ATLANTA (AP) — Haynes King threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns despite playing only in the first half, backup quarterback Zach Pyron scored a pair of 1-yard runs and Georgia Tech beat VMI 59-7 on Saturday.

On a dreary afternoon in Atlanta, the Yellow Jackets (3-1) faced a completely inferior FCS school and recovered from a defeat in Syracuse that ended her return to the Top25 after just one week.

Georgia Tech led 24-0 before VMI (0-3) recorded its first first down about five minutes into the second quarter.

King and most of the starting linemen had the rest of the day off after the Yellow Jackets built a 38-0 halftime lead. The home team went into the locker room with an incredible 366-35 yard advantage and a 19-1 first down advantage.

The last two quarters were shortened to 10 minutes each.

The difference between the teams was evident in the trenches. Georgia Tech’s offensive linemen average 313 pounds, while VMI’s front five weigh just 258 pounds.

The Yellow Jackets scored points on six of their eight possessions in the first half, with none of those attacks lasting longer than 3:13 minutes.

The game started with a glimmer of hope for VMI—Georgia Tech made a three-play and out on its first possession and then settled for Aidan Birr’s 28-yard field goal—but the situation quickly spiraled out of control.

King threw touchdown passes of 35 yards to Malik Rutherford14 meters to Eric Singleton, Jr.and 33 yards to Avery Boyd.

King led the Yellow Jackets to the 1-yard line two more times before giving way to Pyron, who made his way into the end zone.

Pyron took over for King in the second half and threw a short pass that Leo Blackburn took for a 24-yard touchdown.

The conclusion

VMI: The only thing the Keydets took away from this game was a nice paycheck. Hunter Rice, who rushed for 247 yards in VMI’s first two games, was limited to 10 yards on seven carries. VMI used four quarterbacks, none of whom were particularly effective except Brady Hammonds. He connected with Owen Sweeney for a 34-yard pass that set up a 2-yard touchdown pass to Ethen Horne with 6:37 left.

Georgia Tech: A practice probably would have been more beneficial to the team’s development, but at least some players got a chance to polish their stats. The Yellow Jackets totaled 575 yards of offense and limited VMI to 104 yards in their biggest win since a 65-10 victory over Tulane in 2015.

Next

VMI: The Keydets will face a team bigger than themselves next Saturday when they host FCS school Norfolk State.

Georgia Tech: Travels to Louisville next Saturday for an Atlantic Coast Conference game against the No. 19 Cardinals (2-0). The Yellow Jackets will look to match their best five-game mark since a 5-0 start in 2014.

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