ATLANTA — Haynes King threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns, while adding a score on the ground, helping No. 18 Georgia Tech post a 45-24 victory over visiting Temple on Saturday.
Jamal Haynes ran for 107 yards, Malachi Hosley rushed for 59 yards and two scores, and Georgia Tech (4-0) began the year with four straight wins for the first time since 2014.
Evan Simon completed 13 of 32 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown for Temple (2-2), which dropped its second straight. Backup quarterback Gevani McCoy threw a 4-yard touchdown to Xavier Irvin with three seconds left.
Leading by 14 at halftime, Georgia Tech coughed up the game’s only turnover as King fumbled on the Yellow Jackets’ second play from scrimmage in the third quarter. Two plays later, Temple cut its deficit to 21-14 on Simon’s 28-yard touchdown pass to JoJo Bermudez.
Georgia Tech quickly answered with Hosley’s 34-yard rushing score to push the margin back to 14 with 11:47 left in the third.
The Yellow Jackets tacked on two drives later, as Haynes’ 47-yard rush led to Hosley’s 2-yard rushing score to extend the lead to 35-14. After Temple’s turnover on downs, Aidan Birr’s 32-yard field goal gave Georgia Tech a 24-point edge.
Temple’s Carl Hardin’s 41-yard field goal was followed with Daylon Gordon’s 41-yard rushing touchdown — the first of his career — to push the lead to 28 and seal the win.
King put the Yellow Jackets on the board first with a 17-yard rushing score at the 7:37 mark of the first quarter.
Following Temple’s punt, Georgia Tech doubled its lead with a five-play, 63-yard drive — stamped with King’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Malik Rutherford.
The Yellow Jackets answered Temple’s third punt with their third touchdown in as many drives, as King connected with Isiah Canion for a 37-yard score through the air with 2:38 left in the first.
Temple finally found its offensive rhythm on the ensuing drive, as Simon found Tyler Stewart for 18 yards, before the Owls quarterback scrambled to Georgia Tech’s four-yard line. The visitors cracked the scoreboard with 12:29 left in the first half, as Jay Ducker ran in a 2-yard score.
Georgia Tech’s offense stalled in the second quarter, punting on each of its three possessions.
Hardin came up well short on a 61-yard field goal attempt as time expired, and Georgia Tech took a 21-7 lead into halftime.
