Quarterback Jordan Yates threw for 254 yards and four touchdowns to lead Georgia Tech to a 45-17 victory over visiting Kennesaw State in a nonconference game on Saturday at Atlanta.
Yates replaced starter Jeff Sims, who injured his left (non-throwing) arm while trying to recover a fumble during the first half in last week’s loss to Northern Illinois. But Yates, who completed 17 of 22 attempts, had no trouble moving the ball against the Owls in their first game against a Power 5 team in school history.
Dontae Smith rushed for a team-high 82 yards and a touchdown on eight carries for the Yellow Jackets (1-1), while Kyric McGowan had five receptions for a team-high 77 yards and two touchdowns.
Kennesaw State (1-1), a Football Championship Subdivision school in the Big South Conference, was led by Iaan Cousin, who rushed for team-high 52 yards and a touchdown on three carries, while Adeolu Adeleke had a 39-yard touchdown reception for his only catch.
Owls quarterback Xavier Shepherd went 8-for-20 passing for 111 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
The Yellow Jackets took a 7-0 lead on their opening possession when Yates capped an eight-play, 81-yard drive with a 6-yard TD pass to Jordan Mason with 8:49 remaining. Defensive lineman Jordan Domineck doubled the lead when he returned a fumble 70 yards for a score with less than four minutes remaining in the first quarter.
After the team’s exchanged field goals, Yates drove the Yellow Jackets 43 yards in seven plays, capping the drive with a four-yard touchdown pass to McGowan for a 24-3 lead with 3:13 left in first half.
The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 31-3 less than three minutes into the third quarter when Yates hit Kalani Norris for a 16-yard touchdown pass to cap a six-play, 75-drive.
Yates threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game when he hit McGowan on a 39-yard strike less than a minute into the final quarter for a 38-3 advantage.
Kennesaw State got a 54-yard touchdown run by Cousin and a 39-yard scoring pass from Shepherd to Adeleke in the fourth quarter.
–Field Level Media