The Miami Hurricanes overcame early turnover issues to win 33-30 over Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon.
Miami (5-4, 3-2) out-gained the Yellow Jackets 564-329, but three first half turnovers by the UM offense allowed Georgia Tech to stay in the game—and hold a lead until 10:27 to go in the fourth quarter. UM took a 33-30 lead on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Van Dyke to Key’Shawn Smith.
From that point on, the defense battled and limited Georgia Tech’s offense to force punts. The defense didn’t allow any points in the fourth quarter. Georgia Tech scored two points on a fourth quarter interception return by Juanyeh Thomas for 100 yards.
Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke continued his string of 300-yard passing performances, going 22-of-34 for 389 yards and three touchdowns against the Yellow Jackets.
Van Dyke has now thrown for at least 325 yards in each of his last three starts.
Wide receiver Charleston Rambo was the primary target for Van Dyke on the day, catching seven passes for 210 yards and one touchdown. He is the first receiver at UM to go over 200 yards since Phillip Dorsett.
Running back Jaylan Knighton also continued his strong run of games, rushing for 162 yards and one touchdown on 32 carries.
Georgia Tech scored three explosive touchdowns from outside the red-zone, including a 71-yard run by Jordan Mason, a 29-yard rush by Jahmyr Gibbs, and a 50-yard reception by Gibbs.
The Hurricanes could have been more efficient in the red-zone as well, settling for field goals on 2-of-4 attempts inside the red-zone.
Yellow Jackets quarterback Jeff Sims completed 21-of-38 passes for 194 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs was a playmaker in the pass game and the run game, totaling 72 receiving yards and a touchdown along with 67 rushing yards and a touchdown.
UM has now won three straight games.
Miami started the game with an impressive 93-yard, 11-play drive that was capped by an eight-yard touchdown pass from Van Dyke to Harley with 9:10 remaining in the first quarter. Van Dyke went 5-of-7 for 58 yards on the drive.
UM’s next possession in the first quarter went for a touchdown as well. On third-and-12, Van Dyke connected with Rambo for a 35-yard touchdown pass to cap a four-play, 58-yard touchdown drive to give the Hurricanes a 14-0 lead with 7:14 remaining in the first quarter.
Georgia Tech got on the scoreboard with 4:21 remaining in the first quarter with running back Jordan Mason breaking a 71-yard touchdown run to cut into Miami’s lead, 14-7. It appeared middle linebacker Corey Flagg was in the wrong gap on the play.
The overall play was sloppy for the remainder of the first quarter.
Rambo fumbled at the end of a 37-yard reception to give Georgia Tech the ball at their own 25 yard line. The next possession for the Yellow Jackets ended on an athletic interception by Avantae Williams, who returned the ball down to the Georgia Tech 33 yard line. On the very next play, tight end Elijah Arroyo fumbled the ball to give the Yellow Jackets the ball back on their own 14 yard line.
Georgia Tech scored with 13:22 remaining in the second quarter to tie the game at 14-14 on a 29-yard run by Gibbs, to cap a seven-play, 86-yard drive.
Van Dyke connected with Rambo for a 44-yard pass early in the second quarter to put the Hurricanes at the Georgia Tech ten yard line. Miami had to settle for a 28-yard field goal by Andres Borregales to take a 17-14 lead with 9:48 remaining in the second quarter.
With 7:56 remaining in the second quarter, UM’s Knighton fumbled and the ball popped right into the hands of defensive back Jaylon King, who returned the ball 40 yards for a touchdown to give the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the game, 21-17.
Borregales missed a 40 yard field goal with 3:52 remaining in the second quarter. Those points would have cut into Georgia Tech’s lead, 21-20.
At halftime, Van Dyke had thrown for 238 yards and two touchdowns while completing 13-of-23 passes. Rambo was UM’s leading receiver at the half with 132 yards and one touchdown on five receptions. Knighton ran for 75 yards on 14 carries.
Those are big numbers, but Miami’s offense also turned the ball over three times—one of which was a fumble returned for a touchdown.
Miami’s defense allowed 213 yard of offense, including 140 rushing yards in the first half. Georgia Tech’s offense was 5-of-11 on third down in the first half. The Yellow Jackets turned the ball over just once.
The Hurricanes came out aggressive to start the second half with Van Dyke connecting with Rambo off a flea flicker for a deep shot that went for 60 yards to push the ball down to the Georgia Tech 15 yard line. Miami then took a 24-21 lead with 13:59 remaining in the game on a two-yard touchdown run by Knighton.
Georgia Tech answered on their next drive with a 50-yard dump off pass to Gibbs that went for a touchdown as he out-raced the UM defense. The touchdown gave the Yellow Jackets the lead back, 28-24, with 10:33 remaining in the third quarter.
With 3:20 remaining in the third quarter, Georgia Tech kicker Brent Cimaglia missed a 50-yard attempt that would have extended the lead for the Yellow Jackets, 31-24.
UM started the fourth quarter off with Borregales connecting on a 31-yard field goal to cut into Georgia Tech’s lead, 28-27 with 13:20 remaining in the game.
With 10:27 remaining, Van Dyke connected with Key’Shawn Smith to give UM a 33-28 lead. On the two-point conversion attempt, Juanyeh Thomas intercepted the pass and it was returned 100 yards to give Georgia Tech two points and cut UM’s lead to 33-30.
The Hurricanes will travel to face in-state rival Florida State next week. Kickoff for the game has yet to be scheduled.
