Texas A&M transfer Haynes King has been a massive pickup for Georgia Tech, currently leading the ACC with 1,631 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, and 1,853 yards of total offense.
However, heading into the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game versus No. 17 Miami, King was practically nowhere to be found with a statline that featured two interceptions, no passing touchdowns, and just 77 passing yards.
It was the Georgia Tech defense led by Jaylon King, Paul Moala, and Miles Sims that kept the Miami offense in check, allowing just 3 points in the first half and carrying the Yellow Jackets to a 14-10 lead heading into the fourth.
Despite opening with a 27-yard field goal, the Hurricanes answered with 10 straight points to take a 20-17 advantage late into the second half. At just under seven minutes, King and Co. had an opportunity to drive the field but a sack on first down led to a quick fourth down punt back to Miami.
Maintaining possession with 5:32 remaining in the game, Miami ran the clock all the way down to 40 seconds where most expected them to take a knee and leave the victors.
But instead, Miami opted to hand off on third and 10 and Georgia Tech took full advantage as Moala forced a fumble and Kyle Kennard recovered to give the Yellow Jackets the ball with 26 seconds left.
Miami and Head Coach Mario Cristobal were quick to argue the call but in the end, Cristobal acknowledged the poor decision during his post-game press conference.
“We should have taken a knee,” Cristobal said. “I should have stepped in and said, ‘Hey, just take a knee.’”
Here is where Haynes King finally emerged, leading Georgia Tech down the field with a 30-yard completion and eventually, a 44-yard game winner to Christian Leary to secure a 23-20 upset win.
While it’s undoubtedly been an up-and-down season for the 3-3 Yellow Jackets, Saturday night’s last second upset hopefully provides King and Georgia Tech with some much needed momentum to compete in the ACC contest ahead.
