ATLANTA (AP) — Haynes King threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns while playing only the first half, backup quarterback Zach Pyron scored on a couple of 1-yard runs and Georgia Tech routed VMI 59-7 on Saturday.
Facing a thoroughly overmatched FCS school on a dreary afternoon in Atlanta, the Yellow Jackets (3-1) bounced back from a loss at Syracuse that ended their return to the Top 25 after just one week.
Georgia Tech led 24-0 before VMI (0-3) registered its initial first down about five minutes into the second quarter.
“That was a good win for our program,” coach Brent Key said. “It was on our guys to have tunnel vision on doing their job and playing a football game. We want to play a complete game regardless of the scoreboard, regardless of the opponent.”
King and most of the starters got the rest of the day off after the Yellow Jackets built a 38-0 halftime cushion. The home team headed to the locker room with an outrageous 366-35 lead in total yards and a 19-1 advantage in first downs.
The final two quarters were reduced to 10 minutes each.
The difference in the teams was apparent in the trenches. Georgia Tech’s starting offensive line averages 313 pounds, while VMI’s front five checked in at just 258 pounds.
The Yellow Jackets scored on six of its eight possessions in the first half, with none of the scoring drives lasting more than 3:13.
The game started with a glimmer of hope for VMI — Georgia Tech went three-and-out on its first possession, then settled for Aidan Birr’s 28-yard field goal — but it quickly got out of hand.
“I was disappointed that we didn’t compete better for longer,” VMI coach Danny Rocco said. “We really never got much of anything going, and that makes it really a difficult game to manage.”
King threw touchdowns passes of 35 yards to Malik Rutherford, 14 yards to Eric Singleton Jr., and 33 yards to Avery Boyd.
Two other times, King guided the Yellow Jackets to the 1-yard line before giving way to Pyron, who smashed his way into the end zone.
“It’s a continuation of what he’s done this season,” Key said of his No. 1 quarterback. “The good thing is when you get to the position where everyone doesn’t have to look at one person to make a play when things aren’t going great. We have other guys that are helping take that load off of one person’s shoulders.”
Pyron took over for King in the second half and tossed a short pass that Leo Blackburn took for a 24-yard touchdown.
The takeaway
VMI: The only thing the Keydets gained from this game was a nice paycheck. Hunter Rice, who rushed for 247 yards in VMI’s first two games, was held to 10 yards on seven carries. VMI used four quarterbacks, none of them having much success beyond Brady Hammonds. He hooked up with Owen Sweeney on a 34-yard completion that set up a 2-yard TD pass to Ethen Horne with 6:37 remaining.
Georgia Tech: A practice probably would have been more beneficial to the team’s development, but at least a bunch of players got a chance to pad their stats. “We get a lot of guys valuable playing time, which is important for the upcoming schedule,” Key said. The Yellow Jackets piled up 575 yards of offense, while limiting VMI to 104 in their biggest win since a 65-10 blowout of Tulane in 2015.
Up next
VMI: Faces a team more its size when the Keydets host fellow FCS school Norfolk State next Saturday.
Georgia Tech: Travels to Louisville next Saturday for an Atlantic Coast Conference game against the No. 19 Cardinals (2-0). The Yellow Jackets will be looking for their best five-game mark since starting 5-0 in 2014.
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