Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets struggle offensively in first half of Birmingham Bowl

As the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets headed to the locker room at halftime of the Birmingham Bowl, they trailed the Vanderbilt Commodores 14-10 and had struggled offensively in the first half of their postseason matchup.

Star quarterback Haynes King completed just 10 pass attempts for a minimal 60 yards in the first half. King threw one touchdown to wideout Ryland Goede and rushed for an embarrassing 3 yards on the ground as he failed to find his footing against the sweltering Commodore defense.

A usually dominant Jamal Haynes, the Yellow Jackets' go-to guy on the ground, struggled to gain any meaningful distance on the ground during the half, earning just 58 yards in the first 30 minutes. Even with his 17-yard dash during the first half, Haynes was far from his usual self when it came to Georgia Tech's ground game.

On the other side of the ball, Vanderbilt wasn't all that exciting either. Star quarterback Diego Pavia, who has been the center of an NCAA lawsuit during the postseason, completed a minimal 7 pass attempts for 84 yards and 1 touchdown in the half.

However, while Pavia struggled through the air, Vanderbilt's run game was shockingly successful, especially in comparison to Georgia Tech's slow first half.

Pavia ran for 34 yards of his own while wideout Quincy Skinner Jr. contributed 22 yards of his own on the ground. Fellow wide receiver Junior Sherrill and true running back Sedrick Alexander combined for 25 yards as the Commodores earned 84 total rushing yards in the first half – 7 more yards than the Yellow Jackets.

Despite breakout plays and big defensive stops, the first half of the Birmingham Bowl wasn't anything to write home about. The 14-10 halftime score was underwhelming but the closeness of the score kept fans on the edge of their seats as they waited to see if the Vanderbilt Commodores could walk away with a winning season or if the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets could reach an eight-win season.

Read more: