RALEIGH — Georgia Tech was experiencing its longest scoring drought of the season, by far, early in the fourth quarter, on the road against an ACC opponent.
Just when it appeared the Yellow Jackets were headed to a second consecutive tight game, they pulled away with big plays on offense and defense Saturday.
Leading 21-14, the Jackets capped a 13-play, 67-yard drive with Orwin Smith’s 2-yard run. Justin Moore’s extra point made the score 28-14 with 12:29 remaining.
What happened next gave Tech some cushion and led many Wolfpack fans at Carter-Finley Stadium to pick up their cushions and head for the parking lot.
Safety Isaiah Johnson intercepted Mike Glennon’s pass over the middle and ran 34 yards for a touchdown.
“I was grinning ear to ear on that one,” Smith said. “It couldn’t have come at a more critical time. It kinda gave us some breathing room. No one likes close games.”
After Johnson’s score, the Jackets quickly regained possession and went ahead 42-14 on Tevin Washington’s 38-yard pass to Roddy Jones. It was a rare successful pass for Washington on Saturday. He entered the game with a 64.3 percent completion percentage, but finished 4-of-12 overall and 2-of-9 in the first half.
Yet, the Jackets made plays when they had to, just when the Wolfpack seemed to sense an opening.
“I’m not too [familiar] with being in the end zone, so whenever I get a chance, I try to make my way to it,” Johnson said.
One of the bigger plays of the quarter was Washington drawing N.C. State offside on fourth-and-1 from the Wolfpack’s 5-yard line. That change in snap count worked twice on the first fourth-quarter scoring drive and three times overall for the Jackets.
“That’s why you do it,” Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “It’s tough on those guys in short yardages. They’re trying to penetrate, trying to get off on the ball, and the snap count’s the same on every play. They see the guys fly back. They had a couple young guys, but yeah, it was big in the game.”
Two plays later, Smith was in the end zone, opening a Tech scoring spree of 21 points in less than 2 1/2 minutes, a run that was enough to offset several late Wolfpack scores.
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