In the Gasparilla Bowl in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, Haynes King scored a touchdown through passing and another through running to lead Georgia Tech to a 30-17 victory over UCF.
The Yellow Jackets (7-6) rolled up 284 yards on the ground led by Jamal Haynes, who rushed for a career-high 128 yards, and King, who added 89. Georgia Tech overcame an early 14-point deficit to win its fourth game in six outings, thanks in part to 65 yards and a touchdown from Dontae Smith on the ground.
Field goals of 36, 29, and 38 yards were drilled by Yellow Jackets’ Aidan Birr.
John Rhys Plumlee, a quarterback for UCF, completed 16 of 29 passes for 198 yards and found both Kobe Hudson and Javon Baker with touchdown passes. For the Knights (6-7), who have dropped seven of their previous ten games, Baker had nine catches for 173 yards and RJ Harvey ran for 120 yards.
Plumlee scored twice to give his team an early 14-0 lead as UCF surged ahead of the competition. With 6:26 left in the first quarter, Baker finished a 10-play, 98-yard drive by catching a 23-yard pass from Plumlee. Hudson then added a 17-yard reception to cap the opening drive.
Before King started two scoring drives and the teams exchanged field goals, Georgia Tech was able to tie the score at halftime, 17–17. With 4:23 remaining in the second quarter, King scored his 10th touchdown of the season on the ground from 5 yards out. After that, he found Malik Rutherford on an inside post pass, and Rutherford beat two defenders to catch a 41-yard touchdown pass.
With 12:07 left in the third quarter, Birr made a 29-yard field goal to give the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the game, 20–17.
Georgia Tech’s next scoring drive was centered on its ground game. With 13:37 left in the fourth quarter, the Yellow Jackets led 27-17 after running the ball on 12 of 13 plays, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Smith.
After UCF converted a turnover on downs on its next possession and threw an interception on its final offensive play, Birr scored his third field goal with 4:52 remaining in the contest.
