Yellow Jackets Hang On To Beat NC State
Tech Gains Win #7 When Last-second Wolfpack Field Goal Attempt Goes Wide
NC State hung in, but Georgia Tech hung on, and the Yellow Jackets escaped with a big win by a small margin on a cold Thursday night in Atlanta.
A former Tech coach from just a few years back might have summed this one up by relying on the math..." Last time I checked, 30 was more than 29'' might have been his quote. Indeed 30 is more than 29, and that salient fact is about the only part of this story that makes easy sense.
In any given game, after all the stats are scrutinized, and the many twists and turns are relived, the difference between winning and losing can literally come down to a few inches. That was the case at Bobby Dodd Stadium where that thin distinction was between one team winning by a single point, or the other winning by two– and a 58 yard field goal attempt was the fork in that road. Fortunately for Georgia Tech, that kick went just a bit wide to the left and the Jackets had a victory.
In the early going, Tech controlled the game– albeit with a troubling tendency to depend on field goals, not to mention uncommonly bountiful production from the Yellow Jackets' defense. And as is often the case in that scenario, when the Wolfpack awakened offensively , things got a bit dicey for Georgia Tech.
The Jackets got off to a quick start early when EJ Lightsey gathered in an errant pass on a bizarre looking play the ' Pack tried deep in their own end on their first possession. Lightsey rumbled in for the 21 yard touchdown return and Tech was up 7-0 early in the first quarter.
But State came right back down to tie it up on a short run by their QB CJ Bailey. From there, Tech controlled play but was unable to get into the endzone, instead adding six points on two Aidan Birr field goals to lead 13- 7 at the half.
Another Birr field goal was the only scoring in the third quarter and Tech seemed in control at 16-7. But it would not be that easy.
Both offenses revved hotter in the final stanza, starting with another TD sprint by Bailey on the quarter's first play .
Tech scored next on a short run by Haynes King after a Romelo Height interception set Tech up at the NC State three yard line. That score put Tech back up by nine, but that margin didn't last long.
Bailey scored his third touchdown of the contest on State's next possession, and after Tech turned it over on downs, Wolfpack RB Hollywood Smothers sprinted in from 53 yards to give the visitors their first lead of the game. With only a minute and a half to play , Tech was down by five at home.
On this Senior Night, it was freshman Aaron Philo who led Tech back one more time.
He began the next possession from the Tech 25 following a touchback on the kickoff. From there, Philo gave Tech fans hos best Patrick Mahomes impression, orchestrating a 75 yard drive in seven plays and consuming only 58 seconds in the process. Philo himself covered the final 36 yards on two successive running plays. Birr hit the PAT and Tech was up by one.
NC State got the ball back on their own 31 following the next kickoff. Bailey immediately hit Dacari Collins for 28 yards to Tech's 41. Bailey's next throw was incomplete , leading to a 58 yard field goal attempt by Collins Smith.
It sailed outside the left upright , preserving a nail -biter of a win for Tech and sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
At 7-4 overall, Tech finished 5-3 in the ACC for the second consecutive year, the first time that has happened since 2013 and 2014.
That's just one more indicator that Tech has gained a substantial measure of success and stability that had been missing in the program since the end of the Paul Johnson era.
The Wolfpack fell to 5-6 and must now win over UNC to secure bowl eligibility.
This game may live on for its implied significance as the official presentation of Aaron Philo as Tech quarterback. The freshman had been pressed into sporadic duty in preceding weeks due to injury to Haynes King and overall ineffectiveness in the play of Zach Pyron against Notre Dame and Virginia Tech.
In this win over NC State, Philo was the key to victory, engineering the winning drive with confidence and poise under very limited time constraints. He looked comfortable at the controls and his role going forward will continue to grow.
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports.com