BLACKSBURG, Va. —
Cody Journell kicked a 17-yard field goal in overtime and No. 16 Virginia Tech beat Georgia Tech 20-17 on Monday night.
Georgia Tech got the ball first in overtime, but quarterback Tevin Washington threw the ball away under pressure and was intercepted.
Tevin Washington’s 10-yard touchdown pass with 44 seconds left in regulation had given the Yellow Jackets a 17-14 lead.
Logan Thomas then drove the Hokies and Journell’s 41-yard field goal tied it at the end of regulation.
After Washington’s turnover in overtime, needing only to score to win, the Hokies got runs of 6 and 18 yards from Michael Holmes, before Journell spared them another crushing loss in a big early game.
The Hokies trailed 17-14 until Journell, who had earlier missed from 38 yards, made his first kick.
Until his overtime mistake and Journell’s clutch kicking, Washington was primed to be the star of the game.
Georgia Tech’s run-first quarterback hit Deon Hill with a 10-yard touchdown pass with 44 seconds remaining, stunning the sellout crowd in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.
Four plays earlier, Washington was flushed from the pocket on a fourth-and-6 play from the Hokies 37, and after eluding a pass rusher, he found B.J. Bostic with three defenders around him for a 19-yard gain on the right sideline to keep the drive alive.
The Hokies, who had gone ahead on Thomas’ 42-yard scoring pass to Demitri Knowles — his first collegiate catch — with 7:46 to play, got the ball back and drove to the Yellow Jackets 24 with 6 seconds remaining.
The Yellow Jackets used a timeout to try to ice Journell, but his kick sailed went through the uprights to tie it at 17.
Fans, most of whom came clad in orange, didn’t even wait for the officials to signal the kick good, but took their cues from the reactions of those with a better view and were already celebrating having scored more points in the last 7:46 than the first 52:14. Before the offensive flurry in the fourth quarter, the game was a punting contest that turned on a punt that went awry.
Georgia Tech had managed just two first downs when Hokies freshman punter A.J. Hughes set them up with a mistake. Dropped back in punt formation near midfield, he let a snap go through his hands and scrambled to fall on it for a 22-yard loss.
That put the Yellow Jackets at the Hokies 24, and three runs tied it. On the 12-yard touchdown, Robert Godhigh went wide around the left side, dodged defenders, broke several tackles and scored easily, making it 7-7 just 26 seconds into the second quarter.
The mistake seemed to knock the Hokies off their stride, and neither team threatened the rest of the half.
The Yellow Jackets finally started moving the ball and went ahead 10-7 on a 34-yard field goal by David Scully to start the fourth quarter.
The score came after a 15-play, 56-yard drive that not only took 7:18 off the clock, but included three short third-down conversions and left the Hokies defenders looking as if the high humidity was finally starting to wear them down.
After falling behind, Thomas and the offense finally gave the defense a break, driving from their 23 to the Yellow Jackets 21 in 11 plays, but Journell missed.
The rested Hokies didn’t let it keep them down long, holding the Yellow Jackets and forcing a punt.
This time, Thomas worked quickly. He hit Marcus Davis for 35 yards on second down, and when Davis fumbled the ball at the end of the run, Corey Fuller recovered at the Yellow Jackets 42.
On the next play, Thomas hit speedy wide receiver Demitri Knowles for the touchdown in the right corner, his first career reception.
Knowles beat Rod Sweeting, who also was called for pass interference on the play.
The Hokies had the upper hand early, moving the ball and stopping the Yellow Jackets on three plays on their first series.
Thomas did the bulk of the work for the Hokies, running 4 yards for a first down on a third-and-2 play, and hitting Kyle Fuller for 12 yards on third-and-11 from the Georgia Tech 34.
After two runs by Michael Holmes for 17 yards, Thomas floated a touch pass over the Yellow Jackets defense to Eric Martin for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
*****
Georgia Tech 0 7 0 10 0 — 17
Virginia Tech 7 0 0 10 3 — 20
First Quarter
VT—Martin 5 pass from Thomas (Journell kick), 6:12.
Second Quarter
GaT—Godhigh 12 run (Scully kick), 14:34.
Fourth Quarter
GaT—FG Scully 34, 14:57.
VT—Knowles 42 pass from Thomas (Journell kick), 7:46.
GaT—Hill 10 pass from Washington (Scully kick), :44.
VT—FG Journell 41, :00.
Overtime
VT—FG Journell 17.
A—65,632.
———
GaT VT
First downs 17 19
Rushes-yards 55-192 35-96
Passing 96 230
Comp-Att-Int 10-16-1 21-38-0
Return Yards 1 0
Punts-Avg. 7-40.0 6-36.2
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 5-35 3-15
Time of Possession 35:40 24:20
———
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Georgia Tech, Washington 19-63, Sims 13-42, Bostic 5-35, Laskey 7-28, Godhigh 3-12, Perkins 3-5, Days 1-4, O.Smith 4-3. Virginia Tech, Holmes 13-54, Thomas 15-40, Coleman 4-25, Team 3-(minus 23).
PASSING—Georgia Tech, Washington 10-15-1-96, Bostic 0-1-0-0. Virginia Tech, Thomas 21-38-0-230.
RECEIVING—Georgia Tech, O.Smith 4-52, Godhigh 2-11, Hill 2-9, Bostic 1-19, Sims 1-5. Virginia Tech, M.Davis 6-82, C.Fuller 5-82, Malleck 3-3, Holmes 2-7, Roberts 2-5, Knowles 1-42, Martin 1-5, Phillips 1-4.
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