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Georgia Tech Falls to Pitt Despite Strong Performance from Jeff Sims

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Football

Jeff Sims threw for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Georgia Tech, but Pittsburgh kept the ball for 37:39 on Thursday night to outlast the Yellow Jackets, 34-20, at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Despite Pitt’s 318 yards on the ground and 513 yards of total offense, Georgia Tech remained within striking distance throughout thanks to a herculean effort by its defense in the red zone. Pitt scored a touchdown on just one of its six trips inside the Yellow Jackets’ 20 yard line.

Pitt (6-5, 5-5 ACC) outgained Georgia Tech (3-7, 3-6 ACC) by a 305-128 margin in the first half, but led just 16-7 at the break thanks to the Yellow Jackets limiting the Panthers to just three field goals on four red-zone opportunities. The Panthers extended the lead to 23-7 early in the third quarter but behind Sims, the Jackets went on to hold a 220-208 yardage advantage in the second half.

The Jackets’ red-zone defense allowed Sims to heat up in the second half, when he threw for 128 of his 238 yards and both touchdowns, including an 18-yard scoring strike to Dylan Deveney that pulled the Jackets within a score at 26-20 with 6:01 remaining. But, with Georgia Tech selling out defensively in an attempt to get the ball back trailing by just one score, Pitt running back Vincent Davis capped an outstanding night with a 38-yard touchdown run that extended the Panthers lead to 34-20.

The Yellow Jackets proceeded to march 66 yards to the Pitt 9 on their next possession and were on the verge of making things interesting in the final minute, but a pair of throws from backup quarterback Jordan Yates to senior wideout Jalen Camp fell incomplete in the end zone and the Jackets didn’t get the benefit of a pass interference call to extend the drive.

Camp finished with a career-high 97 receiving yards on a career-high-tying five receptions, including a 21-yard touchdown catch from Sims. Jamious Griffin ran for 43 yards and Jordan Mason added 41 for the Yellow Jackets, who totaled 348 yards of offense against the ACC’s third-ranked defense.

Pitt’s Davis ran for 247 yards on 25 carries as the Panthers ran 87 plays en route to its 15:42 advantage in possession time.

Georgia Tech concludes its regular season on Saturday, Dec. 19 at Miami (Fla.). Kickoff time and television arrangements for the regular-season finale will be announced on Sunday.