NCAA Football Recap (Georgia Tech-West Virginia)
Posted: Tues December 30, 1997 at 12:50 a.m EST
GEORGIA TECH 35, WEST VIRGINIA 30
Joe Hamilton ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score
as Georgia Tech continued its postseason magic with a 35-30
victory over West Virginia in the CarQuest Bowl at Miami.
Hamilton completed 19-of-36 passes for 274 yards and rushed 14
times for 84 yards for Georgia Tech (7-5), which has the
nation's best winning percentage in bowl games with an 18-8
mark. Derrick Steagall had a career-high seven receptions for
112 yards for the Yellow Jackets, who have won their last four
postseason games.
Georgia Tech limited Amos Zereoue, the nation's third-leading
rusher, to 84 yards on 17 carries. West Virginia (7-5), which
is 11-2 when Zereoue runs for over 100 yards, has lost seven
straight bowl games. Marc Bulger was 25-of-40 for a career-high
353 yards for the Mountaineers, who are 8-11 in bowl games. He
threw two TD passes and one interception.
"Do you want to coach them,?" answered West Virginia coach Don
Nehlan when asked about losing seven straight bowl games. "We've
lost seven in a row, we're not proud. Lots of schools would
love to say that they at least played in a seven."
Georgia Tech started quickly, taking the opening kickoff and
marching 80 yards in 15 plays with freshman fullback Ed Wilder
scoring on a one-yard run on 4th-and-goal less than six minutes
into the contest. Hamilton set up the score by scrambling 21
yards to the West Virginia 8 on 4th-and-17.
He's done that the last five or six games. You can call it a
great call but the field goal kicker was hurt," said Georgia
Tech coach George O'Leary about Hamilton's 21-yard scamper. "It
looked like a great call but it was too far to kick and too
close to punt. When you get people in pass-rush mode they are
all the way up the field. If we can score 17, I think we can
win. When it's 35-30 I think both teams had a long day."
West Virginia countered on its first possession, going 61 yards
in six plays as Zereoue tied it with a 14-yard TD run less than
three minutes later.
"For the most part I thought the defense did a great job of
containing Zereoue and keeping him off the field," said O'Leary.
"We've had some tough losses down the stretch the same way."
Georgia Tech rebounded to regain the lead as Hamilton rambled 30
yards on 3rd-and-7 for the go-ahead score with just under three
minutes remaining in the opening quarter. Hamilton was named
the most valuable player.
The Yellow Jackets extended the lead to 21-7 with 10:11 left in
the second quarter when Hamilton threw a three-yard scoring pass
to tight end Mike Lillie on 3rd-and-goal. Hamilton's 26-yard
pass to Wilder moved the ball to the West Virginia 2, setting up
the score, which capped a 12-play, 94-yard drive.
"We prepared well all week," Hamilton said. "We came out and
executed. They didn't do anything we didn't expect. They
didn't do anything to stop us on offense but West Virginia has a
good team and we knew they would come back."
The Mountaineers got within 21-14 with 4:45 left in the first
half as Bulger hit Jerry Porter on a slant to the left side that
turned into a 21-yard scoring play. Porter broke two tackles
before reaching the end zone.
Using a no-huddle offense, Georgia Tech followed with a 74-yard
TD drive. Hamilton's nine-yard TD run finished the 11-play march
just 27 seconds before halftime.
The Mountaineers again sliced the deficit to seven points.
Zereoue's 19-yard TD run around right end came off a
"Statue-of-Liberty" play and made it 28-21 with 9:26 remaining
in the third quarter.
West Virginia put together the game's second scoring drive of
90-plus yards, a 15-play, 92-yarder that culminated with Jay
Taylor's 21-yard field goal with 42 seconds left in the period,
closing the gap to 28-24. Linebacker Delaunta Cameron's saving
tackle on Zereoue at the 2 allowed the Georgia Tech defense to
keep West Virginia out of the end zone.
"We had a couple of chances for big, big plays but we didn't
convert," Nehlan said.
Georgia Tech sealed it with 4:44 left when Charles Wiley took a
pitch and ran five yards around left end for a touchdown.
Bulger threw a 74-yard scoring pass to Porter with 4:49 to play
for the final margin. West Virginia went for a two-point
conversion but Bulger landed out of bounds as he made a diving
catch on the right side of the end zone.
The teams matched the highest scoring CarQuest Bowl. Alabama had
a 40-25 victory over Colorado in 1991.
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