Dwyer scores go-ahead touchdown as Ga. Tech edges BC

 

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Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	12	18
Total Yards	235	262
Passing	73	142
Rushing	162	120
Penalties	5-76	2-16
3rd Down Conversions	3-12	8-19
4th Down Conversions	1-1	1-2
Turnovers	3	3
Possession	26:12	33:48

Air/Ground Leaders
Georgia Tech Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Nesbitt 6/13 73 0 0	Boston College Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Crane 18/35 142 1 2 Flutie 0/1 0 0 0
Georgia Tech Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Dwyer 18 108 1 43 Nesbitt 15 50 1 30	Boston College Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Haden 8 35 0 10 Smith 10 25 0 9
Georgia Tech Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Thomas 4 56 0 19 Melton 2 17 0 10	Boston College Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Purvis 3 38 0 21 Smith 3 30 0 19

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				GT	BC
	FG	09:07	Steve Aponavicius 36 Yd	0	3
	TD	03:46	Josh Nesbitt 1 Yd Run (Scott Blair Kick)	7	3
SECOND QUARTER				GT	BC
	FG	11:54	Steve Aponavicius 34 Yd	7	6
	FG	06:18	Steve Aponavicius 26 Yd	7	9
THIRD QUARTER				GT	BC
	FG	09:57	Scott Blair 27 Yd	10	9
	TD	03:03	Ifeanyi Momah 7 Yd Pass From Chris Crane (Steve Aponavicius Kick)	10	16
FOURTH QUARTER				GT	BC
	SF	10:24	Chris Crane Tackled By Vance Walker In End Zone	12	16
	TD	08:26	Jonathan Dwyer 43 Yd Run (Scott Blair Kick)	19	16

BOSTON -- After surviving three fumbles in the first half, Georgia Tech knew a big play of its own could quickly turn things around in the second.

"A couple of times when we called the play, we thought, 'This is going to be it," quarterback Josh Nesbitt said after leading Georgia Tech to a 19-16 victory over Boston College on Saturday. "It only takes one play to score."

Stalled Out

How did Boston College lose to Georgia Tech? Its vaunted rush defense did not do as well as it has in the past eight games.

BC Defense Last 9 Games

	Previous 8 Games	Sat. vs. GT
Rush YPG Allowed	66.3	165*
Yds/Rush Allowed	2.5	4.6
Rush TD Allowed	5	2
* -- Most allowed since Notre Dame ran for 168 last October

Jonathan Dwyer scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 43-yard, fourth-quarter run, rushing for 108 yards as the Yellow Jackets came back from a turnover-filled first half to beat BC. Nesbitt ran for 50 yards, including a 30-yard scramble for a first down that helped Tech run out the clock and a 1-yard sneak on fourth-and-inches to clinch it.

"Our quarterback played well for us, once we stopped turning the ball over," said Paul Johnson, who is the first Georgia Tech coach ever to win in his first Atlantic Coast Conference game. "I thought he made some great plays today. Some of our best plays were him scrambling, or taking it himself."

Getting the game in before the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna swept through New England, BC took a 16-10 lead when Chris Crane hit Ifeanyi Momah on a tug-of-war touchdown pass with 3:03 left in the third. But Crane was sacked in the end zone by Vance Walker for a safety, and four plays after the free kick Dwyer broke free on a pitch around the right side for the touchdown.

"The problem with this team is, if you miss your assignment on one play, it could go to the house," BC linebacker Mark Herzlich said. "That's what happened."

Nesbitt completed 6-of-13 passes for 73 yards, and he also ran it in from 1 yard out in the first quarter to give Tech a 7-3 lead.

BC (1-1, 0-1 ACC) gave up its first points and committed its first penalty of the season. The Eagles, who beat Kent State 21-0 last week, held a 9-7 halftime lead thanks to three fumbles by Georgia Tech (2-0, 1-0 ACC) and three field goals by Steve Aponavicius.

But BC, which also missed a field goal attempt in the first half, had three turnovers of its own in the second -- two interceptions and a fumble, also by Crane, to go with the safety.

"That's not just the quarterback," BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski said. "That's all 11 guys."

In his first home game since replacing Matt Ryan at quarterback, Crane completed 18-of-35 passes for 142 yards. Ryan, selected third overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL draft, led the Eagles to an 8-0 start last year as they climbed as high as No. 2 in the national polls.

Crane, a fifth-year senior who waited four years to get off the bench, had a rough start.

He coughed it up on the second play of the second half when he was sacked by linebacker Tony Clark, giving the Yellow Jackets the ball on the BC 29. After a holding penalty, Nesbitt hit Demaryius Thomas for a 19-yard gain on third-and-16.

After a 27-yard field goal by Scott Blair, Tech got the ball back when Michael Johnson batted Crane's pass into the air and Mario Butler came down with it. Brian Toal's 5-yard sack knocked Tech back, then Blair put a 48-yard attempt off the right upright.

Crane then led BC on an 11-play, 69-yard drive, scoring from 7 yards out when he threw the ball into the end zone and Momah came up with the ball at the same time as cornerback Jahi Word-Daniels. The officials quickly signaled a BC touchdown that made it 16-10.

But after a 46-yard punt by Blair pinned BC at its own 11, Jeff Smith was tackled for a 4-yard loss and then Crane was sacked for a safety that made it 16-12. After Dwyer gave the Yellow Jackets the lead, BC was stopped on downs at the Tech 34 with 4:08 left.

Nesbitt scrambled for 30 yards on second down to move Tech out of its own territory, then picked up the last inches for the first down that iced it.