After a needed bye week, Georgia Tech is back in action on Saturday night against 5-0 Duke. The Blue Devils are off to a great start this season and can not only remain undefeated with a win on Saturday, but clinch bowl eligibility as well. For the Yellow Jackets, they are looking to bounce back from their loss vs Louisville and get back on the winning track. Head coach Brent Key has a 10-1 record with the Yellow Jackets following a loss and he is looking to extend that mark on Saturday night.

On the latest episode of Bleav Georgia Tech, Jackson and RJ dive into the matchup between the two teams. Can Georgia Tech’s defense matchup well with Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy and the rest of the offense? How is Georgia Tech going to be able to handle Duke’s chaotic defense? Will the Georgia Tech run game get back on track?

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One thing is for sure, Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key has noticed it and he heaped a lot of praise on Diaz and his defense yesterday:

“They are either first or second. I think maybe second right now in the country in TFLs and Havoc plays in stuffed runs, which are 0 to minus 1, minus 2-yard runs. 42 % stuffed runs right now, it’s a credit to the way they play, the physicality they play with, the speed they play with. But when you look at who’s creating the negatives, it’s not just D-Linemen, it’s not just D-Lineman. There’s a lot of DBs. There’s a lot of safety pressure, nickel pressure inside /outside. That’s what Manny is, that’s who he’s been. They’re able their blitzes with because that’s who they are to different motions and different things you know, he’s a good football coach and you know he’s a good defensive football coach going against him a bunch in my career I respect him as it’s not just a coach but as a person you know I think he’s a he’s a good man and he’s a heck of a football coach so excited to have him here and play here at Bobby Dodd.

Yeah, well, you know, first off, there’s a lot of players back. They had a good foundation. I’m not saying this cause Tooch and Jess and those guys are here, but those guys play hard. They do, they play hard. You know, they’ve got good players. They’re strong. The strength coach There does a really good job with him. I’m not mistaken, he was there with them previously. So he does a good job with those guys. But they’re disruptive in how they get up the field. The defensive line, they are a penetrating group. If they’re not zone blitzing or fire blitzing, and they’re going step slanting, gaps over, They’re getting off the ball. They’re getting up the field, causing disruption. So I think anytime you take over a group and you’ve got some experience and they’re used to how you’re supposed to play and play hard, it’s an easy turnaround because it’s just a different, they might call it apples, they call it oranges, but they’re still playing hard. And they’re really good against the pass. They got experience, they’ve got an experienced secondary. Added a couple of new guys in here and there that have really helped bolster the depth. They play a lot of guys. And D-Line do a nice job of playing within the scheme and creating havoc and letting those other guys– or creating space really for those other guys to make the plays. Then when you go back to decision-making.”

Georgia Tech vs Duke kicks off at 8:00 p.m. ET on ACC Network this Saturday.

THE FLATS – After three races on the road to open the season, Georgia Tech Cross Country is set to host the Georgia Tech XC Invitational, Friday, Oct. 4., at Bouckaert Farm in Fairburn, Ga.

Twenty-six schools will compete in the GT XC Invitational and the action will begin with the men’s 8k at 8:30 a.m., with the women’s 6k starting at 9:20 a.m.

Course maps and parking information can be found on the meet information page. Live results can be found here. The meet is free and open to the public.

For the men, Tristan Autry, Trent Bell, Billy Carlton, Matt Castronuovo, Ethan Curnow, Hayden Marshall, Jean-Lou Pare and Alex Thomas will compete in the invitational. Sophie Boice, Sarah Burwell, Katherine Bryne, Ava Coffey, Grace Crum, Macy Felton, Katie Hamfeldt, Reagan Mahoney, Riley Perlakowski, Ashleigh Prugh and Allie Walker will compete in the women’s 6k for Tech.

A week ago, the Yellow Jackets competed in the Mizzou Gans Creek Classic, where the women’s team took fifth place out of 38 teams, and the men’s squad finished 11th out of 36 teams.

Devin Wade was the top performer for Tech for the second meet in a row, coming in 30th with a time of 23:55.3. For the women, Kate Jortberg crossed the finish line first for Tech for the second meet in a row, coming in 14th place with a 6k time of 20:24.0.

Yellow Jackets welcome in 13 newcomers, eight on the women’s team and five on the men’s side. Tech returns 25 to the women’s squad and 16 to the men’s team.

Alexander-Tharpe Fund

The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.

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ATLANTA – Hurricane Helene will not impact Georgia’s elections. That’s the message from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Wednesday. 

Raffensperger says his office is working closely with election offices in all 159 counties to keep election operations on track following the devastating hurricane. The storm, which first struck Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, caused widespread damage across southern, central, and eastern Georgia, complicating efforts in some of the hardest-hit areas. 

“Election workers across Georgia had begun the pre-election testing processes of equipment and facilities to be used in the 2024 election,” Raffensperger said. “My office is working hard to make sure the election workers in the affected counties are safe, that their equipment is undamaged and secure, and that their early voting locations will be functional by the time early voting starts.” 

As of Wednesday, poor road conditions and power outages continued to affect the storm-battered regions of the state, slowing recovery efforts. Despite these setbacks, Raffensperger assured voters that the infrastructure needed to conduct the election would be fully operational before early in-person voting begins. 

SEE ALSO: 5K+ DeKalb County voters’ eligibility in question one month before election

In addition to election-related recovery efforts, Raffensperger commended the work of first responders and utilities. “Georgia’s Emergency Management Agency (GEMA), linemen from Georgia Power and other utilities, all the state and local first responders, and legions of citizen volunteers and faith-based organizations are doing a great job at getting people fed, housed, and back on their feet,” he said. “But this was a massive and deadly storm, and recovery is likely to take a while. We applaud Governor Kemp for prioritizing the response.” 

Raffensperger also addressed potential changes to voting locations, stating that counties needing to relocate early voting sites would inform voters through the My Voter Page portal. 

“We have to let the first responders finish doing their jobs, but as power is restored and voting locations can be assessed, we will make sure that the upcoming election is safe, secure, and convenient for all Georgia voters,” he said. 

Georgians will have three weeks of in-person early voting as well as Election Day to cast their votes. Voters with unaccepted absentee ballots can still vote in person.