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RECAP: Georgia Tech Defeats NC State In Final Seconds To Move to 7-4

Georgia Tech was able to win a wild back and forth fourth quarter against NC State and move to 7-4

Jackson Caudell

Nov 21, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets wide receiver Avery Boyd (9) runs past North Carolina State Wolfpack linebacker Sean Brown (0) in the second quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Nov 21, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets wide receiver Avery Boyd (9) runs past North Carolina State Wolfpack linebacker Sean Brown (0) in the second quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It was not pretty a lot of times tonight, but Georgia Tech was able to come out on top of a wild finish vs NC State and move to 7-4.

After taking a nine point lead with less than seven minutes to go, it looked like Georgia Tech had the game sealed, but NC State scored two touchdowns in the next five minutes to take the lead with 1:30 left and that left true freshman Aaron Philo one last chance to go win the game for the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech was rotating between Philo and Haynes King again this game, but it was Philo who saw the majority of the snaps tonight. While he has his whole career ahead of him, Philo had the signature moment of his young career by leading Georgia Tech on a drive to take the lead with 22 seconds left. NC State got into position to try and win the game with a field goal, but it went wide left and the Yellow Jackets won. They will go into their rivalry game with Georgia on a two-game winning streak and a7-4 record.

Philo finished the game 19-33 for 265 yards as well as 57 yards rushing. It was not a good night on the ground for Georgia Tech, which has typically led to a loss this year, but they were able to overcome it tonight. Georgia Tech only rushed for 119 yards tonight and averaged 3.3 yards per carry. It was a tough night overall for the offense, but they pulled everything together for the final drive and the true freshman got the win for the Yellow Jackets at the end. Jamal Haynes had 13 carries for 36 yards tonight.

Eric Singleton had a 100 yard effort for the Yellow Jackets tonight, finishing with 106 yards on five catches. Bailey Stockton also made several big catches tonight and has become a favorite target of Philo's on 3rd down.

Georgia Tech finished with 391 total yards in this game, was 5-14 on third down, averaged 12.4 yards per completion and 5.4 yards per play. They were not able to finish scoring drives with touchdowns tonight and they are going to have be able to be better in the red zone and at finishing drives against Georgia next week.

The defense had great moments at times in this game, getting three interceptions and forcing NC State freshman quarterback CJ Bailey to make mistakes, but they also had a tough fourth quarter, especially when it comes to stopping the run. NC State ran for 253 yards tonight and averaged 8.7 yards per carry. While Bailey made a lot of mistakes when it came to throwing the ball, he did have three rushing touchdowns and 83 yards. Georgia Tech has been one of the best rushing defenses in the country this season, but they struggled to contain NC State's ground game tonight.

NC State finished with 400 yards of offense, 5-12 on third down, 8.6 yards per completion, and 6.8 yards per play.

Georgia Tech has struggled plenty on special teams this season, but they could not have won the game tonight without Aidan Birr. Birr was 3-3 on field goals tonight and hit them all from 40 yards or more. He stepped up when they needed him the most.

Now, Georgia Tech has a week to get ready for their biggest test of the year. They head to Athens to face No. 10 Georgia, who is looking to make an appearance in the College Football Playoff and Brent Key's team might be the last thing standing in between that. Georgia Tech has not beaten Georgia since 2016, but this might be their best chance to do so in quite some time.

Let's recap a crazy night in Atlanta.

Georgia Tech got the ball first and their first drive had a promising start. They got some good runs from Jamal Haynes, a first down run from Haynes King and then they were on the NC State side of the field after the Wolfpack committed a facemask penalty. On 2nd down following the facemask, Aaron Philo was inserted into the game for the first time and he took a deep shot to Eric Singleton Jr. It looked like Singleton had the ball down on the goal line, but he dropped it and it was incomplete. On third down, Philo tried to find Malik Rutherford, but the pass was incomplete and it appeared that NC State committed a penalty. There was no call and even worse, Rutherford went down and looked injured. Georgia Tech punted the ball and freshman quarterback CJ Bailey took over for NC State.

After the two teams exchanged three and outs, the first score of the game came from an unlikely source. NC State lined up in a formation to try and catch Georgia Tech off guard, but it worked out in the Yellow Jackets favor. Bailey tried a quick pop pass to his receiver, but the ball was bobbled and intercepted by E.J. Lightsey, who returned it for a touchdown. It gave the Yellow Jackets a 7-0 lead with 7:18 left in the first quarter.

NC State bounced back quickly though. It looked like another three and out was on the way, but a pass interference call on LaMiles Brooks kept the drive alive. Bailey was hitting his receivers and moving the offense down the field, but the Wolfpack faced a 3rd and 4 on Georgia Tech's 16-yard line. Initially, it looked like Bailey was going to be sacked, but he escaped and ran into the endzone to tie the game. It was 7-7 with 2:27 left in the first half.

