The “fire-drill field goal” is one of those plays that, as a college football team, you practice during the Friday walkthrough just in case you need it on Saturday.
On Saturday against Clemson, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets needed that play, and one tremendous kick from Aidan Birr, to knock off the visiting Tigers.
The Yellow Jackets stormed out to an early 13-0 lead over the 12th-ranked Tigers, thanks to a pair of field goals from Birr and a touchdown run from Jamal Haynes. But after going down by 13 points, the Tigers roared back to take a one-point lead in the third quarter, first with a one-yard run from Cade Klubnik, and then a touchdown pass from Klubnik to Bryant Wesco Jr.
The game remained 14-13 until the fourth quarter when Georgia Tech put together a 13-play, 90-yard drive that took more than six minutes off the clock, capping that possession off with a touchdown run from quarterback Haynes King. The two-point try was successful, and the Yellow Jackets had a 21-14 lead.
Clemson knotted the game at 21 on their ensuing possession, with Adam Randall slicing in from two yards out with just over three minutes remaining in the contest.
But that was more than enough time for King to get the Georgia Tech offense into range for Birr. The Yellow Jackets’ offense ground out their final possession with a mix of short passes and runs, eventually getting into Clemson territory. Facing a 3rd-and-4 at the Clemson 39-yard line — and having burned their final time out after a run on the previous play — King fought for two more yards down to the Tigers’ 37-yard line.
But without a timeout to stop the clock, and facing fourth down, the field goal team raced onto the field to set up for Birr’s 55-yard try.
They executed the fire drill to perfection:
That 55-yard field goal touched off a sea of white, as fans stormed the field following the upset:
In that sea of white head coach Brent Key — who improved to 7-1 against nationally ranked ACC opponents with the win over Clemson — made it clear.
He just believes in his players:
That belief was rewarded again today.
