GEORGIA TECH 17, BOSTON COLLEGE 14
Sept. 3, 2016 ○ Dublin, Ireland (Aviva Stadium)
POSTGAME NOTES
Team
·Georgia Tech moved to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in ACC play. Boston College fell to 0-1 overall and 0-1 in ACC play.
·Trailing 14-7 with under six minutes to play, Georgia Tech pulled within four points on a 40-yard field goal by seniorHarrison Butker with 5:57 to go. True freshman B-back Dedrick Mills scored the winning touchdown on a four-yard run with 35 seconds remaining on the clock.
·Mills’ game-winning touchdown capped an 11-play, 59-yard drive that began on Georgia Tech’s 41 yard line with 3:33 to go in the ballgame.
·Georgia Tech scored the winning touchdown while trailing with less than a minute remaining in regulation for the first time since a 13-yard touchdown pass from Justin Thomas to Deon Hill with 23 seconds to go lifted the Yellow Jackets to a 42-38 win over Georgia Southern on Sept. 13, 2014.
·Georgia Tech won its season opener for the fourth straight year and eighth time in nine tries under head coach Paul Johnson. The Yellow Jackets moved to 87-33-4 all-time in openers.
·Georgia Tech moved to 7-2 all-time against Boston College. The Yellow Jackets have won three straight over the Eagles, dating back to a 19-16 win in Chestnut Hill, Mass. on Sept. 6, 2008.
·Georgia Tech moved to 10-3 in its last 13 ACC openers.
·Georgia Tech won for the fourth time in six tries when opening the season with an ACC game.
·Georgia Tech led 7-0 at halftime, marking the second straight season opener that the Yellow Jackets shut out its opponent in the first half (led Alcorn State, 48-0, at halftime in 2015 opener).
·The first-half shutout also marked the first time that Georgia Tech blanked an ACC opponent in the first half since its 56-0 win over Syracuse on Oct. 19, 2013.
·Georgia Tech finished the game 8-for-16 on third and fourth downs (6-for-14 on third down and 2-for-2 on fourth down). On their game-winning touchdown drive, the Yellow Jackets converted a fourth-and-19 (on a 22-yard pass from Thomas to sophomore A-back Qua Searcy) and a third-and-10 (on a 26-yard pass from Thomas to junior wide receiver Ricky Jeune).
·Georgia Tech failed to score at least 20 points in an ACC contest for the first time in 22 games.
Tech’s string of 21 straight conference games with at least 20 points stretched back to 2013 and was the second-longest streak in the nation by a Power 5 conference team (TCU – 22 games).
Individual
·Four players made their first career starts for Georgia Tech – Sr. DTFrancis Kallon, Jr. CB Lance Austin, So. FS A.J. Gray and true Fr. BBDedrick Mills. Jr. AB J.J. Green made his first start as a Yellow Jacket; he had two starts as a freshman at Georgia in 2013.
·Mills became the first true freshman to start a season opener for Georgia Tech since wide receiver Tyler Melton in 2008.
·Senior quarterback Justin Thomas completed 8-of-15 passes for 119 yards tomove into eighth place in Georgia Tech history with 3,314 career passing yards.
·In 27 career starts, Thomas has engineered three drives that have resulted in Georgia Tech scoring the game’s winning or tying points in the final minute of regulation.
·Sophomore A-back Qua Searcy, who had three receptions for 45 yards in his career coming in to the game, finished with three catches for 60 yards on Saturday, including a career-long 36-yarder that set up Georgia Tech’s first touchdown and a 22-yarder on fourth-and-19 that kept the Yellow Jackets’ game-winning drive alive.
Sept. 3, 2016 ○ Dublin, Ireland (Aviva Stadium)
POSTGAME NOTES
Team
·Georgia Tech moved to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in ACC play. Boston College fell to 0-1 overall and 0-1 in ACC play.
·Trailing 14-7 with under six minutes to play, Georgia Tech pulled within four points on a 40-yard field goal by seniorHarrison Butker with 5:57 to go. True freshman B-back Dedrick Mills scored the winning touchdown on a four-yard run with 35 seconds remaining on the clock.
·Mills’ game-winning touchdown capped an 11-play, 59-yard drive that began on Georgia Tech’s 41 yard line with 3:33 to go in the ballgame.
·Georgia Tech scored the winning touchdown while trailing with less than a minute remaining in regulation for the first time since a 13-yard touchdown pass from Justin Thomas to Deon Hill with 23 seconds to go lifted the Yellow Jackets to a 42-38 win over Georgia Southern on Sept. 13, 2014.
·Georgia Tech won its season opener for the fourth straight year and eighth time in nine tries under head coach Paul Johnson. The Yellow Jackets moved to 87-33-4 all-time in openers.
·Georgia Tech moved to 7-2 all-time against Boston College. The Yellow Jackets have won three straight over the Eagles, dating back to a 19-16 win in Chestnut Hill, Mass. on Sept. 6, 2008.
·Georgia Tech moved to 10-3 in its last 13 ACC openers.
·Georgia Tech won for the fourth time in six tries when opening the season with an ACC game.
·Georgia Tech led 7-0 at halftime, marking the second straight season opener that the Yellow Jackets shut out its opponent in the first half (led Alcorn State, 48-0, at halftime in 2015 opener).
·The first-half shutout also marked the first time that Georgia Tech blanked an ACC opponent in the first half since its 56-0 win over Syracuse on Oct. 19, 2013.
·Georgia Tech finished the game 8-for-16 on third and fourth downs (6-for-14 on third down and 2-for-2 on fourth down). On their game-winning touchdown drive, the Yellow Jackets converted a fourth-and-19 (on a 22-yard pass from Thomas to sophomore A-back Qua Searcy) and a third-and-10 (on a 26-yard pass from Thomas to junior wide receiver Ricky Jeune).
·Georgia Tech failed to score at least 20 points in an ACC contest for the first time in 22 games.
Tech’s string of 21 straight conference games with at least 20 points stretched back to 2013 and was the second-longest streak in the nation by a Power 5 conference team (TCU – 22 games).
Individual
·Four players made their first career starts for Georgia Tech – Sr. DTFrancis Kallon, Jr. CB Lance Austin, So. FS A.J. Gray and true Fr. BBDedrick Mills. Jr. AB J.J. Green made his first start as a Yellow Jacket; he had two starts as a freshman at Georgia in 2013.
·Mills became the first true freshman to start a season opener for Georgia Tech since wide receiver Tyler Melton in 2008.
·Senior quarterback Justin Thomas completed 8-of-15 passes for 119 yards tomove into eighth place in Georgia Tech history with 3,314 career passing yards.
·In 27 career starts, Thomas has engineered three drives that have resulted in Georgia Tech scoring the game’s winning or tying points in the final minute of regulation.
·Sophomore A-back Qua Searcy, who had three receptions for 45 yards in his career coming in to the game, finished with three catches for 60 yards on Saturday, including a career-long 36-yarder that set up Georgia Tech’s first touchdown and a 22-yarder on fourth-and-19 that kept the Yellow Jackets’ game-winning drive alive.
