NCAAF Game Recap - Georgia Tech at Florida State
Sat Sep 12, 2020 3:30 PM EDT

Clem
37
Wake
13
F
MoStU
0
Okla
48
F
Duke
13
ND
27
F
UTEP
3
Tex
59
F
Syr
6
UNC
31
F
ULLaf
31
IASt
14
F
UAB
14
MiaFL
31
F
UNCC
20
App
35
F
ArkSt
35
K St
31
F
E Ky
10
WVU
56
F
ULMon
7
Army
37
F
GATec
16
FlaSt
13
F
UTSA
51
TxSt
48
F(1OT)
Camp
26
GaSo
27
F
APSU
0
Pitt
55
F
Cit
6
SoFL
27
F
Tul
27
SoAl
24
F
HBU
33
TxTch
35
F
W Ky
21
Lou
35
F
CoCar
38
Kans
23
F

Sep 12, 2020, 3:30 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Georgia Tech (1-0)

0

0

7

9

16

Florida State (0-1)

10

0

3

0

13

Georgia Tech edges Florida State 16-13
Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:51 PM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Georgia Tech had not won an ACC road game to open a season since 1996, long before everyone on the roster was born. But the Yellow Jackets now have a significant win to build on in Year Two under coach Geoff Collins.

True freshman Jeff Sims, who was once a Florida State commitment, threw for 277 yards and a touchdown as Georgia Tech defeated the Seminoles 16-13 on Saturday night.

Jordan Mason also ran 14 times for 55 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown run, as Georgia Tech won its fourth straight regular-season game in the series with Florida State.

"I'm just so proud of the men that are in this organization," Collins said. "Poured their hearts out."

Sims completed 24 of 35 passes and had two costly interceptions but he also ran for a team-leading 64 yards and helped guide Georgia Tech to the season-opening win. The Jacksonville, Fla., native backed off his pledge to Florida State just days after Mike Norvell was hired in December 2019.

It was a disappointing start for Norvell, who had won all four of his season openers at Memphis and had energized the fan base after the Seminoles suffered back-to-back losing seasons.

While Sims tossed two first-half interceptions, he helped the Yellow Jackets rally from a 10-0 halftime deficit.

"First half we made a lot of mistakes, I had a lot of mistakes," Sims said. "We were driving the ball good but couldn't finish. At halftime we locked in. We told ourselves we have to cut out the silly mistakes, go out there and execute."

The Yellow Jackets gradually pulled even and Florida State's James Blackman was sacked and fumbled at the Seminoles' 15, setting up Georgia Tech with a prime opportunity to go ahead. Jude Kelley had two field-goal attempts and one extra-point attempt blocked, but the freshman connected on the 32-yarder with 8:56 to go for the winning margin.

The Seminoles used defense and special teams to stay in the game but lost a season opener for the fourth straight year. Cornerback Asante Samuel had two interceptions and two pass break-ups for Florida State. Marvin Wilson blocked a pair of field-goal attempts, while Janarius Robinson blocked an extra-point attempt.

Blackman completed 23 of 43 passes for 198 yards but he was largely ineffective after the Seminoles scored a touchdown and a field goal on their first two drives. Blackman connected with Keyshawn Helton for a 3-yard touchdown on Florida State's opening drive.

The Seminoles had a pair of fourth-down chances on their last two drives but fell short. Blackman looked for Tamorrion Terry on the last fourth-down play with under two minutes left but the pass was into the ground in front of the Seminoles' top receiver.

"We did good things with the blocked kicks," Norvell said. "But collectively as a football team we were not consistent enough. We missed out on some opportunities to get them off the field. Had some miscommunication and things that we just absolutely can't have in all phases. Had some critical penalties, some dropped passes, obviously three turnovers."

A NEW-LOOK OFFENSE

Jeff Sims' 24 completions are the most by a Georgia Tech quarterback since Reggie Ball had 27 vs. Duke on Nov. 8, 2003. The Yellow Jackets are making a transition from the option to a spread offense.

DISTANCED ATTENDANCE

The announced attendance was 17,538, with chair-back seating placed in the bleachers around the bowl in an effort to keep fans separated from other groups. Florida State officials had expected between 19,000-20,000, roughly 25 percent of the capacity at Doak Campbell Stadium.

UP NEXT

Florida State plays at Miami on Sept. 26.

Georgia Tech plays host to UCF on Saturday.

---

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

GATec Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
J. Sims 34 23 67.6 1 277 45 2 77.7
FlaSt Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
J. Blackman 43 23 53.5 1 198 27 1 63.9
J. Travis 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 39.6

Rushing

GATec Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
J. Sims 13 64 4.9 18 0
J. Mason 14 55 3.9 19 1
FlaSt Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
L. Webb 13 39 3.0 9 0
J. Travis 6 39 6.5 10 0

Receiving

GATec Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
M. Carter 6 66 11.0 15 1
J. Camp 5 57 11.4 23 0
FlaSt Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
J. Corbin 8 55 6.9 18 0
T. Terry 6 52 8.7 15 0

Fumbles

Returning

GATec KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
D. Smith 2 21.5 0 22 0 0 0
J. Thomas 2 8.5 0 13 0 0 0
FlaSt KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
T. Jay 3 25.0 0 31 1 16.0 0 0

Punting

GATec Punt Yds Avg LgPu
P. Harvin III 3 125 41.7 53
FlaSt Punt Yds Avg LgPu
A. Mastromanno 3 145 48.3 50

Takeaways

GATec Int Yds InTD
Q. Jackson 1 17 0
FlaSt Int Yds InTD
A. Samuel Jr. 2 74 0

Team Stats Comparison

GATec FlaSt
Points For 16 13
Total Yards 438 307
Rushing Yards 161 109
Passing Yards 277 198
Passing Completions / Attempts 23/34 23/45
Turnovers 2 3
Interceptions Thrown 2 1
Fumbles - Lost 0/0 3/2
First Downs 24 21
Penalties - Yards 10/80 8/55
Time Of Possession 58:58 02:02
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 8/16 6/17
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 1/1 3/5
Punts - Average Yards 0/0 0/0

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter GATec FlaSt
FlaSt 06:55 TD Keyshawn Helton 3 yd pass from James Blackman (Parker Grothaus kick) 0 7
FlaSt 13:24 FG Parker Grothaus 37 yd FG 0 10
2nd Quarter GATec FlaSt
No scores this quarter
3rd Quarter GATec FlaSt
GATec 08:47 TD Jordan Mason 19 yd run (Jude Kelley kick) 7 10
FlaSt 13:56 FG Parker Grothaus 53 yd FG 7 13
4th Quarter GATec FlaSt
GATec 01:43 TD Malachi Carter 15 yd pass from Jeff Sims (missed kick) 13 13
GATec 06:04 FG Jude Kelley 32 yd FG 16 13

Game Information

Stadium: Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida
Attendance: 17,538
Game Time:
Weather: