ATLANTA, Ga. — No. 16 Georgia Tech saw its ACC Championship hopes collapse Saturday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium, as a costly third-quarter turnover derailed a furious comeback attempt in a 42–28 loss to Pittsburgh.
What began as a nightmare only worsened for the Yellow Jackets. Pitt jumped out to a commanding 28–0 lead early in the second quarter, stunning the home crowd and putting Georgia Tech in desperation mode. The Jackets responded with grit, cutting the deficit to 14 points by halftime and gaining momentum coming out of the break.
That momentum didn’t last.
With six minutes left in the third quarter, Georgia Tech had marched to Pittsburgh’s 5-yard line, poised to make it a one-score game. Instead, quarterback Haynes King delivered the turning point of the night — and perhaps the season. His pass was intercepted by Braylon Lovelace, who returned it 100 yards for a touchdown, flipping Georgia Tech’s rally into a 35–14 hole.
From that moment, the path to Charlotte grew increasingly difficult.
The Yellow Jackets continued to battle and trimmed the deficit to seven with under five minutes remaining, but the comeback bid officially ended when Ja’Kyrian Turner exploded for a 56-yard touchdown run, sealing Pitt’s victory.
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ACC Title Path Now Extremely Complicated
Entering Saturday, the scenario was simple for Georgia Tech: beat Pittsburgh and clinch a spot in the ACC Championship Game. With the loss, the formula has become tangled and highly dependent on outside results.
For the Jackets to reach Charlotte, all of the following would need to happen:
Pitt must defeat Miami in the regular-season finale
Virginia must finish 6–2 with a loss to Virginia Tech
SMU must finish either 6–2 or 5–3 in conference play — and if 5–3, must lose to Cal in their finale
This combination would give Pitt the ACC Championship berth, while Georgia Tech would finish ahead of Virginia and SMU in the standings through record-against-common-opponent tiebreakers.
Tech last appeared in the ACC Championship in 2014.
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A Tough Road Ahead
Georgia Tech now prepares for one of the biggest challenges in college football: a showdown against No. 5 Georgia, winners of seven straight. The matchup will be held next Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with both momentum and postseason stakes tilted heavily toward the Bulldogs.
The Yellow Jackets will need to quickly regroup — and do some scoreboard watching — if they still hope to keep their championship aspirations alive.
