Georgia Tech: 24
Wake Forest: 7

After improving to 3-3 with a win over NC State at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Georgia Tech looked to build on its recent success with a trip to Winston-Salem to face the 3-2 Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Deacs took the 2002 meeting 24-21 in Atlanta to improve to 7-18 in the all-time series. The victory snapped a two-game winning streak for the Jackets that spanned the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

On the opening drive, the Jackets marched straight down the field to an early 7-0 lead. Reggie Ball’s 55 yard completion to Jonathan Smith highlighted the drive before the freshman quarterback found John Paul Foschi for the touchdown from the 10 yard line.

A punting duel then consumed the majority of the first half before Wake Forest made a solid bid for a score late in the second quarter. The Deacons pushed from their own 39 to the Georgia Tech 8 while consuming the remaining three minutes of the period. But the drive stalled here and Ryan Plackemeier’s 25 yard field goal attempt was blocked by James Butler to preserve Tech’s 7-0 lead at intermission.

After the break, the action picked up in the third quarter. Georgia Tech forced a quick punt and then traveled 70 yards in 14 plays to extend its lead to 10-0 on a 44 yard Dan Burnett field goal. The drive consumed nearly half of the period, taking just under seven minutes off the clock before placing the ball back in the hands of the Demon Deacon offense.

Wake Forest then answered with a 71 yard drive of its own, capping off the march with a 4 yard Chris Barclay touchdown run to make it 10-7. Barclay also highlighted the drive with a 46 yard run to the Yellow Jacket 18 to setup his eventual score.

Four plays into the ensuing drive, Ball went deep to Smith for a 65 yard touchdown pass to give Tech some breathing room with a 17-7 lead.

The situation stood as such until the Jackets marched 78 yards in 16 plays while consuming eight minutes of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 24-7 and virtually put an end to the contest. P.J. Daniels was magnificent on the drive, rushing for 54 yards on 10 carries and notching the touchdown on a 1 yard run.

With little time remaining, Wake Forest had no chance to mount a comeback and threw a deep interception at the Tech 7 as time expired.

The Deacons would win just two of their remaining six games to finish the year at 5-7, overall, coming up one game short of bowl eligibility.

Statistics:

First downs:
GT – 22
WF – 11

Rushing yards:
GT – 216
WF – 145

Passing (Comp-Att-Yds):
GT – 12-24-225
WF – 14-28-132

Interceptions thrown:
GT – 0
WF – 2

Fumbles (Total-Lost):
GT – 1-0
WF – 3-0

Penalties (Total-Yds):
GT – 6-50
WF – 5-43

References:
Game Summary: http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/101103aaa.html