Georgia Tech’s Jeff Sims threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Adonicas Sanders with 51 seconds left as the visiting Yellow Jackets beat Duke 31-27 on Saturday afternoon in Durham, N.C.
The winning drive came as part of an 88-yard march in six plays.
Sims ended up 12-for-25 for 297 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, while also gaining 55 yards on 12 rushes.
Gunnar Holmberg threw for two touchdowns and Mataeo Durant rushed for 152 yards for Duke (3-3, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Durant had a school-record 43 carries. Holmberg finished 22-of-29 passing for 292 yards and his lone interception came in the waning seconds.
Sims threw for 18 yards to Kyric McGowan to break a tie with 6:30 left in the third quarter.
The Blue Devils pulled even after Holmberg’s fourth-down pass to Nicky Dalmolin for a 7-yard touchdown play with 12:33 remaining.
Duke used a 15-play drive to go ahead on Charlie Ham’s 22-yard field goal at the 5:06 mark. Durant gained 23 yards and Jordan Waters picked up 12 rushing yards on the 80-yard drive.
Georgia Tech (3-3, 2-2) had five second-half possessions, punting on four of those before its final chance began with 1:42 remaining at its own 12-yard line.
Georgia Tech scored the game’s first 14 points, but Duke had a chance to tie in the final minute of the first half. Ham missed a 42-yard field goal, leaving the Yellow Jackets ahead 17-14.
Ham’s 35-yarder in the third quarter tied the game.
Sims had a part in Georgia Tech’s two first-quarter touchdowns. He threw to Jahmyr Gibbs on a 77-yard play for the game’s first points on a possession that lasted just three plays.
Sims ran in from 1 yard out for the next touchdown to complete an eight-play, 77-yard march.
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Duke’s first points came on Holmberg’s 37-yard pass to Jake Bobo. Following a Georgia Tech field goal, Durant’s 1-yard run allowed Duke to close within 17-14 at halftime.
–Field Level Media