WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Georgia Tech isn’t making things easy on itself late in games. Yet the 16th-ranked Yellow Jackets are still unbeaten.
They intercepted Wake Forest’s 2-point play for the win in overtime to edge the Demon Deacons 30-29 on Saturday, capping a wild day that saw them rally from 17 down in the third quarter to stay unbeaten. That came two weeks after needing a fire-drill 55-yard field goal from Aidan Birr to beat Clemson on the final play.
This time, Georgia Tech trailed 20-3 early in the third quarter, then rallied to hold off Wake Forest’s bid for a huge win under first-year coach Jake Dickert.
“The one thing I’ll say about this team: For 60 minutes and then some, there still was not one person on that sideline who didn’t believe we were going to win the football game,” Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said.
Haynes King ran for two touchdowns to lead the Yellow Jackets (5-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), including a tough 2-yard keeper to start the OT. The Demon Deacons (2-2, 0-2) responded with Demond Claiborne’s next-play 25-yard scoring run to the left pylon.
But with Claiborne shaken up on the play and quarterback Robby Ashford hobbled, first-year coach Jake Dickert played for the win. Ashford rolled to his right looking for a target and under pressure, but ultimately had to force the ball back toward the middle — where Clayton Powell-Lee picked it off at the goal line to end it.
That sent the Yellow Jackets on the field to celebrate. Ashford and multiple teammates, meanwhile, were left squatting in disbelief.
“Had an opportunity to go win the game, and we took it,” Dickert said of going for 2. “I would make the same decision.”
Claiborne ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns while Ashford ran for one, helping the Demon Deacons lead 17-3 at halftime.
Georgia Tech forced OT on Birr’s 33-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in regulation, coming on another play with Birr running out onto the field to line up with the clock still rolling.
“Really the whole thing was coming in at halftime, we had to hit a hard reset,” Key said. “There was no yelling and screaming. There was no getting after people. I simply said to them, ‘We have to take a deep breath, blow the first half out, and all that matters is us going out there to win the third quarter.’”
The Takeaways
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets are 5-0 for the first time since 2014.
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons blew a 14-0 lead in their loss to NC State on Sepember 11 and had just 44 second-half yards. They squandered another lead, but finished much stronger in coming oh-so-close to a huge win.
He Said It
“Even though it may not count on the stat sheet, it counts in my heart, honestly.” — Powell-Lee on the OT interception.
Up Next
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets head into an open date before hosting Virginia Tech on October 11.
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons get their own matchup with the Hokies, traveling to Blacksburg on October 4.