Trailing 35-31 after coughing up every bit of a 21-point halftime lead, Georgia Tech’s Justin Thomas rolled right across the shadows of the south end zone before taking off up the right sideline. Forty-six yards later, Thomas had given the Yellow Jackets a chance to win a game that they should have already put away.
It was another in a game full of big plays for the senior in a 38-35 win over Duke on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
“It’s something I should have been doing,” Thomas said. “It’s just me trying to be aggressive and something I need to keep doing.”
Thomas followed that run with a 21-yard laser of a touchdown pass to A-back Clinton Lynch that gave the Yellow Jackets a 38-35 lead with 5:38 left.
Thomas set a season-high for passing yards (264 on 10-of-14) and rushing yards (195 on 17 carries) in leading Tech to victory. He was responsible for four touchdowns. He is the fourth player since 2000 to rush for at least 190 yards with two touchdowns and pass for at least 250 with two touchdowns.
It was the most yards of total offense by a Tech player since George Godsey’s school-record 477 yards in a 39-38 loss to Virginia in 2001.
“Our quarterback made some big plays in the second half,” coach Paul Johnson said.
Oh, but Thomas wasn’t done. Trying to protect that lead and facing third-and-17 on the 21-yard line with 2:19 left, Thomas took off on what appeared to be a busted play and ran to Duke’s 29-yard line. The scamper secured the win for Tech.
Thomas said Duke’s defense ran the same play on the previous play, so he knew it was coming.
“It’s probably the best game he’s ever played,” Duke linebacker Ben Humphreys said. “He came up and showed out. He’s a lot faster than he looked on film. Hats off to him and hats off to their offensive line.
“Some of those plays were just based on pure athleticism. He’s playing outside the offense. It’s tough to stop. It’s really tough to stop. Hats off to him. He’s been here three years and that’s the best game he’s played against us by far.”
The impact plays started early.
Thomas connected with wide receiver Brad Stewart on a 50-yard pass on third-and-5 on the 31-yard line on the first drive. With the reception, Thomas became the 39th player in FBS history with at least 4,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards in a career. Tech would score a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. Stewart fooled his defender with a stop-and-go move.
“That’s huge,” Thomas said. “It’s not all me. The guys have to protect it. And today the guys have to make the plays for me to be in that situation. Hopefully there’s more at the end of the season.”
On the second drive, Thomas rushed 82 yards for a touchdown on third-and-1 on the 18-yard line. Running to his right, Thomas was going to pitch the ball, but pulled it back as a Duke defender closed in. Thomas stutter-stepped and then cut up the field, outracing the remaining Blue Devils defenders. It was the longest run of Thomas’ career. The previous long was 65 yards against Clemson on Nov. 15, 2104.
In the second quarter, Thomas hit Ricky Jeune for 33 yards on first-and-10 on the 21-yard line. On the next play, he completed a 46-yard touchdown pass to Lynch, who was left open by Duke’s defense, to give the Yellow Jackets a 21-7 lead with 5:52 left.
Still not done, Thomas hit Jeune for 40 yards down to Duke’s 23-yard line with less than a minute remaining in the first half. Two plays later, Thomas scored from 23 yards on a called draw to give the Jackets a 27-7 lead with 33 seconds left.
Thomas finished the half with eight carries for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and 5-of-8 passing for a season-high 187 yards and a touchdown. His previous high was 172 yards set two weeks against Georgia Southern.
Jeune’s 73 yards is his season-high for receiving yards. His previous high was 57 against Mercer.
“You have to look at Justin Thomas and say he might have had his finest hour,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe. “He played like a senior; that’s what I told him after the ball game.”
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