The Flats- Georgia Tech returned home Halloween weekend to face off against Virginia Tech for homecoming. Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets fell short to the Hokies 26-17.
Georgia Tech quarterback Jeff Sims and running back Jahmyr Gibbs had strong career milestones performances, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Hokies. Gibbs had 11 carries for 113 yards rushing and four receptions for 48 yards receiving. Sims had 183 yards passing with two passing touchdowns and added another 11 carries for 60 yards rushing.
Sims reached 3,000 yards passing for his career to the 12th passer to reach that milestone in his career. Sims did it only 16 career games. Gibbs 113 yards rushing and 48 yards receiving put him over 2,000 career all-purpose yards. Gibbs did it in only 15 games. Also, both are still considered freshman eligibility-wise.
Despite Sims’ great effort on the day, with 3:02 left in the game, Sims throws a costly interception on fourth down. As a result, the Hokies were able to run out the clock and effectively end the game to complete the spoiler for homecoming.
The Yellow Jackets had two turnovers and struggled on third down, going three for twelve on the day. The defense also had its struggles as well on the day. Yellow Jackets’ defense gave up 491 total yards of offense and failed to get any turnovers.
The Hokies’ offense was clicking on all cylinders. Braxton Burmeister went 15-of-25 through the air for 254 yards passing and two passing touchdowns. Junior wideout Tre Turner had a career day. Turner finished the game with seven receptions for a career-high 187 receiving yards and one touchdown. In addition, Malachi Thomas and Raheem Blackshear both had good days running the football. Thomas had 25 carries for 103 yards rushing, while Balckshear had 14 carries for 83 rushing yards.
Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins kept it short and simple after the homecoming loss.
“I take all the blame,” coach Geoff Collins said. “I told the guys in (the locker room), ‘Stay together, we’ll get it fixed.'”
Georgia Tech falls to 3-5 on the season and 2-4 in the conference. Next week, they will hit the road to take on the University of Miami in Miami Gardens, Fl, for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium. Virginia Tech moves to 4-4 on the season and 2-2 in the conference. Next week they will continue their road trip as they travel to Newton, MA, for a head-to-head against Boston College.
