THE FLATS – Georgia Tech kept the nation’s top offense at bay and gashed No. 4 Miami (Fla.)’s defense for 271 yards on the ground to knock the Hurricanes from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 28-23 win on Saturday afternoon at raucous Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field.
Despite throwing just 16 passes in quarterback Haynes King’s first start since sustaining an injury nearly a month ago, Georgia Tech (6-4, 4-3 ACC) raced out to a 21-10 lead and held on to hand Miami (9-1, 5-1 ACC) its first loss of the season for the second-straight year.
King completed all six of his passes, including a 5-yard touchdown pass to Malik Rutherford in the second quarter that gave the Yellow Jackets a 14-10 lead that it would never relinquish.
True freshman Aaron Philo split the duties behind center with King and completed five passes for 67 yards, highlighted by a 15-yard touchdown pass to Chase Lane that gave Tech its 21-10 advantage midway through the third quarter. Philo also completed perhaps the biggest pass of the game when he connected with high school teammate Bailey Stockton for a 27-yard gain on a third-and-18 play, which led to a 5-yard touchdown run by King three plays later that stretched the Jackets’ advantage to 28-16 early in the fourth quarter.
Miami cut Tech’s lead to 28-23 with 6:07 to go in the game, then forced the Yellow Jackets to punt on their ensuing possession. However, two plays after the Hurricanes got the ball back, Georgia Tech defensive end Romello Height drilled Ward from behind, stripped the ball from his hands and tackle Jordan van den Berg fell on the loose ball to give the Jackets possession with 1:36 to go in the game.
Three plays later, King completed a short pass on an end-around to Eric Singleton, Jr., who picked up 11 yards on third-and-8 to seal the victory. King knelt down two times to set off a wild, field-storming celebration.
Georgia Tech held the ball for nearly 35 of the game’s 60 minutes and limited the Hurricanes, who were averaging better than 47 points and 550 yards per game, to a season low in points and yards (436).
Tech also held the Hurricanes, who were also ranked No. 1 nationally in third-down conversion percentage (.558) to just 3-of-10 on third downs and 1-of-4 on fourth downs. Each of the fourth-down stops came in Tech territory, as the Jackets stopped the Hurricanes at the Tech 23 in the second quarter, 39 in the third period and 28 in the fourth.
Eight different ball carriers contributed to Georgia Tech’s 271 yards on the ground, led by King, who ran 20 times for 93 yards, and Jamal Haynes, who had 83 yards on just three carries, including a 65-yard gain and a 16-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the game before leaving the contest due to injury on the Jackets’ second possession.
Georgia Tech, which is now bowl-eligible in back-to-back years for the first time since 2013-14, will have a bye for the second time in three weeks next Saturday before returning to action Thursday, Nov. 21, versus NC State at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. The Yellow Jackets’ final home game of the season will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and be televised nationally on ESPN.