Virginia and Georgia Tech faced off Thursday in a game that won’t be remembered fondly, but was still…absolutely a football game.
The Cavaliers snapped a three-game losing streak with a win in Atlanta — a place they haven’t tasted victory since 2008 — in a 16-9 affair that featured very little offense and a lot of mistakes. GT were 2.5 point favorites in the game.
Despite holding a 410-201 advantage in total yardage, the Yellow Jackets still had a chance to win the game as they drove the field, down seven, with 36 seconds remaining. Virginia’s defense — which held the opponent to just 55 yards rushing and finished with eight sacks, one interception and one forced fumble — had made life miserable for GT’s backup QB Zach Gibson since he entered the game in the second quarter after Jeff Sims sustained an injury.
With just seven seconds left, it looked like Gibson would have one final shot downfield to try and tie the game. Instead, he … ran out of bounds with zeroes on the clock.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) October 21, 2022
After the game, Gibson told Ken Sugiura of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “… I looked downfield and just didn’t really see a throw at all. I didn’t feel like there was anyone to get it to in that moment. I can’t throw the ball 85 yards, 70 yards, so I mean at that point I just felt like, run out of bounds and take the loss.”
Gibson continued later, saying, “… it’s not a good look. And I know that.”
It did, however, feel like the only possible ending for a game that had four turnovers, two missed field goals, two missed extra points and three second half points.
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