Ga. Tech storms past Georgia 45-42

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia Tech had not beaten Georgia since 2000, and it wasn't looking good when the Yellow Jackets trailed by 16 points at halftime.

Then Roddy Jones and the triple-option offense went to work.

Jones rushed a career-best 214 yards, including a decisive 54-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, and No. 18 Georgia Tech rallied to snap a seven-game losing streak against its state rival with a 45-42 victory over 13th-ranked Georgia on Saturday.

The cold, rainy day wasn't a total victory for the visiting team: Virginia Tech denied the Yellow Jackets a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a 17-14 victory over Virginia.

But Georgia Tech (9-3) celebrated anyway, gathering in front of its small contingent at Sanford Stadium to sing the school fight song while the red-clad Georgia fans headed to the exits, a season that started at No. 1 winding down far short of expectations.

After building a 28-12 halftime lead, the Bulldogs (9-3) simply had no answer for Georgia Tech's unique offense, which piled up 409 yards on the ground. Jones, a redshirt freshman, averaged 16.5 yards per carry and scored twice, including the long run that gave Georgia Tech a 45-35 lead with 7:13 remaining.

Jonathan Dwyer added 144 yards rushing and scored two TDs of his own.

Georgia lost despite Matthew Stafford tying a school record with five touchdown passes — three of them to Mohamed Massaquoi — in what might have been his final game between the hedges. The junior quarterback said he'll consider entering the NFL draft.

Stafford looked like he would go out a winner, despite an errant throw that Morgan Burnett picked off and returned 35 yards for Georgia Tech's first TD.

Stafford capped Georgia's opening drive with a 1-yard scoring pass to Tripp Chandler, then hooked up with Massaquoi on touchdown passes of 10, 49 and 3 yards. Georgia Tech botched the extra point after Burnett's TD, then was unsuccessful on a two-point try after Lucas Cox scored on a 2-yard run.

But the Yellow Jackets turned the game around with a stunning display at the start of the third quarter. On their first play from scrimmage, Dwyer broke off a 60-yard touchdown run, then got in on the two-point conversion that made it 28-20.

Georgia went three-and-out, and Georgia Tech quickly marched for another score on Jones' 8-yard run. Nesbitt's conversion run put up another two points, tying the game at 28.