CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.- Georgia Tech has struggled historically and played in strange games in Scott Stadium against Virginia since joining the ACC and Saturday’s 48-40 loss to the Cavaliers was no exception to that rule. Tech trailed 48-27 with 5:09 left in the game and managed to score twice, recover two onside kicks and have a shot at the end zone as time expired with a chance to force the game to overtime. Tech fell to 3-4 on the season and 2-3 in ACC play while Virginia improved to 6-2 and 4-2 in the ACC.
Geoff Collins fell to 0-9 in games coming off a win and the Jackets have lost 10 in a row after a win dating back to the Georgia game in 2018. Tech fought back from a 24-16 deficit at the half to make it a game very late.
“I'm proud of how the team battled. I told them at halftime that we're gonna tell a lot about who we are as a program and who we are as a team through how we come out and play the second half. They battled, they fought, they played till the very end, and we're throwing at the very end of the game to win the game. I'm just proud of the effort. Hats off to Virginia. You watch the tape, and you watch what they've done on offense all year, and you know they're dangerous,” Collins said. “They've got a lot of weapons, you know how multiple and how unorthodox some of the stuff that they do is. Then you see it live and in-person. Hats off to them for the players they have and the things that they do offensively that are really effective. But just the way that team battled and fought on the road. We just got to put the ball down and get ready for a game at home in seven days.”
Tech’s offense put up big numbers racking up 570 yards of offense, the problem was they gave up 636 yards to Virginia the 7th most in their history. Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong threw for 396 yards and four touchdowns while running for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Dontayvion Wicks had six catches for 168 yards and two touchdowns while utility back Keytaon Thompson had 65 yards rushing and 89 yards receiving as a key third-down target for Armstrong.
“Keytaon is doing an amazing job, and it just seems like every time he gets the ball, positive things happen. We're falling forward, we're moving forward, we're catching it with one hand, two hands,” Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “Regarding Dontayvion, ability is one thing, execution and production is something else and he’s worked really hard to develop himself into a really skilled receiver.”
Collins said that his team has played well in games throughout the season, but the Pitt and UVA games were major letdowns against top offenses.
“I think that there have been a lot of times this season that our defense has played the lights out. So, let's please not forget that,” Collins said. “You go on a stretch run of playing a lot of elite offenses that have really good players, you're thin in a couple of spots and some bad things happen that you don't want to happen. But there has been really good defense played, there was some really good defense at times played tonight. We just got to continue to improve, get better, and get ready for next Saturday.”
The killer for Tech was allowing Virginia to score without forcing a punt for eight possession with only one not allowing a score because of time running out in the first half. During that same stretch, Tech blew an early 13-0 lead and had an interception and four punts around one touchdown in the middle. Collins said they tried to mix up the picture for Armstrong but clearly that didn’t work as expected on paper.
“The biggest thing was trying to show [Armstrong] different looks throughout the game. We did do that, but the kid is really good. He was finding the holes, the soft spots in certain coverages. We kept trying to change it up and kept trying to change the pressures, and he just kept seeing and finding it. He just has a knack for finding a way to keep plays alive and find his receivers and he keeps his eyes downfield and he makes plays. The multiplicity of what we were doing, the multiplicity of what they do. That was the part we were trying to do, and he found us and exposed us.”
Jeff Sims threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He added 65 yards rushing as well. Tech’s trio of running backs who have been quiet since the UNC game combined for 205 yards and two touchdowns led by Jahmyr Gibbs who had 132 yards on 13 carries including a 71-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Tech’s receivers also feasted on UVA’s defense with Kyric McGowan hauling in seven passes for 86 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Adonicas Sanders had six catches for 79 yards mostly in the fourth quarter.
Defensively the Jackets were unable to get pressure on Armstrong or cover when they dropped eight. Safety Juanyeh Thomas explained his frustrations after the game on that front.
“That's what it was really,” Thomas said of his frustration. “You can work so hard to try to stop a team, but sometimes they get the best of you. I’m proud of the guys in the locker room. We fought.”
Sims said he never lost faith that the Jackets could come back in the game.
“In my head, I was just thinking the game's not over. It's never over until the clock hits 0:00. I just went out there and told God to lead me and I went out there and completed passes and managed the game,” he said.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Georgia Tech took the ball to start the game and it looked like a questionable decision at first as the Jackets got behind the sticks, but Sims hit Adonicas Sanders on a key third-down conversion for a 25-yard gain, then two plays late hit the end zone on a 36-yard touchdown toss to Kyric McGowan to take a 7-0 lead.
