It was a wild night of football on Thursday under the lights of Bobby Dodd Stadium with plenty of twists and turns, but in Georgia Tech fans' minds, the most important thing was that it ended with the Jackets having one more point than NC State.
Somehow, Georgia Tech found a way to pull out a 30-29 victory over the visiting Wolfpack to move to 7-4 overall and 5-0 on the season at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Here are the big plays and takeaways from the dramatic win:
Big Plays
-Height's interception in the fourth quarter: We'll skip right on to the final stanza because a lot happened in the first three quarters, but the final sequence was plenty enough to write books about. On a third and 7, Georgia Tech rush end Romello Height made one of the best defensive plays of the year for the Jackets and probably one of the top plays in his career as he read the QB beautifully dropped and stepped right in front of a CJ Bailey pass to pick it off and return it all the way to the NC State 3. That set up Haynes King's 3-yard touchdown run to put Tech up by two possessions and momentarily let the home sideline and the home fans take a bit of a deep breath with 6:40 left in the game.
-Bailey's 28-yard scramble touchdown run: Georgia Tech had a bit of trouble containing NC State freshman QB CJ Bailey in the pocket on Thursday, and that was exposed big time on a drive late in the fourth quarter that ended with him getting loose for a 28-yard touchdown run to pull the Wolfpack within two at 23-21 with 4:07 left.
-Jackets' 3-and-out to give ball back with 2:30 on the clock: After Bailey's TD run to get the game back within a possession, Georgia Tech's offense weren't able to get a much-needed first down to go a long way in putting the game away. Instead, two incomplete passes on second and third down saved time on the clock for the Wolfpack before the Jackets had to punt it back with 2:30 remaining. Just a few plays into the next drive, NC State was able to break a 53-yard touchdown run thanks to the legs of Hollywood Smothers to give the visitors a 29-23 lead with 1:30 remaining in the contest following the Bailey two-point conversion run.
-Philo's 18-yard touchdown run into Georgia Tech lore: The true freshman Aaron Philo didn't look very much like a true freshman on the final offensive drive for the Jackets, leading them 75 yards with only one timeout in his pocket, and eventually breaking free on an 18-yard scramble up the middle to dive in the end zone for the eventual game-winning TD run (with a big assist from the extra point by Aidan Birr). Philo made some important throws on the drive before that to Chase Lane and Jamal Haynes, but his two 18-yard runs back-to-back to finish the drive off are something that will be remembered for a long time by Georgia Tech fans.
-NC State's 58-yard field goal sails just wide: After a long pass from CJ Bailey to Dacari Collins to put the Wolfpack into Georgia Tech territory at the 41 and then an incomplete pass that rolled off a few more seconds (and might've been a bigger play than given credit for in the end), NC State's Kanoah Vinesett stepped up after a Georgia Tech timeout and attempted a near 60-yarder that missed wide left by about a foot. That foot was the difference between Georgia Tech being 7-4 and 6-5.
-Honorable mention: There were several other big plays over the first few quarters, including Aidan Birr's successful field goals from 44, 41 and 45, Trenilyas Tatum's interception on NC State's final drive of the first half to prevent them from scoring any points going into the locker room and EJ Lightsey's 21-yard interception return for touchdown in the first quarter. I'm sure there were several others, but everything seems like a bit of a blur right now.
Takeaways
-Jackets are gutsy if nothing else: It might not always be pretty. It might not always be easy. It might not always be good fundamental football. But Georgia Tech has shown that it won't quit and will find ways to win this season. That's what Brent Key has been preaching all year about playing every single second of the game no matter the score or situation. That's a great starting point for a program turnaround even if a lot of growth and polishing is still ahead.
-Kicking game looked much-improved: The field goal unit has been so inconsistent this season that it's driven a lot of Tech fans to never believing that any kick will successfully go through the uprights, but on Thursday night Aidan Birr and the crew were as clean as you can be. Birr stepped up and connected on three 40-plus yard field goals that were crucial. The snap, hold and blocking in front of it were close to perfect as well. That is a great sign that hopefully the kicking issues are straightened out going forward.
-Aaron Philo has that dog in him: No, I'm not saying he's got anything to do with that school up the right in Athens in him. I'm talking about that fire, that belief, that against all odds confidence in him that he's going to make a play if he gets the chance. Down six with 1:30 left and two timeouts, the kid pushes his team right down the field with some mature check-down type throws and two huge scrambles with the final one getting into the end zone. It's not known what Haynes King's status is for 2025, but Tech fans have to feel good about the future with Philo if it's in 2025 or in 2026.
-Defense did its job once again: Yes, the defensive unit gave up some big scrambles and eventually 29 points, but for much of the night, they were the reason Tech was ahead in the game. They continued to get 3-and-outs and even hauled in three interceptions, which was more than their season total of 2 up to this point of the season. The progress the defense has made in just one season under Tyler Santucci has been incredible. It only goes to show that Tech fans should have confidence in what he can do with more time and more of his-type players getting onto The Flats.
-Confidence should be high going to Athens: There's nothing to lose for Georgia Tech. They are 7-4 and have already taken a step forward from last year against a tougher schedule. Now, they should be playing loose and confident as they head to play that school up the road in Athens next Friday. It wasn't pretty tonight, but both the offense and defense will match up better with Georgia this year than they have in some time.