Georgia Tech Rallies Past Duke With Fourth-Quarter Surge
Georgia Tech defeated Duke 27-18 on Saturday, covering the 3.5-point spread in a competitive ACC matchup. The Yellow Jackets trailed early but dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Blue Devils 17-8 in the final period to secure the victory.
Duke struck first with a 95-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Omar Daniels in the first quarter, giving the home team an early 7-0 lead. The Blue Devils extended their advantage with a field goal in the third quarter, but Georgia Tech's offense came alive down the stretch. Quarterback Haynes King led the fourth-quarter comeback, connecting with Josh Beetham on a 49-yard completion in the third quarter and finding Isiah Canion for a 30-yard touchdown pass in the fourth. A key Georgia Tech play saw King rush for 32 yards and draw a personal foul penalty to set up scoring opportunities.
Duke's Darian Mensah completed 373 passing yards, while Jeremiah Hasley led the receiving corps with nine catches and Nate Sheppard rushed for 50 yards. The game finished under the 60.5-point over-under, with 10 lead changes highlighting the competitive nature of the contest.
AI-generated recap · Aug 8, 2026
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Georgia Tech | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 27 |
 Duke | 0 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 18 |
Scoring Timeline
Drive Chart
Box Score
| Statistic | Georgia Tech | Duke |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | 14-21 | 32-44 |
| Pass Yards | 205 | 373 |
| Rush Yards | 171 | 68 |
| Total Yards | 376 | 441 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| 3rd Down | 6-12 | 7-15 |
| Penalties | 4-17 | 8-59 |
| Possession | 26:31 | 33:29 |
Player Leaders
Player Leaders
Play-by-Play
Haynes King pass complete to Malik Rutherford for 2 yds to the GT 23
Haynes King pass complete to Jordan Allen for 13 yds to the GT 36 for a 1ST down
PENALTY GT False Start (Rutledge,Keylan) 5 yards from GT36 to GT31. NO PLAY.
Jamal Haynes run for 2 yds to the GT 33
Haynes King pass complete to Bailey Stockton for 9 yds to the GT 42
Haynes King run for 3 yds to the GT 45
(12:02) PENALTY DUKE Offside (Anthony Jr.,Vincent) 5 yards from GT45 to GT50, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Jamal Haynes run for 1 yd to the DUKE 49
Malachi Hosley run for a loss of 3 yards to the GT 48
Haynes King run for 5 yds to the DUKE 47
Marshall Nichols punt for 44 yds
Darian Mensah pass complete to Cooper Barkate for 35 yds to the DUKE 38 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass complete to Cooper Barkate for 7 yds to the DUKE 45
Nate Sheppard run for 6 yds to the GT 49 for a 1ST down
Nate Sheppard run for 1 yd to the GT 48
Darian Mensah pass complete to Que'Sean Brown for 8 yds to the GT 40
Anderson Castle run for 1 yd to the GT 39 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass complete to Cooper Barkate for 20 yds to the GT 19 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass complete to Cooper Barkate for 9 yds to the GT 10
Nate Sheppard run for 4 yds to the GT 6 for a 1ST down
Anderson Castle run for 5 yds to the GT 1
Omar Daniels 95 Yd Fumble Return (Aidan Birr Kick)
Darian Mensah pass complete to Jeremiah Hasley for 9 yds to the DUKE 34
Darian Mensah pass complete to Cooper Barkate for 20 yds to the GT 46 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass incomplete to Andrel Anthony
Nate Sheppard run for 5 yds to the GT 41
Darian Mensah pass complete to Nate Sheppard for no gain to the GT 41
Darian Mensah pass complete to Sahmir Hagans for 12 yds to the GT 29 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass complete to Sahmir Hagans for 9 yds to the GT 20
Nate Sheppard run for no gain to the GT 20
Anderson Castle run for 3 yds to the GT 17 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass complete to Sahmir Hagans for 5 yds to the GT 12
Darian Mensah pass incomplete to Jake Taylor
Darian Mensah pass incomplete to Andrel Anthony
run for a loss of 13 yards to the GT 25
Malachi Hosley run for 4 yds to the GT 29
Malachi Hosley run for a loss of 1 yard to the GT 28
Haynes King pass incomplete to Luke Harpring
Marshall Nichols punt for 37 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the DUKE 35
Anderson Castle run for 2 yds to the DUKE 37
Anderson Castle run for 15 yds to the GT 48 for a 1ST down
Anderson Castle run for no gain to the GT 48
Darian Mensah sacked for a loss of 8 yards to the DUKE 44
(10:06) PENALTY DUKE False Start (Fina,Bruno) 5 yards from DUKE44 to DUKE39. NO PLAY.
