Oct. 31, 2016
THE FLATS – After being named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week on Sunday, Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas added to his growing list of accolades on Monday when he was named the ACC Offensive Back of the Week.
Thomas amassed 459 yards of total offense – the third-highest total in Georgia Tech history – and accounted for four touchdowns in the Yellow Jackets’ 38-35 come-from-behind win over Duke. He completed 10-of-14 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns and ran 17 times for 195 yards and two scores, good for a 99.7 ESPN Total Quarterback Rating, which is the highest Total QBR for an FBS player this season.
The fifth-year senior became the first Yellow Jacket with 400 yards of total offense in a single game since George Godsey totaled a school-record 477 yards against Virginia in 2001. In addition to posting the third-highest yardage total ever at Georgia Tech, Thomas’ 276.97 pass-efficiency rating was also the third-highest mark in program history.
Thomas Is only the fourth FBS player since 2000 with 190 rushing yards, 250 passing yards, two touchdown runs and two touchdown passes in a game and he single-handedly outgained 66 of the 106 FBS teams that played on Saturday.
In addition to piling up the gaudy numbers, he led Georgia Tech to scores on six of its 10 offensive possessions (not including a final drive when the Jackets ran out the clock to seal the victory). He engineered a six-play, 86-yard drive late in the fourth quarter that culminated with him throwing the game-winning 21-yard touchdown pass to Clinton Lynch with 5:38 to go in the ballgame.
In the process, he also became only the 39th player in FBS history with 4,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards in a career.
The conference recognition is the second of Thomas’ career. He was also named ACC Offensive Back of the Week following his performance in a 27-24 win at Virginia Tech on Sept. 20, 2014.
In addition to his Player of the Week honors, Thomas has also landed on the Week 9 Davey O’Brien “Great 8” list and is one of eight Manning Award Stars of the Week. One of the “Great 8” honorees will be named the Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Week on Tuesday while one of the Stars of the Week will be named the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week on Thursday. Fans can vote for the Manning Award QB of the Week by clicking HERE.
Thomas and the Yellow Jackets (5-3, 2-3 ACC) are back in action on Saturday when they go for their third-straight win at No. 18/17 North Carolina (6-2, 4-1 ACC). Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. and the game will be televised live on the ACC Network.
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