BLACKSBURG, Va. – When his team trailed by 11 points in the fourth quarter, Georgia Tech freshman safety Clayton Powell-Lee did not yield his hope or belief.
“I still knew we could win the game, honestly,” Powell-Lee said. “It was a matter of who was going to take it, really, who was going to buckle down for the ride and who was going to step up and make plays when the opportunity came.”
Georgia Tech’s final tangle with Virginia Tech as ACC Coastal Division rivals did not bear the trappings of past matchups. It was not on ESPN, played before an electrified crowd or for a spot in the conference title game, as past Tech-Tech matchups so often have been. But it did bring to the surface – at least on the winning side – the grittiness and resolve that have characterized this series. Taking hold of the game as Powell-Lee envisioned in the game’s final act, the Yellow Jackets seized a 28-27 win Saturday at Lane Stadium, rallying from a 27-16 deficit with less than 10 minutes left in the game.
“Really good win for these guys to get up, to be down, to persevere, to keep fighting through,” interim coach Brent Key said. “It really showed the character of these guys.”
Powell-Lee did more than his part, intercepting quarterback Grant Wells in the fourth quarter to set the stage for the Jackets’ go-ahead touchdown drive. He also fell on a fumble by Wells (forced by linebacker Charlie Thomas) in the final minute to thwart the Hokies’ final possession.
“It’s my first,” Powell-Lee, son of former Jackets wide receiver Gary Lee, said of the interception. “Hopefully, I’ll get many more throughout my career here.”
The drive was capped by quarterback Zach Pyron’s 9-yard scramble into the end zone with 3:30 left in the game that lifted Tech into its final 28-27 advantage. It was the final lead change of a game in which the Jackets led 10-0 and then fell behind 20-10 and 27-16 before finally making the last charge in the fourth quarter.
In that way, it did bear the markings of the series between the two teams who once dominated the Coastal Division – unpredictable swings triggered by big plays. It wasn’t in other ways, such as the fact that both teams came into the game with losing records and neither has a shot at the Coastal in the last year of the ACC’s two-division format. The Hokies (2-7, 1-5 ACC) lost their sixth game in a row, their longest slide since 1987.
But the Jackets (4-5, 3-3) came to Lane Stadium trying to be better than the unit that had fallen in the past two games to Virginia and Florida State with an ineffective run game and other flaws. Against a team that clearly is struggling but can still play defense, the Jackets gave a much better account of themselves.
Georgia Tech outgained Virginia Tech 463-304 and won the turnover margin 4-1. Pyron, making his first career start in place of starter Jeff Sims (available only on emergency basis with a sprained foot), didn’t back down after throwing a fluky interception that was returned for a touchdown that increased the Hokies’ lead to 27-16 with 4:03 to play in the third quarter. He led two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, making clutch plays with his arm and feet.
The Jackets’ offensive line, which was short two members of its three-guard rotation, had to shuffle pieces around (right tackle Jordan Williams moved to right guard and Jakiah Leftwich made his first career start at right tackle) and still created the holes for 210 rushing yards, well north of the Hokies’ season average for rushing defense (124.6 yards per game) and drastic improvement on the run production in Tech’s past two games (a combined 122 yards). Running back Dontae Smith led with 85 yards on nine carries, including a 29-yard touchdown run in which he broke at least three tackle attempts that opened the scoring in the first quarter.
“Just work,” said Key, explaining the line’s improved play. “Go to work, find a way. There’s no excuses.”
The team also was lessened by having had multiple team members get hit with flu symptoms this week, including guard Paula Vaipulu (who did not play) and Powell-Lee, who was away from the team until returning to practice Thursday.
“I watched a lot of film while I was taking care of myself, watched a lot of film, so I knew when I got out there, it wouldn’t be anything new to me,” Powell-Lee said.
There were still mistakes to fix, namely a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown that the Jackets allowed in the second quarter, one that gave Virginia Tech a 20-10 lead with 50 seconds left in the half. It was the second touchdown that the punt team has allowed in the past four games, a different leak after having solved the punt-blocking problems.
“There’s things in all three phases that we’ve got to work on, that we’ve got to get back in (Sunday) get cleaned up and fixed before we move on to the next game,” Key said.
Georgia Tech also continues to struggle in the red zone, settling for field goals of 19 and 22 yards after two separate drives stalled inside the Hokies’ 10-yard line. But, to the Jackets’ credit, Gavin Stewart made the field goals (he is now 12-for-12 this season) as the team’s field-goal inconsistency recedes further into the past. And Stewart made a third field goal, from 27 yards, as time expired in the first half, a momentum-changing score after the punt returned for a touchdown. It cut the lead to 20-13.
“That drive right before halftime, we were able to get down here and get points was really, really critical, I thought, to the outcome of the game,” Key said.
It was good for a slice of history for the Jackets to take home to Atlanta. The Jackets became the second visiting team in the history of Lane Stadium (opened in 1965) to beat the Hokies in four consecutive trips, following Clemson. Tech built on wins claimed there in 2014, 2016 and 2018. The 2016 and 2018 wins, coincidentally, also were claimed with backup quarterbacks at the helm – Matthew Jordan in 2016 and Tobias Oliver in 2018.
Add Zach Pyron to the ledger, and give credit to the Jackets for taking care of business.
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