Tech dominates UCF in a 30-17 Gasparilla Bowl win

TAMPA, Fla.- Georgia Tech started slow trailing 14-0 to UCF, but a forced fumble by Horace Lockett in the first quarter provided the spark for Tech to cut into the lead and ultimately the Jackets went on a 27-0 run to put away the Knights 30-17 to win the Gasparilla Bowl and take home hardware for the first time since the 2016 season when Tech won the Gator Bowl over Kentucky.

First-year Tech head coach Brent Key finished his first full season with a winning record at 7-6 and picked up the win over the school where he truly began his coaching career and worked from 2006 to 2015 UCF.

“We’ve been up 14-0 in a game and it didn’t come out the way we wanted. I have heard many times not to waste a failure. Georgia Tech is a school that teaches you how to solve problems and push forward. We have to live in the moment and they did that. They kept playing and kept playing,” Key said after the game. “It was really a capsule of our entire season. Learning how to do things the right way. Play for four quarters and to go into every game expecting to win. They kept fighting and good things happened.”

The win echoed a momentum early in George O’Leary’s tenure as head coach as he finally guided the Jackets to a bowl game after his third season when the Jacket beat West Virginia in the Carquest Bowl and started a run at the top of the ACC with a 7-5 season.

O'Leary who coached at both Tech and UCF was the honorary captain before the game. Much of Key's career has been shaped by O'Leary who is his mentor and former coach and boss.

Key pushed on the question after the game, but the vibe of the program appears to be changing.

“We challenge each other to come in every day and be the best version of ourselves individually and collectively as a team. We are going to enjoy the heck out of this tonight, but then we will be back in January and it is a new team and new comraderies in the locker room,” Key said.

Jamal Haynes took home the Gasparilla Bowl MVP trophy with 128 yards on 18 carries a career-high for him in a game and he passed the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the season with his longest run of the day, a 32-yard run to start the third quarter.

The 32-yard run saw Haynes become the first Jacket to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since Kirvonte Benson and TaQuon Marshall both hit 1,000 yards in 2017.

Haynes made the transition from slot receiver to running back at the request of the offensive staff making his season special.

“Making the position change wasn’t easy, but it became a lot easier as the season went along. The O-Line does a phenomenal job and work their tails off every game,” he said. “The transition was special, of course you are always gonna have a little doubt about how it's gonna go playing wise but at the end of the day, the coaches believed in me, he told me just put down my head and go to work. And that's exactly what I did.”

Supersenior running back Dontae Smith ran for 65 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown in his final game as a Yellow Jacket.

Tech ran 23 straight times to end the day and took the workload off the shoulder of quarterback Haynes King who ended the night with just 13 passing attempts, one touchdown in the air and one interception and just 87 yards passing. However, King did plenty of damage on the ground rolling up 89 yards on 12 carries including his 10th rushing touchdown of the season.

King’s lone touchdown pass came on a 41-yard strike to Malik Rutherford near the end of the first half that tied the game at 17. He said there was no panic as the Jackets faced a two-score deficit early in the game.

“We’ve been here before, we are not going to press,” King said.

With his two touchdowns in the game, King set a record for the most touchdowns responsible for in Tech history with 37.

“We got into a possession where you start looking at possessions and time on the clock. You also look at timeouts. We had to eat the clock and Haynes did a great job looking at the clock and snapping it with one second,” Key said.

Tech won the time of possession battle 33:30 to 26:30 and the offense was 5-5 in the red zone.

Tech’s defense allowed 14 points on the first two USF drives of the game and then held the Knights to three points and 149 yards on 14 plays, they gave up 275 yards on the final 53 plays UCF ran in the game. Eight of the final nine UCF drives yielded no points and UCF had two turnovers on downs, a fumble and an interception.

Linebacker Kyle Efford led the Jackets with nine tackles in the game and a quarterback hurry. His counterpart at linebacker Paul Moala added three TFLs and two sacks.

Reserve defensive end Noah Collins recorded his first career sack in the win but left the game with an injury on the play.

Tech knocked UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee out of the game late after he threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 32 yards while being sacked three times. Backup Timmy McClain completed one pass to each team.

Ahmari Harvey had the interception off McClain and losing an early interception because he stepped out of bounds before touching the ball. Harvey said the defense kept fighting regardless of what happened on the field.

