Atlanta, GA - On a sunny, cool day here in Atlanta, the Miami Hurricane were able to defeat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 35-21. Miami is now 4-0 on the season for the first time since 2013. Georgia Tech was able to put up a fight but Miami, led by their defense, was able to win a tough game against an inter-conference opponent.
In this game, the Miami defense stole the show. Midway through the second quarter, with Miami leading 14- 7, Georgia Tech had gotten the ball back after a Miami score and it felt like Georgia Tech was going to be able to drive the ball down the field and score. Miami’s defense stepped up to the challenge. Miami defensive end Trent Harris rushed into the backfield, sacked Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas and forced a fumble. Miami linebacker Shaq Quarterman picked up the football and then ran 17 yards into the end zone for a touchdown.
On the very next series, Georgia Tech started their drive at roughly the same yard line as before and the drive ended with similar results. On the second play of the drive, Thomas rushed for an eight yard loss and Miami defensive end Joe Johnson forced a fumble, recovered it and rumbled 18 yards down the field for another touchdown. After those two scores, Miami was up 28-7. Miami head coach Mark Richt spoke after the game about those two scoring plays meant to the final score.
“[T]he two turnovers were gifts to us, basically. Without those, we’re probably still playing. There’s a possibility that we’re in overtime. He also added, “[w]ithout those, who knows what would be happening right now. You saw what they were doing on offense, how they controlled the ball and took every second off the clock between plays. It’s so true that you better maximize your opportunities when you can, or you better get a turnover.”
The Georgia Tech offense played fairly well overall, as they had 361 total yards of offense, but for the most part, when it felt like the momentum might shift, or they would get into scoring position, the Miami defense held firm. Miami, as a team, had eight tackles for a loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles and recoveries and an interception. The interception was by linebacker Michael Pinckney and essentially sealed the victory. This was a great test for Miami, as the triple-option offense run by Georgia Tech can be very difficult to stop but for the most part, Miami contained it.
While Miami’s defense played well, the Miami offense also had a good game. Miami only had the ball for 20 minutes because of the style of Georgia Tech’s offense, where they had it for roughly 40 minutes. With the limited amount of time, Miami was forced to score quickly when they had the ball and they did. The Miami offense was able to put up 21 points and 355 yards of total offense. Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya completed 13 of 19 passes for 241 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers. Stacy Coley was the receiving leader with four receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown. That touchdown pass by Kaaya was the 50th of his Miami career and moved him to second all-time on the total touchdown passes list at Miami.
While Miami’s passing attack worked well against Georgia Tech’s defense, the Miami running game had a bit of a tough time running against that defense. Miami finished the day with a total of 27 carries for 120 yards. Miami running backs Mark Walton and Joseph Yearby each had 48 and 65 yards rushing, respectively. They both also had a touchdown. This was the first game this season where Miami did not have a single running back rush for over 100 yards.
The Georgia Tech offense was able to play pretty well against the Miami defense, in particular, Georgia Tech blocking back Dedrick Mills. Mills carried the ball 19 times for 101 yards and had two touchdowns. He also caught the only touchdown pass of the night for Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas struggled a bit though as he completed 11 of 19 passes for 94 yards, had 15 carries for 39 yards and three turnovers. Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson spoke after the game about the game and the offensive performance.
“It was a tough game, disappointing in that we gifted them two scores in the second quarter off turnovers and it ended up being a momentum changer and a big part of the game. I thought we had a chance to get back in the game and we stalled out, had a couple key drops there in the end zone that hurt. We’re not good enough, there are very few teams out there that are good enough to turn the ball over twice for touchdowns and come back and win a game. We made way too many mistakes again.” Johnson also praised Mills and said, “he ran the ball hard and I was determined that I was going to get him the ball some.”
Next week, Miami is back at home to take on their longtime rival in Florida State and that will not be an easy game. Florida State has struggled some this year but they are still a very talented and deep team, a kind of team that Miami has not yet faced this year. This game against Georgia Tech was a great test for this young Miami defense to see how they respond to facing a difficult test in the triple-option offense for the first time and they performed well. Florida State is a different type of beast though and they have beaten Miami the last six times they’ve played each other. It will be very interesting to see how this Miami team reacts to this win, with likely moving up in the national rankings and preparing for a rival game against a very tough opponent.
