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(Sports Network) - Jacory Harris completed 20-of-25 passes for 270
yards and three scores, as 20th-ranked Miami-Florida snapped a four-game
losing streak to Georgia Tech with a 33-17 win over the 14th-ranked Yellow
Jackets.
LaRon Byrd caught five passes for 83 yards and a score for the Hurricanes
(2-0, 2-0 ACC), who knocked off their second ranked team of the season. Miami
opened its year with a 38-34 victory over then-No. 18 Florida State on
September 7.
Dedrick Epps also had a TD catch, while Javarris James ran 14 times for 72
yards and a score in the win.
The Miami defense shut down a Georgia Tech (2-1, 1-1 ACC) offense that totaled
67 points in its first two games and averaged 318 rushing yards. But
quarterback Josh Nesbitt connected on just 6-of-15 throws for 133 yards and a
score, with all his completions going to Demaryius Thomas.
Anthony Allen had 42 rushing yards and a TD, as the Jackets gained just 95
yards on the ground.
"They came out with their tricky offense that most teams can't stop, but our
defense went out there and did a great job tonight," Harris said. "We had lost
to Georgia Tech the last four years and it would've felt bad walking off the
field and losing to Georgia Tech another year in a row."
Georgia Tech got the game's first score on the game's first drive, as Scott
Blair nailed a 32-yard field goal with 8:09 left in the quarter.
But Miami responded immediately, driving the ball 75 yards for a score. The
march took only four plays, primarily because of the last two -- a 35-yard
pass from Harris to Leonard Hankerson that set up a 40-yard touchdown throw to
Byrd.
Harris lofted a pass down the middle and Byrd found some space between
defenders to make the catch, crossing the goal line with 6:30 on the clock.
"We knew in this game that Georgia Tech likes to start fast on offense," Miami
head coach Randy Shannon said. "So it was big to hold them to a field goal. We
knew that our defense would make a couple corrections and be fine. And then
our offense came out and made a bunch of big plays, some big throws and
catches. That gave us a lot of excitement and we knew that each side could
feed off each other."
Following a Yellow Jackets punt, the Hurricanes found the end zone again. The
71-yard drive spanned the first two quarters and took 13 plays, the last of
which was a 13-yard pass to Epps.
On a 3rd-and-1 from the Georgia Tech 13, Epps faded to the left side of the
end zone and Harris found the open receiver for the touchdown, as Miami
assumed a 14-3 advantage.
Blair missed a 39-yarder on the Jackets' next drive, and Miami took advantage,
as Matt Bosher made a 34-yard field goal with 5:45 remaining in the half. The
Hurricanes took the 17-3 lead into the break.
A high-scoring third quarter opened with another Miami score. The 60-yard
drive, during which the Hurricanes never saw a third down, was capped by
James' three-yard score just over three minutes in.
Georgia Tech, though, countered to prevent the game from being a runaway Miami
win. Nesbitt had a key 39-yard completion to Thomas on a 3rd-and-9 to keep the
drive going, and on 3rd-and-goal, Allen plowed three yards into the end zone.
The score got the Jackets within 24-10 with just over eight minutes to go.
But Miami took a 33-10 lead into the fourth quarter. A 14-yard TD pass from
Harris to Jimmy Graham came with 3:08 on the clock, and a botched punt snap by
Georgia Tech with 32 seconds left resulted in a safety.
On the ensuing Hurricanes possession, Bosher missed a 26-yarder, leading to a
Tech score. The Jackets went 80 yards in only four plays, the biggest of which
was Nesbitt's 56-yard pass to Thomas for the touchdown.
Georgia Tech then tried an onsides kick and Miami recovered at the Jackets'
42. The 'Canes went just 29 yards but drained nearly five minutes off the
clock. However, Bosher missed another field goal -- this one from 31 yards --
giving the Jackets the ball back.
But Georgia Tech's desperate attempts to reach the end zone fell short, as the
Hurricanes wound down the clock to seal the win.
Game Notes
Georgia Tech, which won last year's meeting by a 41-23 score in Atlanta, still
leads the all-time series, 10-5...Nesbitt ran 14 times for 29 yards...Graig
Cooper gained 93 yards on 17 carries for Miami, which totaled 454 yards...The
Hurricanes next travel to Blacksburg for a matchup with Virginia Tech next
Saturday...Georgia Tech hosts North Carolina next Saturday.
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