BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — There was no question as to what the turning point was to Friday’s Birmingham Bowl, and it turned the game very sour, very quickly for Georgia Tech in what ended up being a 35-27 loss to Vanderbilt at Protective Stadium.
Tech (7-6) saw a 14-13 deficit balloon to 35-13 in a span of less than six minutes in the second half. It was a period marred by scuffles and penalties, and while some of the calls by the officials were questionable from the Jackets’ point of view, their inability to weather the storm of adversity cost them dearly.
“Just trying to keep the guys’ heads together, it got kind of chippy out there. Emotions got the best of us at times,” Tech safety LaMiles Brooks said. “But, ultimately, it’s on us to try to keep our composure and our emotions in check.”
Added a very hoarse Tech coach Brent Key: “There was dialogue, and we have to control what we can control as a football team.”
Things really got heated toward the end of the third quarter when Tech linebacker Trenilyas Tatum was called for pass interference on a deep ball down the left sideline. That ruling gave Vandy a first down instead of forcing the Commodores to punt.
To compound the issue, Key lost his cool on the sideline and was flagged 15 more yards for unsportsmanlike conduct for berating an official. On the next snap, cornerback Ahmari Harvey was called for defensive holding, moving the ball to the Tech 22.
Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia scrambled for four yards on the next snap and ran out of bounds on his sideline. A small shoving match ensued there, while on the other side Tech cornerback Ahmari Harvey’s helmet came flying off as he grappled with a Vandy receiver. Four unsportsmanlike penalties were called on the play.
Pavia, who was also called for taunting during the course of the game, threw a 3-yard touchdown pass one play later and the Commodores never looked back.
“Anybody that knows me and has seen me the entire time I’ve been a head coach knows that I never let emotions become part of the game with me,” Key said in reference to his unsportsmanlike penalty. “Everyone knows how I coach on the sideline and the reason I coach that way on the sideline.”
That series of events all came after an initial call that sparked controversy. Tech punt returner Bailey Stockton was tackled before fielding a Vanderbilt punt, a play originally flagged for kick-catcher interference. The officials instead waved off the penalty and the Jackets started their drive from their own 2, gained seven yards and punted.
Tech was called for 10 penalties Friday, its most since being flagged 11 times at Miami on Oct. 7, 2023. Those 10 penalties amounted in 100 yards, the most for the Jackets since 142 at Wake Forest on Sept. 23, 2023.
Pavia impresses
Vandy’s quarterback Pavia, a 6-foot, 207-pound transfer from New Mexico State, was as advertised Friday.
Pavia went 13-for-21 passing for 160 yards with touchdown throws of 7, 3 and 7 yards. He also ran for 84 yards and two scores in leading Vandy to its first bowl victory since 2014.
“I don’t want this to sound cocky, but I will never have a losing season,” Pavia, the game’s MVP, said after the win. “I told (Vanderbilt assistant) coach (Jerry) Kill that walking in today: I’m not losing today.”
Pavia, know as much for his bravado as his ability, walked the walk inside Protective Stadium as well. After a 4-yard run to the Tech 7 late in the third, Pavia threw the ball tauntingly into the stands. He was charged a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, but came right back with a 15-yard run and then threw a 7-yard touchdown pass on first play of the fourth quarter.
Jackets miss out on milestones
Tech’s four-month season ended with a loss, and with that the program failed to reach eight wins again, something it hasn’t done since 2016.
The Jackets also could have notched back-to-back bowl victories, having won the 2023 Gasparilla Bowl, but the 2003-2004 teams remain the last two Tech squads to do that.
Tech has also now lost 11 straight games against teams from the SEC — a 2016 win over Georgia marking the last time the Jackets topped an SEC program.
NOTES
- There was a 52-minute lightning delay in the fourth quarter.
- Tech right tackle Jordan Williams made his 53rd start at Tech, a program record.
- Tech wide receiver Malik Rutherford has caught a pass in 29 straight games, which is tied for the fourth-longest streak in program history. Harvey Middleton holds the program record at 40 straight games.
- Key is 18-16 overall as Tech’s coach and 12-3 at Tech after a loss.
- King became the first Tech quarterback to post back-to-back 2,000-yard passing seasons since Reggie Ball in 2004 and 2005.
- King has 41 touchdown passes in his Tech career, tied with George Godsey for the fourth-most in program history.
- King has 4,956 passing yards as a Jacket, the sixth-most in a Tech career.
- King’s completion percentage of 72.86 (196-for-269) for the 2024 season is a Tech single-season record.
- Tech running back Jamal Haynes has 2,003 career rushing yards, the 18th-most in a Tech career.
- Tech kicker Aidan Birr has 32 career field goals which is tied for the sixth-most in Tech history and 178 kicking points, also the sixth-most in program history.
- Tech fell to 15-4 under Key when rushing for at least 180 yards.
- Tech is 20-16-3 against Vanderbilt.
- Attendance on Friday was announced as 33,840.
