FINAL STATS
JSU POSTGAME NOTES
PHOTO GALLERY
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech totaled 484 yards, 349 on the ground, on its way to a 41-14 win over Jacksonville State in front a crowd of 45,706 fans Thursday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium-Grant Field.
Ryan Perrilloux completed a career-high 22 of 37 passes for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his Gamecock debut, passing his previous career-high of 20 completions. Maurice Dupree caught nine passes for 39 yards and two touchdowns and is the most receptions since Joey Hamilton caught seven passes on September 25, 1999.
“I thought Ryan had a lot of things go wrong around him, but he made some mistakes out there too,” said JSU head coach Jack Crowe. “I did think our offensive line fought their butts off to give him some protection. We really had a lot of players that made a lot of mistakes, but they are not mistakes that we can't fix.”
Georgia Tech jumped out to the early lead after Jonathan Dwyer scampered 21 yards to cap the three-play, 27-yard drive and give GT a 7-0 lead with 5:45 left in the first quarter. The drive began after Morgan Burnett intercepted a Gamecock pass on JSU's second offensive possession.
The Yellow Jackets then pushed the lead to 14-0 on their next possession after Quarterback Josh Nesbitt plunged in from two yards with 1:34 left in the first quarter.
Roddy Jones' 39-yard reception and Lucas Cox's 22-yard run set up the Yellow Jackets' next score early in the second quarter. Nesbitt rushed in from one-yard out with 2:52 gone off the second quarter clock for a 21-0 advantage.
Georgia Tech put the final score of the first half on the board with 2:32 left after Dwyer rambled 29-yards to wrap up a four-play, 61-yard drive to give Tech a 27-0 lead at halftime.
“It looked like a bunch of guys that has never played with each other before,” said Crowe. “We played much better in the second half, playing to a 14-14 tie, after having so many mistakes in the final half. But, we still have a long way to go.”
A.J. Davis recovered a Tech fumble on the opening second half kickoff to put the Gamecocks in business at the Tech 33. Perrilloux had runs of 12 and 15 yards and then completed a five-yard touchdown pass to Dupree for JSU's first score of the night as the Gamecocks cut the deficit to 27-7 with 12:53 remaining in the third quarter.
Georgia Tech answered on its next possession, driving 76 yards in six plays to take a 34-7 lead. Jones 49-yard touchdown scamper on an option pitch from Nesbitt came with 10:36 left in the third quarter.
The Yellow Jackets added to its lead with 11:50 to play in the fourth quarter after Jaybo Shaw's 43-yard run set up his own two-yard run for Tech's final score of the night and a 41-7 lead. With 11:50 left in the game.
Jacksonville State finished the scoring on the night after Perrilloux found Dupree for a 16-yard scoring strike with :37 left in the game for the final margin.
Jacksonville State hosts Alabama A&M for its home opener at Paul Snow Stadium on Saturday, September 6 at 6 p.m. Tickets are available by calling the JSU Athletic Ticket Office at 256-782-8499.
