ATLANTA – Only five days after being removed from Georgia Tech’s low point of the season, James Graham showed his dual-threat potential as the new leader of a revamped offense.
Graham threw three touchdown passes, including two to Ahmarean Brown, and the Yellow Jackets stopped a potential tying 2-point play with 5:17 remaining to beat North Carolina State 28-26 on Thursday night.
Graham also ran for 129 yards with a touchdown as the Jackets (3-8, 2-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped a three-game losing streak that included a 45-0 loss to Virginia Tech last Saturday. Graham, who was pulled from the lopsided loss to the Hokies, wasn’t leaving the win over the Wolfpack.
“Especially after last week, he had something to prove,” said wide receiver Malachi Carter, who had two catches for 74 yards. “He just went out there and did his thing.”
N.C. State (4-7, 1-6) has lost five straight games.
Graham helped the Jackets gain 395 yards – a dramatic improvement from their 134 yards less than a week earlier.
Even so, Tech had to withstand N.C. State’s comeback after leading 21-3 at halftime and 28-13 to start the fourth quarter. The Wolfpack rallied on Devin Leary’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Cary Angeline and Ricky Person’s 1-yard scoring run.
“I thought the guys played their butts off in the second half,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said. “We just did too many things in the first half that made it difficult to win.”
Person’s run cut the Jackets’ lead to two points.
After the touchdown, Leary rolled to his right before stopping to throw to tight end Cary Angeline on the left side of the field. Leary had no time to set his feet because of the pressure from Christian Campbell, though, and the pass for two points fell incomplete.
“He was running away from me,” Campbell said of Leary. “He had no idea I was behind him, so as soon as he turned to square up I was in his face.”
On the game’s first play, Graham threw a 54-yard pass to Carter. Two plays later, Graham threw to Brown in the right side of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown.
Graham’s 13-yard touchdown pass to former starting quarterback Tobias Oliver gave the Jackets their first two-touchdown advantage of the season.
The Wolfpack gained 457 yards in a strong offensive performance, including 230 on the ground as Zonovan Knight ran for 100 yards and Jordan Houston added 89. Still, it wasn’t enough to end the losing streak as the defense gave up 266 rushing yards.
Georgia Tech’s Graham lost two fumbles but posted big production with 112 yards rushing and 129 passing. Jordan Mason ran for 141 yards and couldn’t be stopped as the Jackets held the ball for the final five minutes.
Brown’s two touchdowns on his only two catches gave him seven for the season to match the program’s freshman record set by Calvin Johnson in 2004.
N.C. State entered the game ranked last among 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams with five forced turnovers, including none in ACC games. The league drought ended when Justice Dingle sacked Graham, forcing a fumble recovered by Ja’Quon Griffin at the N.C. State 15 late in the first quarter. Graham’s second lost fumble early in the fourth quarter was recovered by Larrell Murchison, and that set up Leary’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Angeline, trimming Tech’s lead to 28-20.
Tech will close its season against No. 4 Georgia on Nov. 30. It will be the Jackets’ third straight home game. Georgia has won two straight, eight of the past 10 and 15 of the past 18 in the series.
N.C. State will try to stretch its three-game winning streak against state rival North Carolina on Nov. 30.