Jackets. They were aided by two defensive touchdowns, one on Tech’s fifth play from scrimmage. Quarterback Jordan Yates, starting in place of the injured Jeff Sims,

tried to throw away a pass while under heavy pressure. However, he threw directly at linebacker Jack Kiser, who ran untouched 43 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead.

It was emblematic of how Tech’s possessions largely transpired, with Yates running for his life after Irish pressure overwhelmed the Jackets’ offensive line. The Jackets finished with a season-low 224 yards of offense, as Notre Dame prevented a third consecutive opponent from scoring a touchdown.

Sims was one of several Tech regulars who were unavailable, along with defensive end Jared Ivey, cornerback Tobias Oliver, defensive back Wesley Walker and kicker Brent Cimaglia.

DARRON CUMMINGS/ASSOCIATED PRESS Notre Dame’s Logan Diggs runs past Tech’s Quez Jackson for one of his two touchdowns Saturday. The Irish hit their scoring high for the season against the Yellow Jackets, whose defense was shredded once again.