THE FLATS – Dontae Smith ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns, and Georgia Tech held Western Carolina to just three points after the first quarter on Saturday night to defeat the visiting Catamounts, 35-17, at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
The Yellow Jackets ran for 243 yards and scored touchdowns on five of its first nine possessions, while Tech’s defense found its footing after an early WCU spurt to cruise to the victory.
Playing on just four days’ rest after Monday’s season opener against No. 4 Clemson, Georgia Tech (1-1) trailed 14-7 less than 10 minutes into the game after WCU (1-1) scored touchdowns on each of its first two possessions. However, Tech scored the game’s next 28 points to take a commanding 35-14 lead after three quarters.
Both sides of the ball contributed to the runaway win, as Tech averaged 7.1 yards per run and 6.7 yards per play and scored 35 points on just 51 plays on offense, while limiting the Catamounts to just 17 points on 75 offensive plays and forcing four turnovers on defense. All five of the Yellow Jackets’ touchdowns came on the ground, marking the first time since 2018 that they scored had as many as five rushing touchdowns in a game. Three of the Jackets’ four takeaways came via interceptions, which also marked the first time since ’18 that they had picked off three passes in a game.
Smith led the way for the Yellow Jackets offensively with his first-career 100-yard rushing game and his 9-, 51- and 3-yard touchdown runs. His 102 yards and three touchdowns came on just 11 carries, good for a whopping 9.3 yards per rush. Wide receiver Nate McCollum added a 40-yard touchdown run on a reverse in the second quarter and Dylan McDuffie capped the Jackets’ scoring with a 2-yard blast that made it 35-14 with 3:55 to go in the third quarter.
Defensively, Myles Sims, Derrik Allen and Charlie Thomas all picked off passes for the Yellow Jackets, who matched their interception total from all of last season with their three INTs in Saturday’s rout. Thomas, who was forced to sit out of the first half due to a targeting call in Monday’s opener against Clemson, recorded eight tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack in just two quarters of play. Fellow linebacker Ayinde Eley led all players with nine tackles to go along with a sack, two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
Western Carolina quarterback Carlos Davis threw for 233 yards but was intercepted twice and sacked three times before leaving the game due to injury…
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