FootballOctober 24, 2020

Miscues Doom Jackets at BC

Tech has three turnovers that lead to 21 points and commits 10 penalties in 48-27 defeat

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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Sophomore wide receiver Ahmarean Brown scored two touchdowns and true freshman quarterback Jeff Sims accounted for three scores and 218 yards of total offense, but it wasn’t enough for Georgia Tech to overcome three turnovers and 10 penalties in a 48-27 loss at Boston College on Saturday afternoon.

Georgia Tech’s three turnovers led directly to the losing margin of 21 points, while key penalties erased a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by true freshman Jahmyr Gibbs and extended two Boston College touchdown drives.

Due in large part to a pair of fumbles deep in its own territory – the second of which was returned 33 yards for a touchdown – Tech (2-4, 2-3 ACC) fell into a 24-0 hole less than 18 minutes into the game. The Yellow Jackets outscored BC (4-2, 3-2 ACC) 27-24 the rest of the way, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome.

Sims completed 12-of-18 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns and ran 12 times for a team-high 47 yards and another score. He had an impressive passer rating hovering around 200 for much of the game before he was lifted early in the fourth quarter after taking several hits throughout the game.

Brown scored on a 32-yard reception in the second quarter and a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter. The touchdown catch was his first of the year but the eighth of his 18-game career, which leads all current Yellow Jackets. With the rushing touchdown, the first of his collegiate career, he has now passed for, run for and caught a touchdown this season.

Junior linebacker Quez Jackson led all tacklers with nine.

Georgia Tech returns to action next Saturday (Oct. 31) when it hosts No. 3-ranked Notre Dame at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on ABC.

October 24, 2020, Chestnut Hill, MA: A game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts Saturday, October 24, 2020. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Georgia Tech)

WR Peje’ Harris (18) scored his first-career touchdown on a 31-yard reception in the second quarter.

Team Notes

Georgia Tech fell to 2-4 overall and 2-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
The loss snapped Georgia Tech’s three-game winning streak versus Boston College, as the Yellow Jackets fell to 7-3 all-time versus the Eagles.
The loss was Georgia Tech’s first in four all-time games at BC.
Georgia Tech had a minus-3 turnover margin (3 giveaways, 0 takeaways). In its four losses this season, Tech’s turnover margin is minus-11. In their two wins, the Yellow Jackets’ turnover margin is plus-four. Georgia Tech has lost the turnover battle in all four losses and won it in both wins.
Boston College scored 21 points off Georgia Tech’s 3 turnovers.
Georgia Tech’s 10 penalties matched its second-most of the season.
Georgia Tech’s 27 points were its second-most of the season (season high: 46 vs. Louisville, Oct. 9).

Individual Notes

True Fr. QB Jeff Sims matched career highs with two touchdown passes (prev.: 2 vs. Louisville, Oct. 9) and three touchdowns responsible for (prev.: 3 vs. Louisville, Oct. 9).
WR Ahmarean Brown’s 32-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was his first of the season and team-leading eighth of his career. Brown’s seven touchdown receptions as a true freshman in 2019 tied Georgia Tech’s school record for touchdown catches by a freshman, matching Calvin Johnson’s seven TDs as a true freshman in 2004.
Brown scored a second touchdown on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter. The rushing touchdown was the first of his career.
WR Peje’ Harris’ 31-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was the first touchdown of his career and the longest reception of his career (prev.: 23 vs. UCF, Sept. 19).
Playing in his first game since the season opener at Florida State (Sept. 12), Jr. RB Jordan Mason had a career-long 37-yard reception (prev. 18 at Florida State, Sept. 12) during the second-quarter drive that culminated with Harris’ touchdown.
P Pressley Harvin III averaged a career-high 52.0 yards over three punts. All three of his kicks traveled at least 50 yards, two of the three pinned Boston College inside its 20 yard line and none of the three were returned. His previous career-high average (min. two punts) was 51.5 yards over two punts vs. Wake Forest on Oct. 21, 2017.