Henry Belin IV run for 12 yds to the GT 49
Kade Reynoldson punt for 31 yds, fair catch by Bailey Stockton at the GT 18
Jamal Haynes run for 3 yds to the GT 21
Haynes King pass complete to Isiah Canion for 6 yds to the GT 27
Malachi Hosley run for 4 yds to the GT 31 for a 1ST down
Haynes King pass complete to Eric Rivers for no gain to the GT 31
Haynes King pass complete to Eric Rivers for 13 yds to the GT 44 for a 1ST down
Jamal Haynes run for 6 yds to the 50 yard line
Malachi Hosley run for 3 yds to the DUKE 47
Malachi Hosley run for a loss of 2 yards to the DUKE 49
Marshall Nichols punt for 49 yds for a touchback
Darian Mensah pass incomplete to Cooper Barkate
Nate Sheppard run for 5 yds to the DUKE 25
Darian Mensah pass complete to Cooper Barkate for 20 yds to the DUKE 45 for a 1ST down
(03:13) No Huddle-Shotgun Sheppard,Nate rush left for 5 yards gain to the DUKE50 (Triplette,Ronald; Butler,Tah'j) PENALTY GT Offside (Triplette,Ronald) 5 yards from DUKE45 to DUKE50. NO PLAY.
Darian Mensah pass incomplete to Landen King
Nate Sheppard run for 9 yds to the GT 41 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass complete to Cooper Barkate for 7 yds to the GT 34
Nate Sheppard run for no gain to the GT 34
Darian Mensah pass complete to Jake Taylor for 4 yds to the GT 30 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass complete to Nate Sheppard for 8 yds to the GT 22
Nate Sheppard run for 2 yds to the GT 20 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass complete to Landen King for 20 yds for a TD (Todd Pelino KICK)
Todd Pelino kickoff for 41 yds , Kevin Roche Jr. return for no gain to the GT 24
Haynes King run for 13 yds to the GT 37 for a 1ST down
Jamal Haynes run for 5 yds to the GT 42
Haynes King pass incomplete to Bailey Stockton
Haynes King run for 8 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Haynes King pass complete to Isiah Canion for 20 yds to the DUKE 30 for a 1ST down
End of 2nd Quarter
Aidan Birr kickoff for 55 yds , Sahmir Hagans return for 35 yds to the DUKE 45
Darian Mensah pass complete to Que'Sean Brown for no gain to the DUKE 45
Darian Mensah pass complete to Cooper Barkate for 10 yds to the GT 45 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass complete to Cooper Barkate for 4 yds to the GT 41
Nate Sheppard run for 5 yds to the GT 36
Anderson Castle run for 3 yds to the GT 33 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass complete to Andrel Anthony for 2 yds to the GT 31
Nate Sheppard run for 5 yds to the GT 26
Darian Mensah pass complete to Andrel Anthony for 14 yds to the GT 12 for a 1ST down
Nate Sheppard run for 6 yds to the GT 6
Anderson Castle run for 3 yds to the GT 3
Anderson Castle run for no gain to the GT 3
PENALTY GT Delay Of Game 2 yards from GT03 to GT01, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Nate Sheppard run for no gain to the GT 1
Anderson Castle run for no gain to the GT 1
Anderson Castle run for no gain to the GT 1
PENALTY DUKE Illegal Substitution 4 yards from GT01 to GT05. NO PLAY.
