Tyler Van Dyke passed for 389 yards and three touchdowns Saturday afternoon, leading the host Miami Hurricanes to a 33-30 win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
In just his sixth collegiate start, Van Dyke completed 22-of-34 passes as Miami (5-4, 3-2) won its third straight ACC game by overcoming three first-half turnovers.
Tech’s Jaylon King returned Miami’s third lost fumble 40 yards for a touchdown. That gave the Yellow Jackets a 21-17 lead midway through the second quarter, but the Hurricanes responded by dominating the line of scrimmage in the second half.
Miami outgained Georgia Tech in the second half, 250-116, including a 99 to minus-5 edge on the ground.
Charleston Rambo finished with seven catches for 210 yards and one TD for Miami, and Jaylan Knighton had 32 rushes for 162 yards and one score.
The Jackets (3-6, 2-5) have lost four of their past five games, including three in a row.
Tech’s Jahmyr Gibbs, who had rushed for 245 yards over the past two games, had 67 yards rushing on nine carries.
Jackets quarterback Jeff Sims completed 21-of-38 passes for 194 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Tech also got a career-long 71-yard run from Jordan Mason.
Miami scored on its first possession, an 11-play, 93-yard drive. Van Dyke went 5-for-7 for 58 yards on the march, which ended with an eight-yard rope to the left-corner of the end zone, where Mike Harley made a one-handed grab.
The Hurricanes made it 14-0 on their second drive, taking advantage of a Jackets coverage bust on third-and-12 for Van Dyke’s 35-yard TD toss to Rambo.
After Miami lost a pair of fumbles — by Rambo and Elijah Arroyo — Tech tied the score 14-14 on Mason’s 71-yard run in the first quarter and Gibbs’ 29-yarder in the second.
Miami’s Andres Borregales put Miami back on top with a 28-yard field goal, but when Knighton fumbled, King caught the ball in the air and ran it back for a 21-17 Jackets lead.
On the last scoring chance of the first half, Borregales missed a 40-yard kick off the left post.
Both teams scored touchdowns on their first second-half possessions.
Van Dyke’s 60-yard pass to Rambo set up a two-yard TD run by Knighton for Miami, and Gibbs followed with a 50-yard TD on a bubble screen from Sims, giving Georgia Tech a 28-24 lead.
Miami cut its deficit to 28-27 on Borregales’ 31-yard field goal with 13:20 left in the fourth.
Then with 10:27 remaining, Miami took a 33-28 lead on Van Dyke’s 15-yard TD pass to Key’Shawn Smith, who broke two tackles for what became the winning score.
Yet, Tech stayed within a field goal when Juanyeh Thomas intercepted a two-point conversion try and returned it 102 yards for the team’s first defensive two-point conversion since 1989.
The pick-six conversion cut Miami’s lead to 33-30, but the Hurricanes held on from there.
–Field Level Media