Georgia Tech upsets No. 14 Virginia Tech, 30-20, on a disappointing day in Blacksburg for the Hokies

Clinching the Coastal Division will have to wait another week for the 14th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies as they were upset, 30-20, in Lane Stadium on Saturday afternoon by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

It was a comedy of errors for the Hokies right from the beginning as Der’Woun Green coughed up the opening kickoff and they would never recover.

Sophomore Matthew Jordan started at quarterback for the Jackets and Virginia Tech struggled to contain him all day. Jordan didn’t beat the Hokies with his arm, but his legs caused plenty of issues for Bud Foster and his group. Jordan rushed for over 100 yards, which means it’s the 10th straight loss for the Hokies against an opposing quarterback who has rushed for 100 or more yards.

Georgia Tech, as a team, rushed for over 300 yards, while the Hokies could get nothing going on offense. Quarterback Jerod Evans struggled all day with his accuracy and the Hokies failed to get a running game going. Much like in previous losses to Tennessee and Syracuse, turnovers were a problem for Virginia Tech as it gave the ball away four times.

The quarterback-center exchange was once again an issue, too, as Eric Gallo snapped it over Evans’ head deep inside of Virginia Tech territory to force a 3rd-and-26, which completely flipped field position in favor of the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech entered this week’s game with just eight sacks on the season, yet got to Evans on five occasions.

Even the sure-handed Isaiah Ford had his issues, too, as head coach Justin Fuente went for it on fourth down late in the third quarter, but Ford dropped the easy pass. Ford did present the Hokies their only bright spot of the day as he officially broke the school record for career receptions, passing Jarrett Boykin.

As bad as it was for the Hokies, they’ve bounced back with a pair of three-game winning streaks after their two previous losses this season. And the Coastal Division is still VT’s for the taking as only Virginia stands in the way of an appearance in the ACC title game.

Next week for the Hokies is a trip to South Bend to face Notre Dame before returning home to host UVA in the season finale.