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          Georgia Tech gets seven sacks, shocks No. 3 Miami

          Nov 19, 2005

            MIAMI (AP) -- Blitzing on almost every play, Georgia Tech was in
            Kyle Wright's face all night. And when he threw the ball up for
            grabs with the game on the line, the Yellow Jackets were there,
            too.

            They sacked Wright seven times and made two late defensive
            stands, intercepting his final pass to upset the third-ranked Miami
            Hurricanes 14-10 Saturday night.

            "Not anyone believed it could happen," Georgia Tech coach Chan
            Gailey said.

            KaMichael Hall had two sacks and made a fourth-down stop to end
            a Miami threat midway through the fourth quarter. Wright moved the
            Hurricanes 62 yards to the Georgia Tech 27 with 1:46 left before he
            was intercepted by Dennis Davis, and the Yellow Jackets ran out the
            clock.

            "With any quarterback, if we keep pressuring him, he's
            eventually going to fold," defensive end Eric Henderson said. "He
            can't keep getting hit like that all night. No quarterback can."

            The Hurricanes (8-2, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) were
            eliminated from contention for a berth in the national championship
            game. They lost for the first time since the season opener at
            Florida State.

            "We played about as bad as we could have played," said Wright,
            who threw for five scores a week ago at Wake Forest but managed
            just one touchdown pass against the Yellow Jackets' relentless
            blitzing. "They were doing things we prepared for. They just did a
            good job of doing it."

            The Hurricanes' loss could also keep them out of the ACC title
            game Dec. 3 in Jacksonville. If Virginia Tech beats North Carolina
            next weekend, the Hokies will represent the Coastal Division
            against Florida State, with the winner earning an automatic berth
            in the Bowl Championship Series.

            The Yellow Jackets (7-3, 5-3) bounced back from a loss a week
            ago to Virginia. They also shook off an NCAA decision this week to
            place the school on two years' probation for using 17 academically
            ineligible athletes in four sports, including 11 in football.

            "These guys have a tremendous ability to compartmentalize -- put
            all the junk to the side and play the game," Gailey said. "All
            the other stuff they can't control. What we can control is what
            happened out there."

            Georgia Tech mounted touchdown marches of 68 and 61 yards
            against the nation's No. 1-ranked defense, and Miami penalties
            contributed to both drives.

            Interference on Marcus Maxey negated an interception in the end
            zone three plays before Tashard Choice scored the game's first
            points on a 2-yard touchdown run. A penalty for excessive
            celebration led to the Yellow Jackets' other score on a 16-yard
            keeper by Reggie Ball.

            Ball went only 11-for-30 for 159 yards, but in key situations he
            repeatedly found Calvin Johnson, who had six receptions for 89
            yards.

            Georgia Tech hardly looked like the same team that gave up 51
            points to Virginia Tech in September, shutting out Miami in the
            second half. The Hurricanes converted one of 14 third-down
            situations and totaled 30 yards rushing.

            Wright went 14-for-31 for 207 yards and netted minus-35 yards
            rushing.

            "It's pretty obvious tonight we got it handed to us," coach
            Larry Coker said.

            Still, a fumbled punt by Georgia Tech gave Miami a chance to
            take the lead midway through the fourth quarter. But on
            fourth-and-1 at the 12, Charlie Jones was thrown for a 3-yard loss
            by Hall.

            The Hurricanes had one last chance, starting at their 13 with
            2:37 to go following Ben Arndt's 78-yard punt. Completions by
            Wright of 13, 25 and 24 yards gave Miami a first down at the 27,
            but he then lobbed a deep pass into heavy coverage, and Davis
            pulled it in.

            "We didn't need to force the ball," Coker said. "We had
            timeouts left and probably could have thrown something
            underneath."

            The final minutes would have been less harrowing for Georgia
            Tech had Travis Bell not missed earlier field goal attempts of 42
            and 44 yards.

            Wright looked best on Miami's final possession of the first
            half. With the Hurricane trailing 7-3 and starting at their own 10,
            he went 3-for-3 for 71 yards to get them into the end zone for the
            first time.

            Ryan Moore made an over-the-shoulder catch for a 37-yard gain,
            and Sinorice Moss scored on a 19-yard reception with 57 seconds
            left in the half to put Miami ahead 10-7.

            The excessive celebration penalty on linebacker Rocky McIntosh
            helped the Yellow Jackets escape a third-and-4 situation, setting
            up Ball's run to put them ahead to stay.

            It was a tough end to an embarrassing week for the Hurricanes. A
            lewd rap song performed by a group including several current and
            former players surfaced on the Internet, prompting athletic
            director Paul Dee to apologize on behalf of the school.