“You will be fined through adversity. You find out who the real man is when their back is against the wall, everything not going their way,” Harvey said.

The bright spot for UCF on offense was Javon Baker who caught nine passes for 173 yards and a touchdown.

Running back RJ Harvey ran for 120 yards on 15 carries, but fumbled the ball to change the momentum of the game.

UCF didn’t help themselves as Kobe Hudson dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone that led to a field goal and kicker Colton Boomer missed a 30-yard field goal before halftime and UCF never scored again in the game.

“We had some opportunities in the first half [dropped pass in the end zone and missed field goal]. In the second half, we had trouble getting anything going offensively,” UCF head coach Gus Malzahn said.

The opening kickoff was returned to the UCF49 by Xavier Townsend on a 47-yard return. RJ Harvey ran for 20 yards on second down and then Javon Baker caught a 23-yard touchdown to put the Knights up 7-0.

Christian Leary returned the ensuing kickoff 23 yards to the GT23. Leary was called for a false start on the play. Jamal Haynes couldn’t handle an underthrown swing pass, but Haynes ran for 16 yards on the next play to covert. UCF was offsides on the next play to move the ball to the GT39. Zach Pyron entered the game and ran for five yards and a first down. Malik Rutherford lost one yard on a quick pass and then couldn’t haul in the second down pass to set up 3rd and long near midfield. King was flushed and had to throw the ball away. David Shanahan’s punt went 57 yards where Nikai Martinez inexplicably fielded the ball and nearly was caught in the end zone for a safety before getting out to the UCF2.

The first run was stopped for no gain but a deep show to Baker for 36 yards flipped the field and UCF picked up 14 yards more on the next play to Baker in the air again. Harvey ran for 17 yards to the GT31. After converting on a third and short Plumlee threw an interception to Kyle Efford as Paul Moala was sacking him. On replay, it was ruled a sack at the GT22. Plumlee picked up five yards on the next play. Kobe Hudson hauled in a 17-yard touchdown capping a 98-yard scoring drive.

Tech stalled out hard on the next drive losing four yards on first down on a Haynes run and then Haynes dropped a pass from King on second down, Corey Robinson II had a flash start on the next play and Haynes ran for four yards leading to a punt by Shanahan of 48 yards to the UCF27.

Plumlee ran for three yards on first down and Harvey picked up 12 yards on the next plays to the UCF42. Horace Lockett forced a fumble on the next play and Myles Sims recovered and returned to the GT42.

King ran for two yards on first down. Dontae Smith caught a pass for two yards on second down. On third and medium, King spun out of a tackle to pick up 32 yards to the UCF22. King ran for five yards to end the first quarter. Smith lost two yards on the first play of the second quarter and King couldn’t connect with him on third down to force a 36-yard field goal to make it 14-3 UCF.

After a 31-yard kickoff return to the UCF31, Baker caught a one-yard pass on first down. Harvey lost four yards on second down on a Moala TFL, but Kobe Hudson caught a 30-yard pass to flip the field to the GT40. An illegal man downfield wiped out a catch by Hudson. Baker caught an eight-yard pass. Kevin Harris pressured Plumlee to force an errant throw and Plumlee ran for six yards on third down to set up fourth and one at the GT31. Harvey picked up four yards on second down and Lockett jumped offsides to give UCF a first down at the GT14. The Knight picked up four yards on two runs on the next plays. Ahmari Harvey broke up a touchdown pass to Hudson to force a short field goal.

King hit Eric Singleton Jr. for eight yards on first down and Dylan Leonard trucked a UCF defender for a 29-yard pass and run on the next play. Haynes ran for 9 yards on the next play. Haynes picked up 11 yards after a timeout to the UCF17. King and Haynes each ran once to set up first and goal at the UCF5. King ran for four yards for a touchdown to make it a one-score game 17-10 UCF with 4:23 left in the half.

After a touchback, UCF started at their own 25. Plumlee was flushed out of the pocket by the Tech defense on first down and forced to throw the ball away. Plumlee had to throw his second down pass away and then was flushed and forced to throw an errant pass over the middle for a three and out. Rodney Shelley returned the 47-yard punt five yards to the GT33.

King hit Smith for five yards on a screen pass. King ran for four on second down to set up third and one at the GT42. Smith converted the third down run to the GT48. Smith picked up eight yards on the next play. Rutherford hauled in a 41-yard touchdown pass from King to tie the game at 17 with 56 seconds left in the half.