The Jackets held Virginia to a three and out on their opening drive and converted another third and long situation on a pass to Nate McCollum who broke two tackles to move the sticks. Sims converted a third and short near midfield to extend the drive. Gibbs picked up 16-yards on a screen and Sims converted another first down. Sims threw an interception but a roughing the passer flag wiped that out to set up first and goal at the 8. Dontae Smith punched it in two plays later, but the Cavs blocked the PAT to make it 13-0 Jackets with 6:28 to go in the 1st quarter.
Virginia picked up a first down on the first play of the next drive and crossed midfield on a QB-designed run for 17-yds to the GT42. Virginia drove down and scored on just nine plays using a mix of passes and QB runs covering 75 yards to make it 13-7 late in the first quarter.
The Jackets crossed into UVA territory on four plays to the UVA 48 with a 13-yard screen pass to Jordan Mason as the big play. Sims guided the team down to the UVA26 hitting Kyric McGowan for 10-yards following a Dontae Smith second-down run conversion. Sims couldn’t connect with McGowan on third down and Tech had to settle for a short field goal attempt which Brent Cimaglia hit.
UVA had a hold on the ensuing kick to start their drive from their own 17. Armstrong picked up 45-yards on the run to set up the Cavs deep in GT territory. Armstrong hit Wicks for a 13-yard touchdown over a pair of Tech defenders to make it 16-14.
After a touchback, Tech took over at their 25 and Jordan Mason picked up 21 on a delayed draw play. Sims then hit Nate McCollum for another first down. Sims threw an interception to Joey Blount to end the drive which Blount returned to the UVA18. Armstrong hit Dontayvion Wicks for his second touchdown of the day as he knocked Derrik Allen out of the way and went 77-yards for the score to give Virginia a 21-16 lead.
Jahmyr Gibbs had a first down run on the next series wiped out by a holding call on a receiver and then Sims had a screen to Gibbs blown up for another big loss. Tech couldn’t get out of the 25-yard hole and had to punt. David Shanahan’s punt went just 27-yards. Armstrong hit Wicks for a 28-yard gain to set up first and goal at the GT10. Tech managed to stop UVA at the GT6 and force a short field goal to make it 24-16.
Gibbs picked up 15 yards on first down as the Jackets got the ball with 1:23 left in the half. GT couldn’t convert on second and then third and five after a Malachi Carter catch and the Jackets had to punt. Shanahan rugby punted to the UVA 18. Virginia got to midfield before time ran out thanks to some weird coaching decisions.
Out of the half the Jackets sacked Armstrong on first down, but Armstrong converted on third and 17 to Keytaon Thompson and then hit him again to cross midfield. UVA drove to the Tech 8, but could not convert a touchdown and had to settle for a short field goal to extend their lead to 27-16 with 9:41 left.
Tech answered with a 71-yard touchdown run by Jahmyr Gibbs on the next series on second down. He had two runs for 75 yards as the offensive output on the drive. Sims hit Avery Boyd on a trick play for the two-point conversion to make it 27-24 with 9 minutes to go in the third.
Virginia drove right back downfield on the next drive. Akelo Stone got ejected for targeting after a late-hit penalty as well and the Cavs scored four plays later on a 5-yard touchdown run by Armstrong to go up 34-24 with 5:13 left in the 3rd quarter.
Tech picked up one first down, but had to punt after throwing five straight plays. Virginia scored easily on the next drive going 77 yards in just 8 plays capped by another Armstrong touchdown run to make it 41-24 at the end of the third quarter.
Tech fell behind the chains as a good Dontae Smith run was wiped out by a hold and went three and out on the next possession. Tech forced a punt on the next UVA possession and then the Jackets got to fourth and one at their own 44, before Jeff Sims broke off a 38-yard run to put the Jackets at the UVA 18. Tech only got two more yards and Brent Cimaglia had to kick a 34-yard field goal to make it 41-27 with 8:59 left.
Tech faked an onside kick and UVA recovered the ball at their own four-yard line. Armstrong got them out of trouble with a quick pass to Wicks near midfield. UVA scored a few plays later on a 20-yard pass to Ra’Shaun Henry to make it 48-27.
Georgia Tech drove 75 yards on the next possession in eight plays and Sims hit Kalani Norris for a 37-yard touchdown to make it 48-34.
The Jackets recovered an onside kick thanks to Malachi Carter and drove 51 yards scoring on a McGowan 5-yard catch with 54 seconds left to make it 48-40 as the two-point conversion attempt failed.
Tech again recovered an onside kick and drove to the UVA 31, but a last second not quite Hail Mary type pass couldn’t reach the hands of Peje Harris thanks to a good play by Blount by Virginia, the third time he got his hands on a Sims pass on Saturday night.
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