Joe Pisarchik is currently 71 years old, but his spirit came alive and well in a manner of speaking on Saturday.
Georgia Tech went into Miami, hoping to stay competitive against the 17th-ranked Hurricanes. The Yellow Jackets are not what you would call on the cusp for ACC titles, or even bowl eligibility. Georgia Tech’s last bowl game was being stomped by Minnesota in the 2018 Quick Lane Bowl.
The Jackets have lost the last five to Georgia by an average margin of 43-10. “Clean Old Fashioned Hate” has been as one-sided as you could imagine, with the Bulldogs winning 18 of the last 21 meetings. The Yellow Jackets have four claimed National Championships in program history, with the last coming in 1990, which was shared with Colorado. Tech won the Coaches Poll, while the Buffaloes garnered the AP title.
This is Brent Key’s first season driving the Ramblin’ Wreck…see what I did there?! You had to know there was going to be at least one pun, but we’re just warming up.
Miami was a 19-point favorite, but quarterback Tyler Van Dyke decided to throw three interceptions. At the half, Miami only led 3-0 against a team they should have dominated. The final stat sheet will show the Hurricanes did just that in every major category, except turnovers and the final score.
Georgia Tech managed only 12 first downs, and were 5-of-13 on third down. Miami limited Tech to only 250 net yards of total offense. Quarterback Haynes King accounted for 151 through the air, and led the Yellow Jackets with 46 yards on the ground. King threw two picks of his own, for good measure.
After Miami took the lead 20-17 with 6:23 remaining in the fourth quarter, Georgia Tech went three-and-out, burning only 51 seconds. Miami ground the game to a halt, eating up 10 plays and 5:06, getting the ball to the Georgia Tech 30.
All Mario Cristobal had to do was tell Van Dyke to take a couple of kneel downs, and the Hurricanes would move to 5-0, assuredly moving into the top 15 in Monday’s AP poll. Instead, Van Dyke handed off to Donald Chaney Jr., who fumbled at the Tech 26, with just 33 seconds to play.
King threw incomplete on first down, hit Malik Rutherford for 30 yards to the Miami 44 on second down, and clocked the ball incomplete on third to set up the ending. King hit Christian Leary in stride inside the Miami 5-yard-line, over two defenders, and Leary slid into the end zone.
It was Leary’s only catch of the game. There were still two seconds left, but it was now Georgia Tech 23, Miami 20.
In the end, Miami fumbled for their fifth turnover on a Stanford schoolyard attempt, and Georgia Tech put an emphatic end to the most incredible finish of the decade.
The Hurricanes dropped completely out of the Coaches’ Poll, but still hung on at 25 in the AP Poll.
The idea that Georgia Tech hung with Miami for so long, capitalizing on each subsequent Hurricane mistake had to mark a change in the air, much like when you feel a storm is coming on. Pun #2…
Going 74 yards in just 24 seconds stings just a bit more, knowing Miami goes on the road this Saturday to play at #12 North Carolina. Remember that Cristobal did this before at Oregon. In fact, Miami has not taken a fourth-quarter knee in 2023.
The trash littered on the field by Miami fans is a reminder of the chaos Cristobal caused to the ACC landscape in just a matter of moments.
You’re welcome…I’ll be here all week, and be sure to tip your waitress.
-JC24