Georgia Tech (24).... 21 3 14 0 - 38 Virginia Tech (11).... 7 6 0 14 - 27 Scoring Summary: 1st Quarter 12:22 GT - Johnson 3 yd pass from Ball (Bell kick) 07:54 GT - Johnson 53 yd pass from Ball (Bell) 04:12 GT - Choice 5 yd run (Bell) 00:20 VT - Ore 26 yd run (Pace kick) 2nd Quarter 07:41 VT - Pace 41 yd FG 04:29 VT - Pace 25 yd FG 00:03 GT - Bell 22 yd FG 3rd Quarter 13:29 GT - Guyton 38 yd fumble recovery (Bell) 03:02 GT - Choice 0 yd fumble recovery (Bell) 4th Quarter 11:40 VT - Lewis 1 yd run (Pace) 03:31 VT - Royal 21 yd pass from Glennon (Pace)
Blacksburg, VA – #11 Virginia Tech got off to an awful start against #24 Georgia Tech and were unable to rally, falling 38-27 to the Yellow Jackets in Blacksburg on Saturday. The Hokies drop to 4-1 overall, and 2-1 in the ACC. Georgia Tech improves to 4-1, with a 2-0 mark in conference play. The Yellow Jackets now find themselves atop the ACC Coastal Division standings.
Georgia Tech got out to a quick 21-0 lead thanks to big plays from Calvin Johnson and taking advantage of good field position. The Hokies went into comeback mode, which led to a career game for Sean Glennon. Glennon completed 27-of-53 passes for 339 yards and a touchdown. He also had several passes dropped, including two critical drops by Greg Boone inside the Georgia Tech five yard line.
The 339 yards posted by Glennon was the most passing yardage a Tech quarterback has had since Bryan Randall in the Insight Bowl in 2003, when Randall passed for 398 yards.
The Hokies were playing from behind the entire game, so they never got much of a chance to try and establish the running game. Branden Ore finished with 14 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown, while Elan Lewis had five carries for 19 yards and a touchdown. Sean Glennon was sacked four times for 45 yards in losses, which resulted in the Hokies averaging just 1.6 yards per carry.
Meanwhile, Georgia Tech found success in the running game. Tailback Tashard Choice had 18 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns on the afternoon, while quarterback Reggie Ball had 13 carries for 34 yards.
Calvin Johnson had a big game, scoring the first two Georgia Tech touchdowns. The All-American caught six passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Reggie Ball (9 of 16, 176 yards) completed just three passes to other receivers.
The Virginia Tech receivers also enjoyed a nice day. Eddie Royal had seven catches for 102 yards and a touchdown, and Justin Harper also added 109 yards on four catches. Josh Hyman had six catches for 58 yards. David Clowney, playing in his first game since having an emergency appendectomy a few days before the Cincinnati game, added five catches for 58 yards.
The Virginia Tech defense did not play as well as hoped on Saturday. They gave up 325 yards of total offense, which isn’t a bad number, but they gave up too many big plays early in the game. Xavier Adibi led the team with nine tackles and a sack. Fellow linebacker Vince Hall had eight tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. Free safety D.J. Parker had eight tackles.
The Hokies did record two interceptions on the day. Brenden Hill and Victor “Macho” Harris both picked off Reggie Ball pass attempts.
Recap
Georgia Tech got the Hokies on their heels on the very first play from scrimmage. Reggie Ball dropped back and found wide receiver James Johnson running wide open over the middle of the field, and Johnson made the catch and moved the chains all the way to the Hokie 21 yard line for a 59 yard gain.
Ball took a quarterback draw for a nine yard gain to the 12, and two Tashard Choice runs netted nine yards. On second and goal from the three, Ball connected in the corner of the end zone to Calvin Johnson, who was covered by Macho Harris with no safety help. Harris had good coverage, but Johnson made a great play on the ball to put Georgia Tech up 7-0 with 12:22 remaining in the first quarter.
The Hokies were able to move the ball to their own 48 yard line on their first drive, but could not pick up a first down on a third and three. Nic Schmitt came in to punt, but he badly shanked it to the left. The 14 yard punt gave Georgia Tech good field position at their own 38 yard line.
Facing third and one from their own 47 yard line, Reggie Ball completed a short pass to Calvin Johnson. It appeared to be a partially busted coverage on the part of the Hokies, as Johnson was wide open and was able to turn up field to daylight. He used his tremendous speed to outrun the entire Tech defense for a 53 yard touchdown to make the score 14-0 with 7:54 left in the first quarter.
The Hokies went three and out on their next drive. They had a chance to convert a third and 12, but Sean Glennon’s pass downfield to Eddie Royal was dropped. Nic Schmitt lined up to punt again, and this time had it blocked, and Georgia Tech recovered on Virginia Tech’s 25 yard line.
An 18 yard run by Reggie Ball gave Georgia Tech the ball on the seven yard line, and two plays later Tashard Choice rumbled in from five yards out. That made the score 21-0 Yellow Jackets with 4:12 left in the first quarter, and the Hokies had quite a hole to dig themselves out of.
On their next drive, VT began to do exactly that. However, it didn’t come easily, as the Hokies faced third and 20 from their own 10 yard line after Glennon was sacked on second down. However they managed to convert on the next play when Glennon hooked up with Justin Harper for a 49 yard gain to the Georgia Tech 41 yard line. Glennon converted another third down three plays later when he found Eddie Royal for a nine yard gain to the 30 yard line.
