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Ryan, defense propel Boston College past Georgia Tech

Sep 16, 2007 - 9:54 AM ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Boston College took a big step toward the Atlantic Coast Conference crown on Saturday.

Matt Ryan passed for 435 yards and a touchdown to lead No. 21 Boston College to a 24-10 victory over the 15th-ranked Georgia Tech.

The Eagles (3-0, 3-0 ACC Atlantic) held Tashard Choice to just 30 yards on 15 carries after the Yellow Jackets running back averaged 153 rushing yards over his first two games this season.

Boston College took a 7-0 edge in the first quarter when L.V. Whitworth capped an 11-play, 95-yard opening drive by plowing into the end zone from one yard out. Ryan completed 5-of-7 passes on the drive for 93 yards.

"Matt's maturity level is as good as any quarterback I've been around," Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski said. "The game slows down for him. He doesn't get rattled about anything that he does. I'm sure glad I've got him."

Ryan found Brandon Robinson for a 39-yard touchdown score in the second quarter to extend the Eagles' advantage to 14-0, a lead they would take into intermission.

Ryan completed 30-of-43 passes and averaged over 10 yards per attempt. His favorite targets were Robinson, who had five receptions for 128 yards, and Kevin Challenger, who had seven catches for 88 yards.

Ryan has passed for 985 yards and seven touchdowns with three interceptions this season.

"I'll tell you what, he (Matt Ryan) impressed me," Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said. "He impressed me on film and he impressed in person. He was as good as advertised; I can't imagine anyone playing much better than he did. I was extremely impressed. They have a good football team. And they played well tonight. We didn't play as well and they deserved to win."

Whitworth broke a 16-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to open up a 21-0 Boston College lead.

Georgia Tech (2-1, 0-1 Coastal) managed 266 yards of total offense and converted just 2-of-13 on third down.

Jonathan Dwyer ended the Eagles' shutout bid with a two-yard touchdown rush early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 21-7. The teams exchanged field goals to cap the scoring.

Yellow Jackets quarterback Taylor Bennett passed for 204 yards and Demaryius Thomas hauled in five catches for 68 yards.

"There was not a doubt in my mind that nothing was going our way," Bennett said. "That's not us in the rushing game. We just could not run the ball very well, didn't pass it very well, things were not going our way."

This was the first meeting between these teams as ACC foes, their last meeting was the 1998 season opener with Boston College coming away with a 41-31 victory.

"That's when you can take turns in your units and continue to be productive, that's what we did tonight," Jagodzinski said. "It was a great team win tonight. Being around a lot of football teams, sometimes you have to pull each other out. Tonight it was a pretty balance deal."