BOSTON (AP) — With a shot at the Atlantic Coast Conference championship possibly slipping away, Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King had one thought in mind when he stepped back onto the field late in the fourth quarter Saturday.
“Whatever it takes,” King said after the 14th-ranked Yellow Jackets rallied for a 36-34 victory over struggling Boston College on Aidan Birr’s 23-yard field goal with 11 seconds left.
The comeback kept the Yellow Jackets tied for first place in the ACC, with a showdown at home against No. 23 Pittsburgh coming up next Saturday. A win puts them in the league championship game.
“It’s good to come out with a win. Always happy to get a win no matter how the win occurs or who it’s against,” Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said. “We have a chance next week to play for a championship, to play in the game, and that’s all you can ask for.”
King completed 26-of-34 passes for 371 yards and a touchdown as the Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1, No. 16 CFP) stayed even with No. 20 Virginia (No. 19 CFP) atop the conference standings.
Dylan Lonergan went 26-of-40 for 362 yards and two TDs for the Eagles (1-10, 0-7), who lost their 10th straight game.
With a solid chance at the ACC championship and potentially the College Football Playoff at stake, Georgia Tech fell behind early in the second half and trailed 28-17 late in the third quarter.
After taking the lead, the Yellow Jackets fell behind again 34-33 when Turbo Richard scored on a 43-yard run up the middle with 2:05 remaining. But the Eagles failed on the 2-point try.
King then marched Georgia Tech 69 yards in 13 plays before Birr’s winning kick.
“We had to go down and win it,” King said. “We did the job and we executed plays. Got it on the perimeter a little bit and continued to move the ball when we needed to and convert on third down.”
The game ended when Lonergan’s Hail Mary was batted down near the goal line as time expired.
“It was a great effort,” Boston College coach Bill O’Brien said. “I’m very proud of these guys. Very proud of the team.”
Jordan Allen broke free down the left sideline for a 54-yard touchdown with just over six minutes left, moving the Yellow Jackets ahead 33-28.
Georgia Tech had clawed back and cut it to 28-26 on Jamal Haynes’ 2-yard score with 7 1/2 minutes to play. But lining up with an unbalanced formation, King was stopped short on the 2-point try.
Jordan McDonald’s 14-yard TD run pushed BC ahead 21-14 on its first drive of the second half.
Birr’s 34-yard field goal sliced it to 21-17 before Lonergan engineered a 75-yard drive, capping it off by hitting Reed Harris, who caught a short pass before breaking a couple of tackles and going in for an 18-yard score.
Coming off an upset loss at NC State two weeks ago, the Yellow Jackets grabbed a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter when Malik Rutherford caught a short pass near the line of scrimmage and burst free for a 71-yard TD.
The Takeaway
Georgia Tech: There are suddenly some big cracks in the defense and it’s coming at the wrong time. The Yellow Jackets gave up 583 yards in the loss to NC State and 537 to BC.
“We’ve got some things we’ve got to correct and fix,” Key said. “Coming off the bye week, I expected us to play better.”
Boston College: O’Brien made the right move in rotating his starting quarterback for the third straight game and going back to Lonergan. Grayson James started the other one. Lonergan transferred to BC from Alabama, where he was recruited by O’Brien when he was the offensive coordinator there.
Record Holder
BC receiver Lewis Bond made eight catches and became the school’s career leader with 206, surpassing Zay Flowers, who had 200 from 2019-22.
Growing Up
“I think honestly last year I kind of went through a tough time and that kind of built me up for this,” Birr said of his game-winning kick. “If this was last year I probably would have been freaking out, to be honest.”
Up Next
Georgia Tech: Hosts No. 23 Pittsburgh next Saturday.
Boston College: Travels to Syracuse on November 29 for its season finale.