Two plays later, Branden Ore struck. Ore took the handoff and ran up the middle, then suddenly made a quick cut to his left and outran the Georgia Tech defense to the end zone. Brandon Pace converted the extra point, and the Hokies trailed 21-7 with 20 seconds left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Hokies had a big chance to get back into the game, but failed to take advantage. Reggie Ball was intercepted by Brenden Hill, who returned the pick to the Georgia Tech 18 yard line. The Hokies were flagged for an illegal block on the return and began their drive on the 28 yard line.
Tech handed the ball off to Branden Ore three straight times, and he wasn’t quite able to pick up a first down. The Hokies faced fourth and inches, and Beamer elected to go for the first down. A quarterback sneak was called for Glennon, but true freshman guard Sergio Render jumped early and was flagged for a false start, forcing Tech to go for the field goal. Brandon Pace easily nailed the kick from 41 yards out, making the score 21-10 with 7:41 left in the second quarter.
On the first play of Georgia Tech’s ensuing drive, Reggie Ball was picked off again. He went deep to Calvin Johnson, but Macho Harris stepped in front of the pass, made a play on the ball and came down with the interception. The Hokies had the ball on their own 41, Reggie Ball had thrown two interceptions on his last two pass attempts, and the game seemed about to turn in Virginia Tech’s favor.
Glennon quickly completed two passes, a 13 yarder to David Clowney and a 20 yarder to Josh Hyman, to move the Hokies to Georgia Tech’s 26 yard line. On third and four from the 20, Glennon fired a pass over the middle to an open Greg Boone, but the r-freshman dropped the pass inside the five yard line. However Georgia Tech was flagged for roughing the passer, and the Hokies got a first down on the 10 yard line.
The Hokies faced another third down from the eight yard line, and again Glennon saw Greg Boone open. He fired a pass to the outside, but Boone dropped it again on the five yard line, forcing another field goal attempt. Brandon Pace nailed the 25 yarder to cut the lead to 21-13 with 4:29 left in the quarter.
The Hokies had clawed their way back into the game, but they missed two great opportunities to score touchdowns. Mistakes by two freshmen, Sergio Render and Greg Boone, were partially responsible for Tech’s inability to convert.
Virginia Tech still had the momentum, but the Yellow Jackets took it back on their ensuing drive. Reggie Ball completed a 35 yard corner route to Calvin Johnson to the Virginia Tech 42 yard line, and Georgia Tech was able to drive down the field and hit a 22 yard field goal with 3 seconds left in the half. Going into halftime, the Hokies found themselves down 24-13, the second straight week they have trailed at halftime.
The second half started well for the Hokies, with Glennon completing a 30 yard pass to Eddie Royal to the 50 yard line. But on third down, Glennon was blindsided by Georgia Tech linebacker Philip Wheeler and fumbled. The ball was picked up by linebacker Gary Guyton and returned 38 yards for a Yellow Jacket touchdown. With 13:29 left in the third quarter, the Hokies were back on their heels again, trailing 31-13.
The next Hokie drive was more of the same. VT advanced the ball to the 50 yard line, and Glennon was blindsided again, which resulted in another fumble that was recovered by Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets didn’t score, but they did start winning the field position battle. They were forced to punt, and they downed at the Virginia Tech three yard line. Both teams then traded punts, and Georgia Tech’s second punt was down at the Virginia Tech four yard line. After the Hokies could manage nothing on offense, the Yellow Jackets’ Andrew Smith returned the ensuing punt to the Virginia Tech 36 yard line.
The good field position resulted in a quick Georgia Tech touchdown. Tashard Choice had three carries for 33 yards and a touchdown on the drive. On his touchdown run, he actually fumbled on the one yard line, but recovered his own fumble in the end zone. The Yellow Jackets were up 38-13 with 3:02 left in the third quarter, and the Hokies couldn’t come back.
Virginia Tech did manage to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t complete the comeback. Elan Lewis punched in a one yard touchdown run with 11:40 left in the game, and at the 3:31 mark Glennon found Eddie Royal in the end zone for a 21 yard touchdown. Those touchdowns made the score 38-27, and that score would stand up for the rest of the game. The game ended with Virginia Tech in possession of the ball at the Georgia Tech two yard line.
The Hokies now have a bye week to get over their loss. They will return to action on Thursday, October 12 when they take on Boston College in Chestnut Hill. Kickoff is set for 7:30, and the game will be televised by ESPN.
STATISTICS
VT GT
---- ----
First downs 25 11
Rushed-yards 27-42 36-142
Passing yards 339 176
Sacked-yards lost 4-45 2-17
Return yards 72 68
Passes 27-54-0 9-17-2
Punts 5-29.0 5-45.8
Fumbles-lost 2-2 1-0
Penalties-yards 5-28 8-83
Time of possession 31:20 28:40
Att: 66,233
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Virginia Tech, Ore 14-59, E.Lewis 5-19, Glennon 8-(-36).
GT, Choice 18-105 Ball 13-34, Grant 5-10.
PASSING-Virginia Tech, Glennon 27-53-339-0. GT, Ball 9-16-176-2.
RECEIVING-Virginia Tech, Royal 7-102, Hyman 6-58, Clowney 5-58,
Harper 4-109, Wheeler 3-4, Allen 1-5, Boone 1-3.
GT, C. Johnson 6-115, J. Johnson 2-62, Grant 1-(-1).
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