Georgia Tech Pulls Massive Upset Over Pittsburgh
It was the first game for Georgia Tech under interim head coach Brent Key and for his first game as the interim head coach, he had to take on the 24th-ranked Pitt Panthers on the road.
Here is the complete game summary of Georgia Tech's big win against Pitt on the road.
First Quarter
Jeff Sims nearly threw a pick-six on the first play on what was a late read. After an overthrow, it was third and ten, and Sims found a way to scramble for a first down. Sims was using his legs early and picked up another first down just a couple of plays later.
Sims made a terrific throw to E.J. Jenkins later on in the drive and Jenkins made a fantastic catch to get Georgia Tech into Pitt territory. The drive would stall out and Georgia Tech would have to settle for a field goal, which is obviously no sure thing with this team. Gavin Stewart made the attempt and after the first drive, Georgia Tech had an early lead on Pitt 3-0.
The Georgia Tech defense held up on the first drive and forced a three and out. D'Quan Douse got a big pressure on first down and the Tech forced two more incompletions to make the Panthers punt. I was surprised that Pitt did not come out and try to run the ball on the first drive, considering the way that Israel Abanikanda has been playing.
The second drive for the Georgia Tech offense was not a good one. A pair of runs went nowhere resulting in a third and long and then Sims nearly threw another interception. Tech would punt the ball back after a three and out and give the ball back to the Panthers.
Georgia Tech's defense would continue to have a good start and LaMiles Brooks made a great hit on the drive to force an incompletion and get the ball back for the offense.
It was a dreadful third series for the offense. A bad exchange on the handoff and a stuffed run led to a scramble by Sims on third and 23 and then a punt.
After punting the ball back to Pitt, the Panthers had a false start before the first play of the drive that made it 1st and 15. After a couple of failed plays, Sylvain Yondjouen sacked Slovis and Georgia Tech's defense forced another three and out.
On the fourth drive for the Yellow Jackets offense, Sims nearly threw another interception. He was really careless with the ball in the first quarter and nearly cost his team several times. An offensive pass interference call pushed the Yellow Jackets' offense back and it forced the Georgia Tech offense into another three and out. It looked like Pitt was going to get the ball back, but a roughing the kicker call on the punt gave the ball back to the Yellow Jackets.
After a nice run on second down by Hassan Hall that gave the Tech offense a first down, Calijah Kancey got a big sack for Pitt that put Georgia Tech into a bad down and distance situation. Sims would have a designed run for little gain and that is how the first quarter ended.
Georgia Tech outgained Pittsburgh 56-5 in the first quarter and dominated the time of possession.
Second Quarter
The 2nd quarter would open up with another Pitt sack on third down and Georgia Tech would have to punt the ball away.
Georgia Tech would give up their first first down on defense courtesy of a run by Vincent Davis and he had a good drive for Pitt early in the second quarter.
A false start by Pitt's right guard and then a timeout by Pat Narduzzi put Georgia Tech's defense back in a good position to get a stop. After the defensive line, led by Keion White, got pressure on third down, Georgia Tech would get the ball back.
The Yellow Jackets could not do anything with the ball however and after Pitt got their third sack of the half, Georgia Tech would have to punt the ball back again.
Pitt would begin to move the ball on the ground on their next drive and would even pick up a fourth down and five. Abanikanda was really starting to get going and the Tech defense was starting to show signs of cracking, but Jaylon King got a big stop on a third down. It looked like Pitt would try for a 51-yard field goal, but opted to go for it instead. The Yellow Jackets' defense got the stop and the offense would take over.
The Yellow Jackets would open up with a big run by Sims that would get them into Pitt territory. Hall would then have a nine-yard carry, but Sims was stuffed on second and one, setting up a big third and short. Dontae Smith would be stuffed and Stewart would be brought on to try and extend the lead with a field goal. Stewart's kick was good and Tech extended the lead to 6-0.
Pitt would get the ball back looking to score before the half. The Panthers would drive down the field and Slovis would find his tight end, Gavin Bartholomew, for a touchdown that gave the Panthers a 7-6 lead.
