Next task for Georgia Tech: Avoid letdown vs. Gardner-Webb on Saturday

Georgia Tech, in the thick of the Brent Key era, should be past the point of the dreaded letdown game.

After winning 27-20 at Colorado on Friday, the immediate sentiment from the Yellow Jackets (1-0) was that no one inside the winning locker room should be celebrating or dwelling on the season’s first victory any more than usual.

“I would definitely say it’s a huge win for the program, but we treat this game like any other game,” Tech defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg said. “If we play Gardner-Webb, Temple, we treat it like any other game. A win’s a win, and we’re so thankful for it.”

Tech, which welcomes Gardner-Webb at 3:30 p.m. Saturday for its home opener, seemed to clear the letdown hurdle in 2024 when it defeated Georgia State for the second win of the season following an upset of Florida State the week before. After a disappointing loss at Syracuse to start September, Tech rebounded nicely by thrashing Virginia Military Institute 59-7.

On Saturday, the Jackets are faced with the conventional letdown scenario again: a much-hyped season-opening win that required traveling to Colorado and back.

Tech welcomes a Gardner-Webb team from Boiling Springs, North Carolina, that got off to a hot start on offense in a 52-45 win Saturday at Western Carolina. The Bulldogs scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to knock off the No. 19-ranked team in the Football Championship Subdivision.

For the second consecutive week, the Jackets will be going up against a quarterback who previously played at Liberty. Nate Hampton was one of two backups to Kaidon Salter in 2024 at Liberty — Tech just faced Salter, who is the starting QB for Colorado.

Hampton threw nine passes in the Bahamas Bowl loss to Buffalo, and one of his two completions accounted for the Flames’ only touchdown of the game. Hampton attempted one pass in 2023, eight in 2022 and four in 2021, while also totaling 57 rushing yards during his career at Liberty.

But in Saturday’s win, Hampton connected on 12 of his 30 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 28 times for 132 yards and four touchdowns. Three of Hampton’s rushing touchdowns were in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs came back to win a game they trailed 35-7 midway through the second quarter.

Those numbers should get the attention of Tech’s defense, a unit that allowed Salter to run for 43 yards and a score and complete 17 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown.

“(Salter) was definitely shifty. That first game was a good challenge,” van den Berg said. “I definitely feel we gotta carry on improving, work on contain. We missed a lot of opportunities, and it’s definitely something we gotta improve in the future.”

Gardner-Webb also got 116 yards and a TD on the ground from running back Quasean Holmes, a St. Francis (Pennsylvania) transfer, in its first victory of the season. Wide receivers Chris Lofton, a James Madison transfer, had 102 yards receiving and Anthony Lowe, a Tiffin transfer, made five grabs for 80 yards and two scores.