BOSTON (AP) — Aidan Birr kicked a 23-yard field goal with 11 seconds left and No. 14 Georgia Tech rallied for a 36-34 victory over Boston College on Saturday to remain tied for first place in the Atlantic
Coast Conference.
Haynes King completed 26 of 34 passes for 371 yards and a touchdown as the Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1, No. 16 CFP) stayed even with No. 20 Virginia (No. 19 CFP) atop the league standings.
Dylan Lonergan went 26 of 40 for 362 yards and two TDs for the Eagles (1-10, 0-7), who lost their 10th straight game.
With a solid shot at the ACC championship game and potentially the College Football Playoff, Georgia Tech fell behind early in the second half and trailed 28-17 late in the third quarter.
After taking the lead, the Yellow Jackets fell behind again 34-33 when Turbo Richard scored on a 43-yard run up the middle. But the Eagles failed on the 2-point try.
King then marched Georgia Tech 69 yards in 13 plays before Birr’s winning kick.
The game ended when Lonergan's Hail Mary was batted down near the goal line as time expired.
Jordan Allen broke free down the left sideline for a 54-yard touchdown with just over six minutes left, moving the Yellow Jackets ahead 33-28.
Georgia Tech had clawed back and cut it to 28-26 on Jamal Haynes’ 2-yard score with 7 1/2 minutes to play. But lining up with an unbalanced formation, King was stopped short on the 2-point try.
Jordan McDonald’s 14-yard TD run pushed BC ahead 21-14 on its first drive of the second half.
Birr’s 34-yard field goal sliced it to 21-17 before Lonergan engineered a 75-yard drive, capping it off by hitting Reed Harris, who caught a short pass before breaking a couple of tackles and going in for an 18-yard score.
Coming off an upset loss at North Carolina State two weeks ago, the Yellow Jackets grabbed a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter when Malik Rutherford caught a short pass near the line of scrimmage and burst free for a 71-yard TD.
Georgia Tech: There are suddenly some big cracks in the defense and it’s coming at the wrong time. The Yellow Jackets gave up 583 yards in the loss N.C. State and 537 to BC.
Boston College: Coach Bill O’Brien made the right move in rotating his starting quarterback for the third straight game and going back to Lonergan. Grayson James started the other one. Lonergan transferred to BC from Alabama, where he was recruited by O’Brien when he was the offensive coordinator there.
BC receiver Lewis Bond made eight catches and became the school’s career leader with 206, surpassing Zay Flowers, who had 200 from 2019-22.
Georgia Tech: Hosts No. 23 Pittsburgh next Saturday.
Boston College: Travels to Syracuse on Nov. 29 for its season finale.
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