ATLANTA — TaQuon Marshall got two long touchdown passes out of his only completions, including an 80-yarder to Ricky Jeune with 6 ½ minutes remaining, and Ajani Kerr swatted away a fourth-pass in the end zone to preserve Georgia Tech's 28-22 upset of No. 17 Virginia Tech on Saturday.
In a game with several huge momentum swings, Virginia Tech rallied from a 21-9 deficit in the second half. The Hokies (7-3, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) went ahead 22-21 when Greg Stroman returned an interception 24 yards for a touchdown off a terrible pass by Marshall with 7:27 left.
The Georgia Tech quarterback made up for his mistake just two snaps later, after the Yellow Jackets recovered a fumbled kickoff. Jeune got loose behind the secondary, hauled in the long throw and just managed to stick the ball inside the pylon before tumbling out of bounds .
It was the longest touchdown pass of the season for the Yellow Jackets (5-4, 4-3), surpassing Marshall's 60-yard scoring play to Brad Stewart early in the second half.
On its final possession, Virginia Tech converted a pair of fourth-down plays and faced third-and-1 at the Georgia Tech 32 with plenty of time to pull off the winning touchdown against a team that had lost three games by a total of six points.
But, on a day when he made a number of curious calls, Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente called a pair of passes rather than running for the first down. Both were incomplete, including a deep pass down the middle for Cam Phillips that Kerr knocked away.
Finally, Georgia Tech won a close one.
The Yellow Jackets rushed for 261 yards, led by KirVonte Benson with 86 yards on 22 carries.
TAKEAWAYS
Virginia Tech: Any hopes of landing a major bowl bid faded away with the Hokies' second straight loss. A 28-10 setback at Miami the previous week knocked them out of contention for the ACC title.
Georgia Tech: By finally winning a close game, the Yellow Jackets gave their bowl hopes a huge boost. One more win will ensure postseason eligibility.
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech: Returns home to face ACC rival Pitt on Saturday.
Georgia Tech: Hits the road for its final conference game against Duke.
