Georgia Tech falls short against Vanderbilt in the Birmingham Bowl

The Jackets were cited nine times for 95-yard penalties, both season highs.

Vanderbilt (7-6) got the first buzz thanks to Pavia’s 7-yard plunge pass to an open tight end, Cole Spence, in the end zone with 2:26 left in the first quarter. This play was the result of an eight-play, nearly 90-yard drive and was supported by Pavia’s 40-yard completion to Loic Fouonji on the right sideline.

With that score, Tech trailed in the second quarter, but tied the game with a 2-yard pass from King to tight end Ryland Goede. Goede’s scoring drive, the first of his career at Georgia, Mississippi State and Tech, capped a 15-game drive that lasted 7:20 after halftime.

However, Vandy countered with a 14-play drive of its own that ended when Pavia entered the game from the Tech 2 and kept the ball on the right end, resulting in a scoring drive that gave the Commodores a 14-7 lead.

With 1:55 left on the clock after the ensuing kickoff, the Jackets drove the ball to midfield where they took their first timeout with 35 ticks on the clock. Defensive holding, unsportsmanlike conduct and offside penalties against Vanderbilt moved the ball to the 21-yard line before King suffered a 2-yard loss and then was sacked for another three-yard loss.

Tech would settle for a 43-yard field goal from Aidan Birr and went into halftime down 14-10.

The Jackets ran five more plays than Vandy in the first half but had 31 fewer yards. The Commodores averaged six yards per play in the first 30 minutes.

Birr opened the scoring in the second half with a 33-yard kick with 8:34 left in the third quarter. That was the only score of the period until a wild end to the quarter.

Vandy gained possession 3:14 into the third period and was saved by a pass interference call in the third period, a call that Tech coach Brent Key vehemently objected to and which earned him a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Jackets were called for a defensive hold on the next snap.

One play later, Pavia threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Eli Stowers to make the score 21-13. When Tech got the ball back, King threw an interception right to Vandy, who secured CJ Taylor.

That set up Pavia’s third touchdown throw of the afternoon, a 7-yard fade to the right corner of the end zone, making the score 28-13 on the first play of the final 15 minutes. A minute later, Rutherford fumbled at the Vandy 27, and the Commodores quickly went the other way to score on another Pavia run, this time from 6 yards out, making the score 35-13 with 9:59 on the clock .

Not long after, it began to rain, a celebratory shower for the Nashville team and a season-ending dampener for the Atlanta team.

After a weather delay of nearly an hour, the Jackets added two late touchdowns, a 9-yard pass from King to Haynes with 5:03 left and a 2-yard pass from King to Bailey Stockton with 90 seconds left. Vanderbilt defeated Tech for the first time since 1941, breaking a 13-game winless streak (the teams tied in 1965).