By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA – Tarance Williams scored on a 10-yard run with 5:29 remaining and Wake Forest upset Georgia Tech 24-21 Saturday.
The Demon Deacons (3-3, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) won in Atlanta for the first time since 1994.
Georgia Tech (4-2, 1-2) went ahead 21-16 when backup quarterback Damarius Bilbo threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Kerry Watkins with 10:04 remaining.
But James MacPherson connected on a pair of 14-yard passes – one to Jason Anderson, the other to Fabian Davis – to move Wake Forest into scoring position.
Facing fourth-and-2 at the Georgia Tech 10, the Demon Deacons decided to go for it. Williams burst through a gaping hole on the right side and was barely touched by the defense, going all the way for his first score of the season.
Williams also ran in the two-point conversion to give Wake Forest a three-point cushion.
The senior running back, who gained more than 1,000 yards last season but was brought back slowly this year after breaking a foot during the summer, rushed 19 times for a season-high 99 yards.
Wake Forest, sixth in the country in rushing, piled up 209 yards on a staggering 60 carries. The Deacons finished with a 447-332 advantage in total yards and dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 38 minutes.
Georgia Tech twice crossed the 50 in the final five minutes, but couldn’t get close enough for Luke Manget to attempt a field goal.
Starting quarterback A.J. Suggs fumbled a snap at the Wake Forest 30 to squander a 59-yard kickoff return by P.J. Daniels. Montique Sharpe recovered for the Deacons.
Georgia Tech had one more chance to at least send the game to overtime, but Suggs stifled the drive with another mistake, drawing a penalty when he threw after crossing the line of scrimmage. On fourth-and-15 from the Wake 38, Suggs’ final pass was batted away by Eric King.
The Yellow Jackets were too far away for Manget to attempt a tying field goal. The kicker missed the previous game with a strained groin and was only cleared to play late in the week.
Suggs, who has struggled in his first season since transferring from Tennessee, completed 15-of-24 passes for 178 yards. He had a pair of touchdown passes, including a 29-yarder to Jonathan Smith on the first drive of the game.
Suggs also threw a 24-yard scoring pass to Lekeldrick Bridges with just over a minute left in the first half to give the Yellow Jackets a 14-10 halftime lead.
Matt Wisnosky missed a 42-yard field goal on the final play of the half, leaving Georgia Tech ahead.
The Yellow Jackets had won their last two home games against Wake Forest by a combined scored of 115-55.
