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ACCDN Video: Malik Rosier & Darrell Langham 4th Down Completion | Travis Homer Carries Miami In Rain-Soaked Win vs. GT | Georgia Tech Makes Miami Pay For Onside Kick | TaQuon Marshall Fights Off Sack For TD Pass
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (hurricanesports.com) – Darrell Langham has a flair for the dramatic.
A week after the redshirt junior scored the game-winning touchdown with six seconds left at Florida State, Langham hauled in a pass on fourth-and-10 from the Miami 43 and turned it into a 28-yard gain for a first down and gave the Hurricanes life.
Four plays later, Michael Badgley hit a game-winning 24-yard field goal to push Miami (5-0, 3-0 ACC) past Georgia Tech (3-2, 2-1 ACC), 25-24, and preserve the Hurricanes undefeated season before 55,799 fans at Hard Rock Stadium.
While Miami's final drive began with 2:30 left in the game, the Hurricanes' surge began at the start of the fourth quarter. With a downpour falling just as the final 15 minutes of play were set to begin, Miami charged down the field for a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive that ended with a 27-yard Homer touchdown. Miami went for two, but failed to convert and the Canes trailed the Yellow Jackets, 24-22.
Homer was outstanding for the Hurricanes, finishing with a career-high rushing 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. The sophomore running back, who made his first career-start, averaged 8.5 yards per carry against the Yellow Jackets on Saturday.
Miami's outstanding fourth quarter was preceded by three quarters of strong play by Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes scored first, with Badgley hitting the first of his four field goals on the day to put the Canes up, 3-0.
But Georgia Tech's triple option offense responded with a pair of touchdowns by J.J. Green to take a 14-3 lead. The first was a five-yard run to cap a seven-play, 76-yard drive, while the second was a result of some good luck.
The Yellow Jackets increased their lead to 11 when quarterback TaQuon Marshall evaded the Miami rush and threw a pass to Green just before a Hurricane defender could bring him down and Green hauled in the desperation lob for a three-yard touchdown.
The Hurricanes got going on the ground in the second quarter, as quarterback Rosier rushed for 13 yards and Homer followed with a 32-yard run to the Tech 20-yardline. Badgley hit his second field goal of the game, a 32-yarder, to bring the Canes within eight, 14-6.
Miami found the end zone with 12 seconds left in the opening half, when Homer caught a pass from Rosier and sprinted in for six points from 17 yards out to send the Hurricanes into the locker room down, 14-13. Rosier finished the game completing 23 of 37 pass attempts for 297 yards and a touchdown.
The Hurricanes tried to catch the Yellow Jackets off guard with the opening kickoff of the second half, but things did not go as planned. Badgley kicked onside towards Berrios, who was waiting for the ball to travels the required 10 yards before recovering it, but Lamont Simmons cut the ball off and sprinted 42 yards to the end zone for a touchdown to put Georgia Tech up 21-13.
The Yellow Jackets added a 31-yard field goal by Brenton King to go up, 24-13, but Miami charged back when Rosier hit freshman Jeff Thomas for a career-long 70-yard gain that was the Canes' longest passing play of the 2017 season. Three plays later, Badgley hit his third field goal of the day to bring the Canes within eight, 24-16.
Miami's defense was outstanding, holding Georgia Tech to under 281 yards of total offense for the game. The Hurricanes and shut out the Yellow Jackets in the fourth quarter, holding them to just 12 total yards.
Safety Jaquan Johnson and linebacker Shaquille Quarterman tied for the team lead with eight tackles apiece, while the Canes combined for seven tackles for loss and defensive lineman Chad Thomas and linebacker Zach McCloud each recorded a sack.
The defense's stout play in the final quarter allowed the Hurricanes' offense to make up the nine-point deficit it faced. The final drive, which began with 2:30 remaining on the clock, began at the Hurricanes' 10-yard line.
Rosier led his second straight game-winning drive by using his veterans. The redshirt junior signal caller connected with seniors Braxton Berrios and Christopher Herndon IV for a combined seven completions before he found Langham downfield near the right sideline. The 6-foot-4 wideout reached over the Georgia Tech corner and tipped the ball in the air before corralling it as he was falling to the ground.
Miami returns to Hard Rock Stadium next Saturday to host Syracuse at 3:30 p.m. Georgia Tech will host Wake Forest on Saturday Oct. 21.