Pittsburgh tight end Gavin Bartholomew flips into the end zone for a touchdown
Georgia Tech would get the ball back with over a minute left and three timeouts, but could not move the ball and had to punt the ball back with 45 seconds remaining in the half.
It was a rough first half for Georgia Tech on offense. The Yellow Jackets only managed 100 total yards and Sims was 3-12 for 37 yards. Tech had 63 yards rushing on 23 carries.
The good thing was that the defense was playing well and their best player, linebacker Charlie Thomas, was going to come back for the second half.
Third quarter
Pitt would get the ball to start the second half and they would be trying to extend their lead. The Panthers were looking to come out and run the ball in the second half and had success.
It was not long for Thomas to make his impact felt. Pitt fumbled on a third down and he took it all the way back into Pitt territory.
The Yellow Jacket's offense would do nothing with the great field position and Stewart would have to attempt another field goal. He made the kick and Georgia Tech would retake the lead 9-7.
Pitt would get the ball back and Slovis would find Jared Wayne for a quick first down. After a good sequence of plays, Derrik Allen forced an incompletion and Pitt would have to punt the ball away to the Yellow Jackets.
Sims would start the drive off by having a great run for a first down that got the offense moving, but then Jenkins dropped a wide-open first down catch. On a third and long, Sims would pick up the first down with his legs and extend the drive for Georgia Tech.
The offense would not be able to keep moving the ball however and was forced to punt the ball away to the Panthers.
Slovis would find Bartholomew for a first down on the first play of the drive to get the Pitt offense moving early on in the drive. Davis would start running the ball well and Pitt was moving well towards the end of the quarter.
It was not long before Thomas made another game-changing play by Thomas, who picked off Slovis near the end of the quarter. It can't be understated how good Thomas is and what he does for this defense.
4th Quarter
Georgia Tech's offense had a tough time getting anything going on offense
The fourth quarter would start off with a holding penalty on the Pitt defense and Georgia Tech would be moving the ball down the field to try and extend the lead.
On a 3rd and 11 play, Hall looked like he was stopped dead in his tracks, but the whole team pushed the pile and got the first down. It showed the kind of heart this team played with tonight and was a great effort.
The drive would stall out after another near interception from Sims and Stewart would have to come out for another field goal attempt. Stewart would make it 4-4 and extend the lead to 12-7.
On the first play of the next drive, Pitt coughed the ball up and gave it right back to Georgia Tech. It was the third turnover forced by Georgia Tech's defense.
Gavin Stewart played fantastic for Georgia Tech tonight
The offense started off deep into Pitt territory and was looking to add more points to the scoreboard. Sims would find Jenkins in the back of the end zone and Tech would go up 19-7. It was starting to feel like the Yellow Jackets were getting close to a massive upset.
The next drive would not start out well for the Yellow Jackets. Slovis would find Mumpfield and Wayne for back-to-back first downs and the Panther's offense was moving. The offense would move backward after an intentional grounding call and Pitt's offense was moving backward. A few plays later, the Yellow Jackets got a stop and forced another punt from Pitt.
Hall would move the Yellow Jackets into Pitt territory with a couple of huge runs and it looked like Tech would put even more points on the board.
After a touchdown by Hall was wiped off the board, Tech would go for it on fourth down, but a fade to Jenkins was incomplete and Pitt would get the ball back down 12 with less than four minutes left in the game.
Pitt would drive the ball 99 yards and pull within five points of Georgia Tech. After a squib kick, Georgia Tech would get the ball back with a chance to put the game away. Hall would bust off for a huge gain and deep into Pitt territory.
A few plays later, Sims would run into the end zone and get a touchdown to put the game at 26-14 and it would seal the deal. Georgia Tech would pull off their biggest win in years and the Brent Key era would start off on the right foot.
This is the biggest win for this program in quite some time and a lot of credit should go to Key and the coaching staff, but also to the players who have had to deal with everything this week. Hopefully, the momentum can continue at home against Duke, who is currently 4-1.
It might not have been pretty, but Georgia Tech got a win as a three-touchdown underdog on the road against the defending ACC champions in the first game under an interim head coach. It was the first road win vs an AP-ranked opponent since 2016.
Huge night for the Yellow Jackets. A crazy week has an incredibly satisfying ending.
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