Key Moments From Wake Forest's Close Loss to Georgia Tech

Take a look at some drives and plays that may have decided the outcome

Lineman George Sell puts arm around quarterback Robby Ashford | Evan Harris/Wake Forest on SI

Wake Forest was narrowly defeated in a heartbreaker on Saturday against the ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets by a score of 30-29. Four quarters were not enough to decide the outcome of this one, as overtime was needed to decide a winner. Despite being one of the most entertaining college football games of the weekend, a lot of Deacon fans probably have mixed emotions.

Some fans are probably upset over a blown 17-point lead in the second half, which included back-to-back Yellow Jacket touchdown drives in the third quarter. Some are probably angry over the blatantly missed offside penalty that would have put the Deacs in victory formation. Others are still probably optimistic about the way the team battled and fought against a top-20 opponent with some adversity. Whichever camp you fall into, here are some big moments from the game that played a pivotal role in deciding the outcome.

Ashford Goes Down in the Third Quarter

Coach Dickert and Wake Forest team overlooking injuried quarterback Robby Ashford | Evan Harris/Wake Forest on SI

This one hurt. The second half was a struggle for Wake while leading NC State a couple of weeks ago, so fans may have been a bit nervy despite holding a 14-point lead at the break. However, the Deacs' offense looked like they were finally hitting their stride and moving the ball with an Ashford 29-yard run to set them up nicely in Georgia Tech territory to start the second half. That is when hardship struck for the Deacs as Ashford went down with a lower-body injury and had to leave the game. After that, backup Deshawn Purdie completed a nice pass, but then the offense stalled and Wake had to settle for a field goal.

The Deacs were able to get as close as the Georgia Tech 7-yard line. If they were to punch that in, they would have made it a 21-point contest and a much larger mountain for Georgia Tech to climb. If they had their starting QB, who looked like he was finding his rhythm with this offense, who knows how the outcome could have differed. Maybe the Deacs wouldn't have had to settle for three and instead cranked up the pressure even more on the Yellow Jackets with a touchdown. We will never truly know, but it's definitely something worth thinking about.

Ashford's injury also affected the next drive as Wake had to settle for a three-and-out at a critical point after a Georgia Tech touchdown in the third quarter. As previously mentioned, up to this point, Wake's offense was firing on all cylinders and looked to be wearing the Yellow Jackets down. However, this quick three-and-out put Haynes King and the Tech offense right back on the field with momentum, which resulted in another touchdown.

Overall, I know most fans will want to talk about the missed call on Wake's final drive of regulation. I agree, it was an atrocious missed call at the wrong moment, but the Deacs had already allowed a 17-point comeback by Georgia Tech before that point. If the Deacs had their QB in the game during those critical third-quarter moments, maybe they would have ended up closing the door on Tech before the comeback was possible.