Georgia Tech rolls to 49-34 victory over Mississippi State in Orange Bowl
By Keith Holt
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets ended their dream season by pounding the Mississippi State Bulldogs, 49-34, in the 2014 Capital One Orange Bowl. Paul Johnson’s team finished the season 11-3 in a year where they were projected to finish fifth in the ACC Coastal division.
Georgia Tech got off to a fast start, scoring touchdowns on two of their first three possessions. The Yellow Jacket defense came up big, forcing Dak Prescott interception on their third play from scrimmage. The ensuing Mississippi State drives of the first quarter ended in a turnover on downs and a punt for the Bulldogs. oach Paul Johnson’s team appeared to be in firm control at the end of the first quarter with a 14-0 lead.
As much as the first quarter belonged to the Yellow Jackets, it was all Bulldogs in the second period. Mississippi State got on the board early in the second quarter with a field goal after their drive stalled inside the 20-yard line. Dan Mullen’s offense was then able to put together a 55-yard touchdown drive capped off by a Dak Prescott run. Georgia Tech failed to score on their first two possessions of the period.
Justin Thomas threw an interception that Mississippi State was able to turn into a field goal. Tech bounced back when Thomas hit Darren Waller for their seonc end zone connection of the game to give the Jackets a 21-13 advantage with just 29 seconds before halftime. However, Mississippi State was able to put together a quick drive in those final seconds that ended with Prescott hitting Fred Ross on Hail Mary to end the half and (somehow) close the margin to one point at 21-20.
After receiving the halftime kickoff, it didn’t take long for Georgia Tech to take back control of the game. On the second play of the period, Synjyn Days broke open a 69-yard touchdown run to push the lead back up for the Yellow Jackets. Much like the opening quarter, the third was all Georgia Tech, as they kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone for the entire period. They tacked on two Justin Thomas touchdown runs to lead the game 42-20 going into the final period.
The Bulldogs were able to get on the board again in the fourth quarter, capping off 13 play drive with a touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to De’Runnya Wilson, but it was too little too late. Georgia Tech responded with another rushing touchdown from Days and held on to the game from there. Mississippi State was able to score a late touchdown to bring the game with in 2 scores.
The Yellow Jackets rolled up an Orange Bowl record 452 rushing yards. Quarterback Justin Thomas turned in a MVP performance with 125 yards passing and 121 rushing yards and a total of four touchdowns. Tech also got a monster game from Synjyn Days in the last game of his Yellow Jacket career with 171 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns.
Mississippi State was led by quarterback Dak Prescott’s 453 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. The Jackets were able to shut down the Bulldogs when it counted on the money downs. State was only 6 for 14 on third downs and 1 for 4 on fourth down, which included a few goal line stops.
The 12th-ranked Yellow Jackets are done for the year and should finish high in the final polls at the end of the season after taking down the number seven team in the country. Paul Johnson and his team finish the season with an 11-3 record, and this was a fine punctuation mark to a fantastic campaign.