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No. 10 Virginia Tech takes down No. 20 Georgia Tech

Nov 11, 2011 - 6:10 AM Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Logan Thomas threw three touchdown passes and added two more scores on the ground, as 10th-ranked Virginia Tech moved one step closer to an ACC Coastal Division crown with a 37-26 victory over No. 20 Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Thomas finished with 209 yards on 7-of-13 passing and totaled 70 yards on 18 carries for the Hokies (9-1, 5-1 ACC), who notched their fifth straight win.

Virginia Tech built an 11-point lead late in the first half and rallied from a 26-21 deficit in the third quarter.

Quarterback Tevin Washington had three rushing touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets (7-3, 4-3), who were eliminated from the division race. Virginia is second in the standings at 3-2.

One play does not a game make, but Georgia Tech's Jeremiah Attaochu committed a personal foul penalty that certainly shifted momentum.

With his team ahead by five, Attaochu sacked Thomas on third down at the Virginia Tech 15-yard line. However, Attaochu was a little too aggressive and his penalty extended the drive. Thomas wound up scampering 12 yards to the end zone, restoring the lead for Virginia Tech with 32 seconds remaining in the third quarter. A failed two-point conversion kept the score at 27-26.

"It was huge and it compounded with the fact that they drove it down and scored," said Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson about the infraction. "Like I said, we might have gotten the ball back somewhere around midfield up five and had the momentum to possibly have a two score lead, and in that game we needed to be up two scores."

On Virginia Tech's previous possession, running back David Wilson coughed up the ball and the fumble resulted in Washington stretching across the goal line for touchdown No. 3.

Now trailing, Georgia Tech elected to go for it on 4th-and-1 from its own 31 early in the fourth quarter and Washington was stopped for no gain.

"I thought we could make a yard, and we didn't," Johnson said. "We didn't do a very good job with the play, maybe we could have had a different play call, we didn't execute the one that was called."

It took the Hokies seven plays to increase their lead as Thomas hooked up with Chris Drager for a 14-yard touchdown.

Cody Journell then kicked a game-sealing 23-yard field goal with 3:02 to play, pushing the nation's longest road winning streak to 12 games.

"It wasn't easy out there, but we hung in there and got the win," said Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer.

A two-yard TD run by Washington accounted for all the scoring in the opening 15 minutes.

Georgia Tech punted from its own end zone early in the second quarter, giving the visitors excellent field position. Thomas, who was denied on third down from the one, powered his way across the goal line on fourth down to draw Virginia Tech even.

Thomas then capped a 70-yard drive with a nine-yard TD pass to Jarrett Boykin to put the Hokies up 14-7.

The teams combined for 13 points in the final minute of the half. After Justin Moore kicked a 41-yard field goal for Georgia Tech, Thomas answered with a 63- yard scoring strike to Danny Coale on the first play of the ensuing drive. Moore hit from 36 yards as time expired.

Washington capped the opening drive of the third with a one-yard TD run, trimming the Yellow Jackets' deficit to 21-19 after the two-point try failed.

Game Notes

Wilson had 175 yards on 23 carries...Washington completed half of his 10 pass attempts and finished with 97 yards...Virginia Tech registered five sacks.