The game went into the 2nd quarter and Georgia Tech had the ball for their third possession. They moved the ball methodically against the NC State defense, but could not put the ball into the end zone. They had to settle for a field goal and while Georgia Tech's special teams have been an adventure (in a bad way) this season, Birr nailed a 44-yard attempt and Georgia Tech got the lead back 10-7.

After a three and out for the NC State offense, Georgia Tech had favorable field position. They once again had a nice, methodical drive going, but it stalled out and Birr came on to attempt a 41-yard field goal and he made it. It was nice to see Birr's confidence back up after some rough play this year, but Georgia Tech was not using their good field position and getting in the end zone. The Yellow Jackets led 13-7 and the defense came back out.

Bailey had the NC State offense moving and got to midfield after hitting running back Jordan Waters out of the backfield for a big gain. However, the Yellow Jackets came up with a big stop on 4th down with a batted pass and took over at midfield.

Their next drive ended the same as NC State's previous drive. The Yellow Jackets got into NC State territory and then faced a fourth down at the Wolfpack's 33 yard line. Brent Key opted to go for it instead of kicking the field goal and it ended with Aaron Philo's pass being batted down and the Wolfpack took over.

Trenilyas Tatum was playing his final home game as a Yellow Jacket tonight and had a huge first half. He batted a pass down on third down of a previous drive and after Georgia Tech turned it over on downs, Tatum picked off Bailey to get the Yellow Jackets the ball back. Unfortunately for Key's team, there was only 10 seconds left. Georgia Tech tried to throw it into the end zone, but it fell incomplete and they took a 13-7 lead into the half. It was a fantastic performance for the defense, but the Yellow Jackets were not able to run the ball and not hitting big plays through the air.

The second half started with a familiar sight and it was Georgia Tech's defense forcing a three and out. Both teams exchanged punts to start the third quarter, but Georgia Tech finally got points on the board on their 8th possession of the game. Georgia Tech had been struggling to move the ball all game, but Philo found Eric Singleton for a 49-yard gain that put the Yellow Jackets in NC State territory. However, they still could not put the ball in the end zone and had to settle for a 45-yard field goal attempt from Birr. Birr continued to be money and nailed the kick to stretch the lead to 16-7 with less than four minutes to go in the 3rd quarter. It was a seven play, 60-yard drive that took 3:34 off the clock.

NC State started to move the ball on their next drive and a pair of big runs got them into Georgia Tech territory heading into the 4th quarter.

On the very first play of the 4th quarter, Bailey took off for another big scramble and he got into the endzone for the second time in the game. NC State went 75 yards in seven plays and Bailey ran it 28 yards into the end zone to pull NC State within one score with 14:47 left in the game. It was going to be a big drive for Georgia Tech with the game now 16-14.

Philo started the drive off with a 23-yard completion to Boyd, but the Yellow Jackets lost most of the yardage just shortly after and they faced a 3rd and 18. In the upset win over Miami, Philo found Stockton for a first down that helped spring the Yellow Jackets to the win. On this drive, he found Stockton again for a big 1st down, but this drive did not end in a touchdown. Boyd dropped a nice pass from Philo in the end zone and then an incompletion forced Georgia Tech to punt it back to NC State leading by two.

The Yellow Jackets defense continued to come up big. They forced another three and out and got the ball back to the offense.

Philo connected with Singleton for a 39-yard gain to put Georgia Tech with a 1st and goal and it looked like a game sealing touchdown was coming. Instead, the worst possible outcome happened. Philo threw an interception in the end zone and NC State ran it out to the 18 yard line. The Wolfpack had life with less than seven minutes remaining.

With their backs against the wall yet again, Georgia Tech's defense came up with another stop, but this time, it wasa in the form of another interception. Romello Height picked off Bailey and returned it to the three yard line. It was the biggest play of the game and the Yellow Jackets defense put them in excellent position to put them up two scores.

King ran it in for a TD on the next play and the score was 23-14. While not yet over, Georgia Tech was in excellent posiiton.

NC State kept fighting back though. They needed a quick drive and they got just that, with Bailey doing more damage on the ground. He ran it into the end zone for his third touchdown of the game and all of a sudden, it was 23-21 and Georgia Tech still needed to get a couple of first downs to seal the game.

They proceeded to go three and out and NC State got the ball back with 2:30 left. It did not take them long to score either. NC State went 72 yards in four plays and capped it off with a 53 yard touchdown run to take the lead with 1:30 left. It looked like Georgia Tech had blown a nine point lead with six minutes remaining, but there was still time for Philo.

Philo delivered. He drove the team 75 yards in seven plays and capped it off with an 18-yard rush with 22 second left to take the lead.

NC State got the ball back and got a big completion to quickly get them to the Georgia Tech 41-yard line. After an incompletion and only five seconds remaining, NC State head coach Dave Doeren opted to kick the 58-yard field goal to win the game and NC State missed it to the left. The game was over and Georgia Tech won.

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Jackson Caudell
JACKSON CAUDELL

Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell

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