Jack Plummer threw three touchdown passes and Jawhar Jordan ran for 96 yards and a score Friday as visiting Louisville topped Georgia Tech 39-34 in Atlanta in the season opener for both ACC programs.
In the Louisville coaching debut for Jeff Brohm, a former standout quarterback for the Cardinals, the visitors outscored the Yellow Jackets 26-6 during the second half. Plummer finished 18 of 31 for 247 yards for Louisville (1-0, 1-0 ACC), while Jamari Thrash caught seven balls for 88 yards and two scores.
Haynes King went 19 of 32 for 313 yards with three touchdowns and one interception for Georgia Tech (0-1, 0-1).
Trailing by one, the Yellow Jackets were in field-goal range with under four minutes remaining before Dezmond Tell hit King from the blind side, forcing a fumble that Lou Wilson recovered. On the next play, Jordan sprinted up the middle for a 74-yard touchdown.
Brock Travelstead drilled a 38-yard field goal with 2:39 left to push the Louisville lead to 39-28. Georgia Tech found the end zone with 1:07 to play, but the Yellow Jackets were unable to secure the ensuing onside kick.
Georgia Tech trailed 6-0 after the first quarter before erupting for four touchdowns in the second stanza.
King had two passing touchdowns in the period — a 2-yard touchdown pass to Brett Seither and a quick screen with Chase Lane, who stormed down the right sideline for a 48-yard score. Trey Cooley added two TD runs during the second quarter, finding the end zone from 1 and 23 yards to help the Yellow Jackets lead 28-13 at the break.
The hosts’ momentum did not carry into the third quarter, however, as Louisville scored the only 10 points of the period. The Cardinals outgained the Yellow Jackets 142-21 in the quarter, highlighted by Plummer’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Thrash.
After a missed 33-yard field goal by Georgia Tech’s Gavin Stewart early in the fourth quarter, Louisville regained the lead with 8:08 remaining on Plummer’s 20-yard hookup with Thrash.
–Field Level Media
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–Field Level Media