Todd Pelino 23 yd FG GOOD
Todd Pelino kickoff for 65 yds , Shane Marshall return for 14 yds to the GT 14
Haynes King pass complete to Eric Rivers for 8 yds to the GT 22
Haynes King run for 1 yd to the GT 23
Haynes King run for 3 yds to the GT 26 for a 1ST down
Haynes King pass complete to Josh Beetham for 49 yds to the DUKE 25 for a 1ST down
Jamal Haynes run for 2 yds to the DUKE 23
Haynes King pass incomplete to Bailey Stockton
Haynes King pass incomplete to Bailey Stockton
Aidan Birr 40 yd FG GOOD
Nate Sheppard run for 1 yd to the DUKE 26
Darian Mensah pass complete to Nate Sheppard for 15 yds to the DUKE 41 for a 1ST down
Nate Sheppard run for 1 yd to the DUKE 42
Darian Mensah pass incomplete to Que'Sean Brown
Duke Penalty, Offensive Pass Interference (Yards) declined
Kade Reynoldson punt for 48 yds
Jamal Haynes run for 5 yds to the GT 11
Haynes King run for 9 yds to the GT 20 for a 1ST down
Jamal Haynes run for 5 yds to the GT 25
(13:53) No Huddle-Shotgun King,Haynes pass incomplete deep left to Rivers,Eric thrown to DUKE39 PENALTY DUKE Pass Interference (Robinson,Kimari) 15 yards from GT25 to GT40, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Eric Rivers run for 3 yds to the GT 43
Haynes King pass incomplete to Dean Patterson
Haynes King pass complete to Isiah Canion for 30 yds to the DUKE 27 for a 1ST down
Malachi Hosley run for 1 yd to the DUKE 26
Haynes King pass complete to J.T. Byrne for 21 yds to the DUKE 5 for a 1ST down
Haynes King run for no gain to the DUKE 5
Haynes King pass incomplete to Jamal Haynes
Haynes King pass incomplete to Isiah Canion
Aidan Birr 23 yd FG GOOD
Duke Penalty, Intentional Grounding (Darian Mensah) to the DUKE 18
Darian Mensah run for 6 yds to the DUKE 24
Darian Mensah pass incomplete to Jayden Moore
Kade Reynoldson punt for 48 yds, fair catch by Bailey Stockton at the GT 28
Haynes King pass complete to Luke Harpring for 24 yds to the DUKE 48 for a 1ST down
Haynes King run for 9 yds to the DUKE 39
Malachi Hosley run for 6 yds to the DUKE 33 for a 1ST down
Haynes King run for a loss of 2 yards to the DUKE 35
Haynes King pass complete to Jordan Allen for 7 yds to the DUKE 28
Haynes King pass complete to Bailey Stockton for 7 yds to the DUKE 21 for a 1ST down
Haynes King run for 9 yds to the DUKE 12
Malachi Hosley run for 2 yds to the DUKE 10 for a 1ST down
Malachi Hosley run for 10 yds for a TD (Aidan Birr KICK)
Darian Mensah pass incomplete to Cooper Barkate
(04:53) No Huddle-Shotgun Mensah,Darian rush right for 6 yards gain to the DUKE31, out of bounds at DUKE31 PENALTY DUKE Holding (Parker II,Brian) 10 yards from DUKE25 to DUKE15. NO PLAY.
Darian Mensah pass complete to Sahmir Hagans for 24 yds to the DUKE 39 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass complete to Cooper Barkate for 21 yds to the GT 40 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass complete to Cooper Barkate for 11 yds to the GT 29 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass incomplete to Jake Taylor
Darian Mensah pass incomplete to Jeremiah Hasley
Darian Mensah pass incomplete to Que'Sean Brown
Todd Pelino 46 yd FG MISSED
PENALTY GT False Start (Carney,Malachi) 5 yards from GT29 to GT24. NO PLAY.
Malachi Hosley run for a loss of 1 yard to the GT 23
Haynes King run for 2 yds to the GT 25
Haynes King run for 32 yds to the DUKE 43 for a 1ST down Duke Penalty, Personal Foul (Josiah Green) to the DUKE 28 for a 1ST down
Haynes King run for 28 yds for a TD (Aidan Birr KICK)
Darian Mensah pass complete to Landen King for 7 yds to the DUKE 32
Darian Mensah pass complete to Cooper Barkate for 4 yds to the DUKE 36 for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass incomplete to Cooper Barkate
Darian Mensah pass complete to Nate Sheppard for 7 yds to the DUKE 43
Darian Mensah pass complete to Landen King for 7 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Darian Mensah pass complete to Que'Sean Brown for 31 yds to the GT 19 for a 1ST down
D. Mensah pass to S. Hagans for 19 yds for a TD (C. Barkate pass to for Two-Point Conversion)
(00:00) Kneel down by Georgia Tech at DUKE46 for loss of 2 yards.
(00:00) Kneel down by Georgia Tech at DUKE48 for loss of 2 yards.