Georgia Tech scored on its first two possessions, wrapped around a Virginia three-and-out, and led 13-0 10 minutes in.
And then staged a furious rally, scoring two touchdowns in the final 1:16, before the beleaguered UVA D finally got a stop on the final play.
That one might have been the wildest 48-40 game I’ve ever seen.
Virginia would score on seven straight drives, which is how I’m counting it – there was a drive at the end of the first half that started with 44 seconds left and ended with an incomplete Hail Mary in the end zone in the middle of all that.
It was 48-27 with 3:50 left after Brennan Armstrong, who threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for 99 and two more, and will be the ACC quarterback of the week for the fifth time on Monday, connected with Ra’Shaun Henry on a 20-yard TD.
Jeff Sims capped what looked to be a meaningless Ramblin’ Wreck scoring drive with a 37-yard TD pass to Kalani Norris with 1:16 left to cut the lead to 48-34.
Only, it wasn’t meaningless.
Georgia Tech (3-4, 2-3 ACC) would recover two onside kicks in the final 1:16, which means the Yellow Jackets scored after the first one – on a 5-yard pass from Sims to Kyric McGowan that made it 48-40 with 22 seconds left.
The final drive got to the UVA 30 before a Sims pass into the end zone on the final play was batted down.
That escalated quickly.
I was already done with my gamer when the special-teams staff forgot to tell the hands team about the need to recover onside kicks, so, here goes.
Armstrong was a difference-maker for Virginia (6-2, 4-2 ACC). Keytaon Thompson – the leading pass-catcher, with nine, on 12 targets, for 89 yards, and the second-leading rusher, with 65 yards on seven carries – also a difference-maker.
Dontayvion Wicks had six catches, on 11 targets, for 168 yards, and a 77-yard TD, that one giving UVA (6-2, 4-2 ACC) the lead for good at the 6:36 mark of the second quarter.
All the counting numbers, offensively, looked great – the Cavaliers had 240 yards on the ground, were 7-of-11 on third downs, averaged 8.7 yards per play, were 7-of-7 in the red zone.
The defense: has work to do.
Georgia Tech ended up with 570 yards. Sims threw for 300, the run game accounted for 270 – this, mind you, in defeat.
The special teams: people get reassigned to latrine duty for less.
The hands team, on both onside kicks, acted as if the ball was a hand grenade to be avoided.
Seriously, not one guy in orange was anywhere near either ball.
After the first collective brain fart, you’d think somebody with a headset would say, OK, fellas, here’s the thing.
Nah.
Anyway, we won, on to BYU.
And I need a stiff drink.
Story by Chris Graham
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