ATLANTA – After having to endure an unexpected four-week layoff from football games, Jeff Sims played like he was determined to make up for lost time.
Sims threw three touchdown passes and ran for 108 yards, setting career highs, and Georgia Tech beat turnover-plagued Duke 56-33 on Saturday night as each team returned from a long layoff caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Led by Sims, the Yellow Jackets (3-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) ended a three-game losing streak.
Fellow freshman standout Jahmyr Gibbs had touchdown runs of 61 and 26 yards in the first half before leaving with an apparent left hamstring injury incurred at the end of a 43-yard catch. The former Dalton High School running back was escorted to the locker room late in the half and was on crutches when he returned to the sideline in the third quarter.
“When he got hurt, he came up and told me to finish the game, do what you do,” Sims said. “I told him ‘I’ve got you.'”