The disheartening beginning to the Tulane football squad’s season continued Saturday afternoon as Tulane (0-2) fell to the No. 15 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-0) 65-10 at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

The Green Wave was only able to mark 248 total offensive yards on the day compared to Georgia Tech’s 571.

“That’s an outstanding Georgia Tech football team,” Tulane head coach Curtis Johnson said. “They got that option going. That quarterback is amazing with some of the stuff that he does. I think [Georgia Tech head coach] Paul Johnson has the answers to this offense. I think he’s done an outstanding job here. We played well in spots, but we didn’t get it done today.”

With more consistent play from the Green Wave, the score might have been different. Georgia Tech, a nationally ranked team, took a commanding lead from the onset, scoring on its first drive of the game.

As the Yellow Jackets held a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Tulane special teams stayed true to its reputation and had its first mishap, leading to a punt block. Georgia Tech took advantage of the opportunity and established a 21-0 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the second quarter.

Tulane saw its first glimmer of opportunity in the second quarter as redshirt sophomore quarterback Tanner Lee and the offense suddenly made quick progress down the field. Lee connected on a long pass to junior receiver Devon Breaux for a 44-yard touchdown, decreasing their deficit to 21-7.

Georgia Tech, however, quickly responded with another score to end the half, capitalizing on a short punt from Tulane’s special teams to progress down field to put redshirt junior quarterback Justin Thomas in position to throw a 17-yard touchdown pass.

Down 28-7 to Georgia Tech at intermission, the Green Wave hoped to be productive in the second half and make the comeback.

Though Tulane gave its best effort to overcome the deficit, the Yellow Jackets’ triple option offense continued to trouble the Wave’s defense, while the Wave’s offense could not keep its momentum. Tulane was only able to get three more points on the board after halftime, while the Yellow Jackets were able to assert their dominance on the field and take the game 65-10.

“Our team has to work on adversity and staying in the game,” redshirt sophomore linebacker Jarrod Franklin said. “I watched our team go flat after Georgia Tech grabbed the momentum. We had a little momentum in the first quarter, but couldn’t keep it.”

Tulane’s crushing loss to Georgia Tech, which added insult to injury following the 30 point loss to Duke in the Wave’s home opener, is a less than ideal start to the season. Tulane’s schedule is mercifully clear of any more ACC power foes from this point on, however, and the Wave can begin to look seriously to bouncing back.

“Georgia Tech is a good team, but I’m more concerned about us and what we do,” Breaux said. “We have to play better. Playing teams like Duke and Georgia Tech will make us better. We’re trying to keep everybody up and not to put your head down. We have 10 games to go.”

The Green Wave will have the opportunity to recover as it next takes on Maine at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Yulman Stadium.