In this game, the Miami defense stole the show. Midway through the second quarter, with Miami leading 14- 7, Georgia Tech had gotten the ball back after a Miami score and it felt like Georgia Tech was going to be able to drive the ball down the field and score. Miami’s defense stepped up to the challenge. Miami defensive end Trent Harris rushed into the backfield, sacked Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas and forced a fumble. Miami linebacker Shaq Quarterman picked up the football and then ran 17 yards into the end zone for a touchdown.
On the very next series, Georgia Tech started their drive at roughly the same yard line as before and the drive ended with similar results. On the second play of the drive, Thomas rushed for an eight yard loss and Miami defensive end Joe Johnson forced a fumble, recovered it and rumbled 18 yards down the field for another touchdown. After those two scores, Miami was up 28-7. Miami head coach Mark Richt spoke after the game about those two scoring plays meant to the final score.
“[T]he two turnovers were gifts to us, basically. Without those, we’re probably still playing. There’s a possibility that we’re in overtime. He also added, “[w]ithout those, who knows what would be happening right now. You saw what they were doing on offense, how they controlled the ball and took every second off the clock between plays. It’s so true that you better maximize your opportunities when you can, or you better get a turnover.”
The Georgia Tech offense played fairly well overall, as they had 361 total yards of offense, but for the most part, when it felt like the momentum might shift, or they would get into scoring position, the Miami defense held firm. Miami, as a team, had eight tackles for a loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles and recoveries and an interception. The interception was by linebacker Michael Pinckney and essentially sealed the victory. This was a great test for Miami, as the triple-option offense run by Georgia Tech can be very difficult to stop but for the most part, Miami contained it.
While Miami’s defense played well, the Miami offense also had a good game. Miami only had the ball for 20 minutes because of the style of Georgia Tech’s offense, where they had it for roughly 40 minutes. With the limited amount of time, Miami was forced to score quickly when they had the ball and they did. The Miami offense was able to put up 21 points and 355 yards of total offense. Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya completed 13 of 19 passes for 241 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers. Stacy Coley was the receiving leader with four receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown. That touchdown pass by Kaaya was the 50th of his Miami career and moved him to second all-time on the total touchdown passes list at Miami.
While Miami’s passing attack worked well against Georgia Tech’s defense, the Miami running game had a bit of a tough time running against that defense. Miami finished the day with a total of 27 carries for 120 yards. Miami running backs Mark Walton and Joseph Yearby each had 48 and 65 yards rushing, respectively. They both also had a touchdown. This was the first game this season where Miami did not have a single running back rush for over 100 yards.
The Georgia Tech offense was able to play pretty well against the Miami defense, in particular, Georgia Tech blocking back Dedrick Mills. Mills carried the ball 19 times for 101 yards and had two touchdowns. He also caught the only touchdown pass of the night for Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas struggled a bit though as he completed 11 of 19 passes for 94 yards, had 15 carries for 39 yards and three turnovers. Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson spoke after the game about the game and the offensive performance.
“It was a tough game, disappointing in that we gifted them two scores in the second quarter off turnovers and it ended up being a momentum changer and a big part of the game. I thought we had a chance to get back in the game and we stalled out, had a couple key drops there in the end zone that hurt. We’re not good enough, there are very few teams out there that are good enough to turn the ball over twice for touchdowns and come back and win a game. We made way too many mistakes again.” Johnson also praised Mills and said, “he ran the ball hard and I was determined that I was going to get him the ball some.”
Next week, Miami is back at home to take on their longtime rival in Florida State and that will not be an easy game. Florida State has struggled some this year but they are still a very talented and deep team, a kind of team that Miami has not yet faced this year. This game against Georgia Tech was a great test for this young Miami defense to see how they respond to facing a difficult test in the triple-option offense for the first time and they performed well. Florida State is a different type of beast though and they have beaten Miami the last six times they’ve played each other. It will be very interesting to see how this Miami team reacts to this win, with likely moving up in the national rankings and preparing for a rival game against a very tough opponent.