DALLAS (FWAA) – The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets ran for 271 yards on one side of the ball and contained the nation’s top offense on the other in a 28-23 win Saturday over No. 4 Miami. For taking down the previously undefeated Hurricanes and gaining bowl eligibility in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2013-14, Georgia Tech earned the Cheez-It National Team of the Week for games the weekend of Nov. 9, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the fourth time for Georgia Tech (6-4) to win the weekly award and the first time since Oct. 24, 2015, when it won against then-No. 9 Florida State, 22-16.
The win marked a second consecutive season for the Yellow Jackets to hand Miami its first loss of the season. Georgia Tech welcomed the return of regular starting quarterback Haynes King after a month away due to injury. King completed 6-of-6 passes for 32 yards and a touchdown and ran 20 times for 93 yards and a touchdown. True freshman Aaron Philo also played a part, splitting time with King behind center – it was his 15-yard pass to Chase Lane gave Tech a 21-10 lead midway through the third quarter.
Philo completed perhaps the biggest pass of the game when he connected with high school teammate Bailey Stockton for a 27-yard gain on a third-and-18 play early in the fourth quarter. That led to a 5-yard touchdown run by King three plays later that stretched the Jackets’ advantage to 28-16.
Georgia Tech’s preparedness was displayed in a season-long 17-play drive that spanned the first and second quarters. The 75-yard drive that took 10:45 was the second-longest scoring drive in terms of time elapsed in program history (missing the record by two seconds, a 10:47 drive at Virginia from 2009).
Defensively, the Yellow Jackets held Miami’s offense, No. 1 nationally in scoring (47.4 ppg) and total offense (556.9 ypg) coming into the game, to 23 points and 436 yards. Miami had cut Tech’s lead to 28-23 with 6:07 to go and had the ball following a Tech punt. But two plays later, Georgia Tech defensive end Romello Height drilled Ward from behind and stripped the ball. Tech defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg fell on the loose ball to give the Jackets possession with 1:36 left and into victory formation.
The win was Tech’s first over a top-five opponent since a 28-23 win over No. 4 Virginia Tech in 2009, snapping a 13-game losing streak against top-five teams. Tech moved to 6-1 against nationally-ranked ACC opponents under head coach Brent Key, who was interim head coach for the final eight games of 2022 and has been the full-time head coach since 2023.
Georgia Tech has won four of the last six games against Miami.
“Play the next play, play with each other, play for each other,” Key said, sharing Georgia Tech’s defensive mindset. “I’m proud for these kids, this school, Georgia Tech, and the city of Atlanta.”
Georgia Tech is idle this week. The Ramblin’ Wreck will be back in a national broadcast on Thursday, Nov. 21, hosting NC State on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2023 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Cheez-It "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.
The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Nov. 9 were:
This is the fourth time for Georgia Tech (6-4) to win the weekly award and the first time since Oct. 24, 2015, when it won against then-No. 9 Florida State, 22-16.
The win marked a second consecutive season for the Yellow Jackets to hand Miami its first loss of the season. Georgia Tech welcomed the return of regular starting quarterback Haynes King after a month away due to injury. King completed 6-of-6 passes for 32 yards and a touchdown and ran 20 times for 93 yards and a touchdown. True freshman Aaron Philo also played a part, splitting time with King behind center – it was his 15-yard pass to Chase Lane gave Tech a 21-10 lead midway through the third quarter.
Philo completed perhaps the biggest pass of the game when he connected with high school teammate Bailey Stockton for a 27-yard gain on a third-and-18 play early in the fourth quarter. That led to a 5-yard touchdown run by King three plays later that stretched the Jackets’ advantage to 28-16.
Georgia Tech’s preparedness was displayed in a season-long 17-play drive that spanned the first and second quarters. The 75-yard drive that took 10:45 was the second-longest scoring drive in terms of time elapsed in program history (missing the record by two seconds, a 10:47 drive at Virginia from 2009).
Defensively, the Yellow Jackets held Miami’s offense, No. 1 nationally in scoring (47.4 ppg) and total offense (556.9 ypg) coming into the game, to 23 points and 436 yards. Miami had cut Tech’s lead to 28-23 with 6:07 to go and had the ball following a Tech punt. But two plays later, Georgia Tech defensive end Romello Height drilled Ward from behind and stripped the ball. Tech defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg fell on the loose ball to give the Jackets possession with 1:36 left and into victory formation.
The win was Tech’s first over a top-five opponent since a 28-23 win over No. 4 Virginia Tech in 2009, snapping a 13-game losing streak against top-five teams. Tech moved to 6-1 against nationally-ranked ACC opponents under head coach Brent Key, who was interim head coach for the final eight games of 2022 and has been the full-time head coach since 2023.
Georgia Tech has won four of the last six games against Miami.
“Play the next play, play with each other, play for each other,” Key said, sharing Georgia Tech’s defensive mindset. “I’m proud for these kids, this school, Georgia Tech, and the city of Atlanta.”
Georgia Tech is idle this week. The Ramblin’ Wreck will be back in a national broadcast on Thursday, Nov. 21, hosting NC State on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2023 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Cheez-It "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.
The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Nov. 9 were:
- Alabama (7-2): Quarterback Jalen Milroe was unstoppable, helping the Crimson Tide to a 42-13 win over LSU in Death Valley. Milroe ran for 185 yards on only 12 carries and tied a career-high with four touchdowns on the ground. He added 109 yards through the air on 12-of-18 passing. Alabama rushed for 311 yards.
- Ole Miss (8-2): The Rebels pressured No. 3 Georgia all afternoon with five sacks, five pass breakups, four forced fumbles and four QB hurries as they dismantled the Bulldogs 28-10 in front of a record crowd of 68,126 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Quarterback Jaxson Dart led Ole Miss to scores on seven of its 10 drives to hand Georgia its largest margin of defeat since the 2019 SEC Championship (a 37-10 loss to LSU).
