Georgia Tech hands No. 4 Miami its first loss of the season

ATLANTA – Cam Ward and No. 4 Miami finally ran out of second-half comebacks as Haynes King led Georgia Tech to a 28-23 victory over the previously unbeaten Hurricanes on Saturday and the Yellow Jackets to their first win over the top five gave team in 15 years.

After the game, fans stormed the field and toppled both goal posts.

King ran for 93 yards with a touchdown and a score. The Yellow Jackets passed for 347 yards and three touchdown passes from Ward, a Heisman Trophy contender.

Miami (9-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 4 College Football Playoff seed) was denied its first 10-0 start since 2017. Georgia Tech (6-4, 4-3) became bowl eligible, ending a two-game losing streak that began when King, the dual-threat quarterback, was sidelined with a right shoulder injury.

Miami's unbeaten streak in its first nine games included three second-half comebacks. Miami beat Duke 53-31 last week after the Blue Devils led 28-17 in the third quarter. Against Georgia Tech, the Hurricanes had just a 10-7 lead and trailed the rest of the way after the Yellow Jackets took a 14-10 lead in the second quarter.

King's 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter gave the Yellow Jackets a 28-16 lead. Ward's 38-yard scoring pass to Xavier Restrepo cut the lead to 28-23. Miami's final possession began on the 19th with 1:52 left, but Ward fumbled when he was sacked by Romello Height and Jordan van den Berg recovered for Georgia Tech.

Georgia Tech's Jamal Haynes broke through Miami's defensive front with a 65-yard run on the game's second play and added a 16-yard scoring run two plays later as the Yellow Jackets took a 7-0 lead.

Ward responded with a record-setting 74-yard scoring pass to Elijah Arroyo. It was Ward's school-record 30th touchdown pass of the season. Ward was tied with Steve Walsh, who threw 29 goal passes in 1988.

Haynes left the game after a hard hit by safety Jaden Harris on the Yellow Jackets' next possession and did not return.

The takeaway food Miami: Three fourth-down stops were costly for Ward and the Miami offense. Ward came under pressure and threw an incompletion on fourth-and-1 at the Georgia Tech 23 in the second quarter. Ward threw another incompletion on fourth-and-1 at the Georgia Tech 39 on the Hurricanes' first drive of the second half of the fourth quarter on 4th-and-16 from the Georgia Tech 22 after a penalty negated an apparent pass to Isaiah Horton on 4th-and-6.

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets picked up their first win over a top-five team since beating No. 4 Virginia 28-23 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in 2009. The Yellow Jackets showed offensive creativity by utilizing the running skills of King and Wide Receiver Eric Singleton Jr. took advantage. to overcome the injuries to Haynes and Alexander. Backup quarterback Aaron Philo added a touchdown pass.

Impact on the survey: The Hurricanes will take a hit in the AP Top 25 and College Football Playoff rankings with their first loss while also bowing out of a matchup with SMU at the top of the ACC standings.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.