Plumlee hit tight end Alec Holler for 13 yards on first down. Baker caught a pass for 13 yards to the UCF38. Kevin Harris was called for roughing the passer on the next play a throwaway giving UCF the ball at the GT34. Baker picked up 14 yards on the next play. Plumlee slid on a scramble to force UCF to use their final timeout. Plumlee held the ball too long on the next play and then threw it away. UCF tried a 30-yard field goal which they missed.

Tech started the second half with a 27-yard kick return by Leary to the GT34. Haynes ran for 35 yards on the first carry of the half to hit 1,000 yards rushing on the season. Haynes ran for 10 yards on the next play to the UCF21. Haynes ran for two yards on first down, Smith picked up three and King was stopped short of the sticks on third down and Key opted to kick a 29-yard field goal to give Tech the lead 20-17.

After a short kickoff return to the UCF25, the Knights picked up seven yards on first down, but D’Quan Douse had a TFL on second down and it took diving catch from Holler to convert the third down at the UCF36. After a throwaway and a short run, Harvey broke loose for 27 yards before slipping at the GT29. Myles Sims had a PBU on first down on a pass for Holler. Harvey picked up four yards on second down and Baker caught a tipped ball to set up fourth and one. A hold on fourth down set up fourth and 11. Plumlee was pressured and threw an errant pass for a turnover on downs.

Jamal Haynes ran two times for 11 yards to the GT41. King threw an interception to Demari Henderson at the UCF25 on a deep shot for Singleton. Key was forced to challenge it after the official did not initiate a review. The review confirmed the call on the field and that gave UCF the ball at their own 25.

Harvey dropped a first-down pass from Plumlee. Harvey picked up 11 yards after juking a Tech defender to the UCF36. Noah Collins sacked Plumlee on second down to set up 3rd and 14, his first career sack. Eddie Kelly batted the third-down pass to force an incomplete pass and force a punt.

Smith lost a yard on first down, Luke Benson caught a three-yard pass and then King picked up a first down with a nine-yard run. Smith picked up 11 yards on the next play to the GT47. Smith ran two times for 11 yards to the UCF42. Smith ran for five yards on first down and Haynes picked up three yards on the next play to set up third and three at the UCF35. King had to call a timeout to avoid a delay of game, but it worked out as King picked up the first down on a 17-yard run and UCF had a horsecollar tackle on the play to set up first and goal at the UCF9. Pyron ran for three yards to end the third quarter with GT leading 20-17. Smith picked up three yards to start the fourth quarter. King was stuffed at the one-yard line. Smith scored on the next play to put Tech up two scores 27-17 with 13:37 left.

After a touchback, UCF started at their 25, and Hudson had a false start on first down. Johnny Richardson picked up 12 yards on first down. Efford stuffed Richardson for a yard on the next play. Plumlee picked up the first down with a two-yard run. Harvey picked up one yard on the next play and Plumlee nearly had a pass picked off by Ahmari Harvey who had a foot out of bounds before touching the ball. Moala sacked Plumlee to force a punt. McCarthy’s punt was returned 11 yards by Shelley to the GT37.

Haynes ran four straight times to the UCF47 picking up 16 yards. Christian Leary picked up one yard on a run and a penalty on Henderson for unsportsmanlike conduct gave Tech the ball at the UCF31. Smith picked up 11 yards on the next play to the UCF20. King picked up two yards on first down. Smith lost four yards on the next play to set up third and 12. Haynes only picked up one yard on the next play and Birr hit a 38-yard field goal to make it 30-17 with 4:52 left.

After a touchback, Harvey ran for one yard and Timmy McClain came into the game at quarterback. UCF had a false start. McClain hit Baker for a 57-yard pass to the GT22. McClain tried to find Baker in the end zone on first down but threw it out bounds, Efford tripped him on second down after one yard and then Harvey picked up five yards to set up fourth and four. Jaylon King broke up the fourth down pass to force a turnover on downs.

Tech started at their own 27, Haynes picked up 11 yards on first down. King lost a yard on first down and UCF burned a timeout. Smith picked up six yards on second down, four yards on third down and Key opted to have King take a delay of game to burn more clock and Shanahan punted the back to the UCF26 where Henry Freer downed the ball.

McClain threw a pick on first down to Harvey.

Tech finished the game with three kneel-downs.