Wake Forest went all in in its bid to upset 16th-ranked Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon at Allegacy Stadium but fell just short.
The Demon Deacons battled the Yellow Jackets into overtime and went for the win by going for a two-point conversion after a Demond Claiborne short touchdown run but Robby Ashford threw an interception as he was about to get sacked. The Yellow Jackets came away with the 30-29 win.
The win by the Yellow Jackets improved them to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the ACC.
Coach Jake Dickert, who made the bold call to go for the two points, watched his team fall to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in the ACC.
The Demon Deacons were trying to beat a ranked team at home for the first time since beating the 13th-ranked NC State Wolfpack in 2021.
Connor Calvert’s field goal with five minutes to go gave the Demon Deacons a 23-20 lead. Calvert was able to redeem is miss from a minute earlier after the Demon Deacons caused a turnover to give the ball back.
The Yellow Jackets tied the game with 9:45 left on a Chris Coleman 20-yard field goal.
After the Demon Deacons took a 20-3 lead early in the third quarter the Yellow Jackets scored two touchdowns to cut the lead to 20-17 heading into the fourth quarter.
Ashford got banged up on a tackle after a long run and had to miss a series and backup Deshawn Purdie struggled. Ashford, however, got back in the game wearing a right-knee brace after the Yellow Jackets had cut the margin to three points.
The Demon Deacons held a 17-3 halftime lead after Connor Calvert made a short field goal with 22 seconds left.
The Demon Deacons took a 14-3 lead late in the half thanks to a Claiborne 27-yard run that was helped by Ashford getting out in front for a block after handing off to Claiborne.
The Demon Deacons finally got their offense going on their fourth possession of the game. Ashford first hit Chris Barnes on a stop-and-go for a long gain and a few plays later Ashford scored on a 4-yard keeper to make it 7-3.
On the completion to Barnes, however, he was banged up with what looked like a right leg injury. Barnes was able to walk off the field under his own power and he returned on the next possession.
The Yellow Jackets scored on their second possession of the game, but the Demon Deacons defense buckled down. The Yellow Jackets had to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Aiden Birr for a 3-0 lead.
Next games
Wake Forest will travel to Blacksburg, Va. to face Virginia Tech on Saturday at 1 p.m. in a game that will be shown on The CW. This will be the Demon Deacons first road game of the season.
Georgia Tech will have this Saturday off but will also play Virginia Tech on Oct. 11 in Atlanta at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Noteworthy
Wake Forest’s last victory over the Yellow Jackets came in the 2006 ACC championship game, while their most recent home win for the Demon Deacons was in Winston-Salem in 1999….
Quarterback Haynes King has rushed for a touchdown in eight consecutive regular-season games going back to last season but was held….
Chris Barnes ranks second in the ACC with an impressive 20.7 yards per reception. He has totaled 12 catches for 248 yards and is ranked second in the nation in kick-return average at 42.8 yards per game….
jdell@wsjournal.com
336-727-4081
@johndellWSJ
Love
0
Funny
0
Wow
0
Sad
0
Angry
0
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
John Dell
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today