Justice Haynes scores 3 TDs in 44-11 Georgia Tech win over Mercer

ATLANTA -- — Justice Haynes rushed for 141 yards on 22 carries with three touchdowns — two rushing, one receiving — leading Georgia Tech to its first victory of the season, 44-11 over Mercer at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Georgia Tech (1-2) followed up home defeats to Colorado and Tennessee with an uneven performance for most of the first half, but pulled away thanks to Haynes and quarterback Alberto Mendoza. “I do think we’ve improved each week," Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key said. "That being said, it was a pretty low starting point, though.” The Yellow Jackets scored 10 points in the final two minutes before the break to take a 24-3 lead and added three more second-half touchdowns. Mendoza completed 15 of 21 passes for a season-high 249 yards, finding Javien Plummer and Debron Gatling for scoring strikes from 37 and 33 yards out. “The first half wasn’t our standard," Mendoza said. "I think we could clean a lot of those things up, and at halftime we addressed a lot of those things.” Zahmari Palode-Gary led Mercer (2-2) with 71 rushing yards on 15 carries. Takeaways at last Georgia Tech did not force a turnover in either of its first two games, but finally found two Saturday. Taje McCoy forced an early fumble with pressure off the edge and freshman Christian Speakman fell on the loose ball. Another freshman, linebacker C.J. Gamble, grabbed Georgia Tech's first interception of the season with an alert play on a low throw. “I feel like it's been a constant progression just being able to put plays together on defense," McCoy said. "It's just doing my job and making the plays I'm supposed to make, and it's finally starting to show.” The Yellow Jackets won the turnover battle 2-0, and cashed both in for touchdowns. Run defense struggles Stopping the run was a major concern for the Yellow Jackets heading into Saturday after giving up 299 yards on the ground against Tennessee, and the question is still in the fold after another poor performance. Mercer rushed for 188 yards on 46 attempts, and had six different run plays go for at least 11 yards. The Takeaway Mercer: The Bears made a quarterback change late in the second quarter. JP Pickles took over and led the Bears on two field goal drives, accounting for 53 rushing yards with an efficient 7-of-11 passing clip for 82 yards. Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets finally got what they were looking for from their star transfer, Haynes. After just 145 total rushing yards and no plays over 20 yards in the first two games, the former Michigan back and projected focal point of Georgia Tech's offense was explosive in open space, highlighted by his 31-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Up next Mercer: Steps back into Championship Subdivision play at Abilene Christian next Saturday. Georgia Tech: Opens its Atlantic Coast Conference slate at Stanford next Saturday. ------ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here