Georgia Tech could not sustain its momentum from last week's win over Duke, and the Yellow Jackets dropped to 2-4 for the season with a road loss to Virginia Tech.
The first half went about as bad as a half could go, and Georgia Tech trailed the Hokies 24-3 at halftime. They quickly rebounded with two quick scores in the second half to cut the lead to 24-17, and Alberto Mendoza and the Yellow Jackets offense had the ball with a chance to tie it, but they went three-and-out and Virginia Tech did not let their former ACC Coastal rival get that close again.
There were some positives for Brent Key's team, but not nearly enough and that is why they lost on the road today.
Here are some winners and losers from today's game.
Winner: Alberto Mendoza
While Georgia Tech lost, this was arguably the best game of Alberto Mendoza's career on The Flats.
Mendoza finished the day 29-for-38 for 335 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The turnover was costly, but Virginia Tech was not able to get any points off the turnovers. As he does most every week, Mendoza look composed leading the offense, made timely throws, and evaded the pressure when it came.
One area where Mendoza really struggled though was ball security. He had the ball knocked loose a number of times due to holding it too long and getting pressured from behind and it could have made this game even worse.
Loser: Georgia Tech's defense
The one thing that Georgia Tech was able to do on the defensive side of the ball was get pressure on the quarterback, as they racked up five sacks and eight tackles for loss.
But they allowed far too many big plays and could not get stops when needed. Despite sacking Ethan Grunkemeyer five times, he still finished the day 15-for-22 for 250 yards and three touchdowns.
The ground game for the Hokies earned 159 yards, averaged four yards per carry, but if you take away the sack yardage, it was a productive day on the ground for Virginia Tech.
The defense is not the only reason that Georgia Tech lost, but it is a big reason.
Winner: Trelain Maddox
With no Justice Haynes or Malachi Hosley today, it was up to Trelain Maddox to build off his breakout performance vs Duke and he did that.
Maddox finished the day with 96 yards on only 12 carries and he had a 42-yard touchdown to begin the second half. He also chipped in three catches for 16 yards.
Maddox has been a great story over the past couple of weeks nad he has earned a spot in the running back rotation even when everyone gets healthy.
Loser: Aidan Birr
Birr has a lot of great moments as the Yellow Jackets kicker and has been one of the most productive in Georgia Tech history, but he missed another short field goal today that would have cut into the Hokies' lead. When you are counted on as one of the best players on the team, you have to make those.
Winner: Jordan Allen
Allen has been the most productive receiver for the Yellow Jackets this season and has been a favorite target of Mendoza.
Today against the Hokies defense, Allen finished with 10 catches (on 13 targets) and 120 yards. Most of Georgia Tech's production at the receiver comes from either Allen or Dalen Penson and that continued today. Allen has become one of the most reliable weapons on the Yellow Jackets offense and showed why today.
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