Georgia Tech football’s familiar problems return in loss to Boston College

Georgia Tech reached its breaking point Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets entered with little room left for another loss. Now there is almost none.

Boston College beat the Jackets 49-27 at Bobby Dodd Stadium, dropping Tech to 2-5 and requiring it to win four of its final five games just to reach bowl eligibility.

After coach Brent Key spent the week talking about correcting inconsistencies that have plagued his team, Saturday started with promise for the Jackets.

They built a two-score lead in the first quarter and led 13-12 at halftime.

But even while Tech was ahead, familiar problems were there.

A defense depleted by injuries along the defensive line allowed nearly nine yards per carry. The offense reached the Boston College 5-yard line three times in the first half but came away with only one touchdown, settling for two Aidan Birr field goals.

Alberto Mendoza threw two interceptions in the second half, one that was returned 47 yards for a touchdown by Charlie Comella.

Boston College outscored Tech 37-14 in the second half.

“Talked about consistency,” Key said after the game. “The only thing consistent is poor football.”

The stakes were clear at kickoff on Saturday.

Tech faced Boston College (4-3, 2-2) as losers of eight of its past 10 ACC games dating back to last season. Instead of a victory, Tech (2-5, 1-3) lost its third home game this season. The Jackets are 2-9 in their past 11 games against FBS teams dating back to last November.

“We have a lead and we just don’t execute enough,” Mendoza said. “We’ve got to execute better. It sucks. We lost, and we got our butts kicked.”

The remaining schedule offers little relief: at Pitt, Louisville, at Clemson, Wake Forest and at Georgia.

What made Saturday’s loss especially revealing was how quickly Tech took control and how quickly that control disappeared. Key said earlier this week he was “digging in” on what caused those wild swings in previous games and made “tweaks” to practices to adjust.

The opening drive offered an early indication of what Tech could be.

Mendoza connected with Jordan Allen on what was then Tech’s longest pass completion of the year (43 yards), and tight end Kevin Roche Jr. later hauled in his first career touchdown, from 4 yards out, to give the Jackets an early lead.

But from there, both Tech’s offense and defense struggled.

The defense allowed 8.6 yards per carry in the first half as Eagles running back Bo MacCormack III scored a touchdown and quarterback Mason McKenzie connected with Nedrick Boldin Jr. for another score.

Tech’s offense twice marched inside the 5-yard line but came away with only six combined points. On one possession, a Mendoza pass to Allen in the end zone was erased by a holding penalty.

Those missed opportunities left the door open for the Eagles to seize control in the second half.