Georgia Tech 26, Pittsburgh 21
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH - Jeff Sims passed for a touchdown and ran for another, Hassan Hall piled up 157 yards rushing and Georgia Tech made interim head coach Brent Key a winner in his debut, stunning No. 24 Pittsburgh 26-21.
Five days after Key was promoted to replace Geoff Collins - fired four games into his fourth season with the Yellow Jackets - Georgia Tech took advantage of some sloppy play by the defending ACC champions to beat an FBS opponent for the first time in nearly a year.
Linebacker Charlie Thomas recovered a fumble and picked off Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis to set up two of Gavin Edwards' five field goals as the inspired Yellow Jackets (2-3, 1-1 ACC) converted three Pitt turnovers into 13 points, including a 21-yard touchdown pass from Sims to E.J. Jenkins with 10:30 to play that gave Georgia Tech a 19-7 lead.
The Panthers (3-2, 0-1) drew within five on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Slovis to Jaden Bradley with 1:57 to go but Hall raced 63 yards on the first play of Georgia Tech's ensuring possession and Sims darted in from 18 yards out with 1:25 remaining to seal it.
The victory snapped a nine-game losing streak to FBS opponents by the Yellow Jackets, the last five by a combined score of 210-20, including a 27-10 setback to UCF last weekend that ultimately cost Collins and athletic director Todd Stansbury their jobs.
Tasked with trying to make something of his alma mater's season, Key promised the Yellow Jackets would "play the best brand of football we possibly can."
At soggy and cold Acrisure Statdium, that meant relying heavily on a defense that never let Slovis or the Panthers get comfortable until they were too far behind.
The USC transfer completed a deceiving 26 of 45 passes for 305 yards with three touchdowns - two in the final 2 minutes - and an interception as Pitt's offense sputtered in the second half without junior running back Israel Abanikanda. The ACC's leading rusher exited late in the first half with an undisclosed injury and his replacement, Vincent Davis, fumbled twice in Pitt territory to set up Georgia Tech scores.
THE TAKEAWAY
Georgia Tech: Key, the first Yellow Jackets alum to lead the program since Bill Curry's tenure in the 1980s, made a pretty compelling opening statement that he should be considered for the full-time gig to replace Collins, whose rebuilding project failed to get off the ground. What Georgia Tech lacked in aesthetics it made up for in grit while largely shutting down an offense that came in averaging 36 points a game.
Pitt: The Panthers began the season talking about repeating as the ACC champs and maybe mounting an insurgent run at the CFP. An overtime loss to Tennessee last month derailed the CFP dream and now they're playing catchup in the Coastal Division just one game into conference play.
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
GaTech | Pitt |
| GaTech |
FG |
11:14 |
Gavin Stewart 37 yard field goal |
3 |
0 |
| Second Quarter |
GaTech | Pitt |
| GaTech |
FG |
2:50 |
Gavin Stewart 33 yard field goal |
6 |
0 |
| Pitt |
TD |
1:04 |
Gavin Bartholomew 29 yard TD pass from Kedon Slovis (Ben Sauls Extra Point) |
6 |
7 |
| Third Quarter |
GaTech | Pitt |
| GaTech |
FG |
8:36 |
Gavin Stewart 40 yard field goal |
9 |
7 |
| Fourth Quarter |
GaTech | Pitt |
| GaTech |
FG |
12:40 |
Gavin Stewart 30 yard field goal |
12 |
7 |
| GaTech |
TD |
10:30 |
E.J. Jenkins 21 yard TD pass from Jeff Sims (Gavin Stewart Extra Point) |
19 |
7 |
| Pitt |
TD |
1:57 |
Jaden Bradley 26 yard TD pass from Kedon Slovis (Ben Sauls Extra Point) |
19 |
14 |
| GaTech |
TD |
1:25 |
Jeff Sims 18 yard TD run (Gavin Stewart Extra Point) |
26 |
14 |
| Pitt |
TD |
0:14 |
Jaden Bradley 18 yard TD pass from Kedon Slovis (Ben Sauls Extra Point) |
26 |
21 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Georgia Tech |
Pittsburgh |
| First downs |
18 |
26 |
| Rushing |
11 |
9 |
| Passing |
4 |
15 |
| Penalty |
3 |
2 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
5-16, 31% |
2-12, 17% |
| 4th down efficiency |
0-1, 0% |
1-2, 50% |
| Rushes-Yards |
44-236 |
31-106 |
| Passing Yards |
102 |
305 |
| Return Yards |
4 |
145 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
11-27-0 |
26-45-1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
5-35 |
2-13 |
| Punts |
6 |
6 |
| Fumbles Lost |
1-0 |
2-2 |
| Penalties - Yards |
4-43 |
11-75 |
| Georgia Tech Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| J. Sims |
11 |
26 |
102 |
1 |
0 |
| N. McCollum |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Pittsburgh Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| K. Slovis |
26 |
45 |
305 |
3 |
1 |
| Georgia Tech Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| C. Thomas |
1 |
0 |
| Pittsburgh Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| Georgia Tech Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| D. Shanahan |
6 |
273 |
45.5 |
| Georgia Tech Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Pittsburgh Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| M. Devonshire |
5 |
73 |
14.6 |
| Georgia Tech Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| Pittsburgh Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
