Every week, college football finds a way to surprise you. Saturday afternoon in Atlanta was no different. FCS The Citadel pulled off an upset of Georgia Tech, beating the Yellow Jackets 27-24 in overtime.
The Bulldogs came to Atlanta as an 0-2 team, having lost their first two games of the season to Towson and Elon. Perhaps that's why they were 27-point underdogs against the Yellow Jackets. Of course, while the oddsmakers know enough about what they're doing to continue financing giant casinos and resorts, they don't get them all right.
This was not a fluky performance for The Citadel, either, though it was somewhat ironic. The Bulldogs used their-option offense to continually pound Georgia Tech's defense for 320 yards on the ground. Usually when you see an option team give another program fits, it's because you don't see many option attacks anymore. Georgia Tech, however, ran an option offense for the last decade. While Geoff Collins is transitioning the offense to more of a modern spread, the players on Georgia Tech's defense went against an option offense in practice every day before this season. You would have thought they'd be better prepared for what they saw on Saturday.
Making matters worse for Georgia Tech, for a moment, it looked as if the Yellow Jackets had averted disaster and won the game. Tobias Oliver scored a touchdown in the final seconds that would have given the Jackets a 27-24 lead, but there was one small problem. Georgia Tech's coaches had called their final timeout before the snap.
Georgia Tech thought it'd won the game with a last-second touchdown...but the Yellow Jackets called a timeout just before the snap. pic.twitter.com/EP9dX9w7q2
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) September 14, 2019
Georgia Tech settled for a game-tying field goal to force overtime. Then, after getting the ball first in OT, the Yellow Jackets missed a 48-yard field goal attempt. The Bulldogs would not miss their shot as Jacob Godek drilled a 37-yard attempt to give The Citadel the win.
Tech's loss adds to what's been an ugly weekend for the ACC. Boston College became the first Power Five program to lose a home game against Kansas in 11 years on Friday night. On Saturday, Virginia Tech narrowly escaped defeat against Furman, while NC State and Pitt both lost on the road.
