Turnovers costly in Hokies' loss to Georgia Tech

Jerod Evans accounted for 391 yards and three touchdowns, but Virginia Tech committed four turnovers in a 30-20 loss

November 12, 2016

BLACKSBURG — Jerod Evans threw for a touchdown and ran for two scores, but Virginia Tech turned the ball over four times and that was its undoing, as the No. 18 Hokies fell 30-20 to Georgia Tech at Lane Stadium on Saturday.

With the loss, the Hokies fell to 7-3 overall, 5-2 in the ACC. Georgia Tech moved to 6-4 overall, 3-4 in league play. Virginia Tech still can clinch the Coastal Division crown with a win over Virginia in the regular-season finale.

The Hokies played one of their worst games of the season. They turned the ball over four times, botched a short field-goal attempt, had a terrible snap right before halftime that ultimately led to a Georgia Tech touchdown right before halftime, allowed five sacks and gave up more than 300 yards rushing.

“We turned the ball over right from the start [on the opening kickoff] and never got anything going,” Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said. “In the end, we didn’t play well enough. We didn’t deserve to win the ball game. They did. Credit to them.”

The Hokies cut a 20-0 deficit to 20-7 on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Evans to Isaiah Ford with 12:30 left in the third quarter. They were in position to cut into it even more on their next possession, driving to the Georgia Tech 35. But Evans threw his second interception, ending the threat.

An Evans fumble in the fourth quarter led to a 56-yard touchdown run by Marcus Marshall. The Yellow Jackets scored 17 points off turnovers.

Marshall rushed for 143 yards for the Yellow Jackets. Backup quarterback Matthew Jordan, playing in place of an injury.

Evans threw for 316 yards and rushed for 75 to pace the Hokies.

OF NOTE

• Virginia Tech had four players - linebacker Andrew Motuapauaka (14), linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (12), defensive tackle Woody Baron (10) and defensive end Vinny Mihota (10) - with double figures in tackles in the same game for the first time since the Boston College game on Nov. 22, 2003. In that game, Mikal Baaqee (15), Brandon Manning (14), DeAngelo Hall (13), Vegas Robinson (12) and Michael Crawford (12) all were in double figures.

• Evans now has 22 touchdown passes on the season and needs just three more to pass Tyrod Taylor (24, 2010) for the Tech single-season record. He is now responsible for 28 touchdowns and needs just three more to pass Logan Thomas’ single-season mark (30, 2011).

• Evans saw his streak of consecutive passes without an interception end at 118 – the fifth-longest such streak in the past 30 seasons.

• Ford caught eight passes for 85 yards and the touchdown. With the eight receptions, he broke Jarrett Boykin’s record (184, 2008-11) for career receptions. He now has 189 in his career.

• Ford also moved into second place on the list for career receiving yardage, passing Danny Coale (2,658, 2008-11). He now has 2,668 and needs 217 yards to pass Boykin’s all-time mark of 2,884.

• Cam Phillips set a career high with 10 receptions and now has 135 for his career – a number that moved him into fourth place on the all-time list.

UP NEXT

The Hokies travel to South Bend, Indiana, to take on Notre Dame next Saturday in the first meeting between the two programs. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m., and the game will be televised by NBC. The Hokies last appeared on NBC in the 2006 Gator Bowl when they beat Louisville 35-24.

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