South Carolina State (0-2) at Georgia Tech (0-1), Saturday, 1 p.m. ET (ACC Network Extra)
Line: No line.
Series record: Georgia Tech leads 1-0.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Georgia Tech, trying to avoid its first 0-2 start since 1989, seeks to bounce back after collapsing in the second half of its opener against Louisville last week, blowing a 28-13 halftime lead in a 39-34 loss. South Carolina State dropped its first two games, 37-7 to Jackson State and 24-3 to Charlotte.
KEY MATCHUP
Georgia Tech QB Haynes King vs. South Carolina State secondary. King, a Texas A&M transfer, completed 19 of 32 passes for 313 yards — the most by a Jackets signal-caller in his debut — and three touchdowns against Louisville. He ran for a team-high 53 yards on 10 carries. King will seek to fine-tune his chemistry with Malik Rutherford, Jamal Haynes, Chase Lane, Christian Leary and Eric Singleton.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
South Carolina State: QBs Andre Washington and Corey Fields are a combined 14 of 40 passing with just 123 yards and one touchdown. Washington subbed for Fields last week as Fields was nursing an injury. RB Jawarn Howell has 81 yards rushing.
Georgia Tech: RB Jamal Haynes, who was a wide receiver last season, caught five passes for 56 yards and ran 11 times for 51 yards against Louisville. His 107 yards from scrimmage were the second-most by a Yellow Jacket since the beginning of last season.
FACTS & FIGURES
The Jackets gave up 26 unanswered points in their opener. Georgia Tech allowed 227 yards rushing (145 in the second half), turned the ball over twice and missed two field goal tries. ... The Jackets rushed for only 60 yards in the second half. ... Tech's defense failed to record a tackle for loss for the first time since 2015 and allowed Louisville to go 6 for 6 in the red zone. ... One bright spot for the Jackets' defense was allowing Louisville to convert just one of 11 third-down attempts. ... South Carolina State has lost 10 of its last 13 games.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
