Georgia Tech gets seven sacks, shocks No. 3 Miami

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.