After coming so close to an upset in 2014, the Georgia Southern Eagles took the short drive to Atlanta to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Tech was able to control the lead throughout the game and came away with the win, 35-24.

Georgia Tech took off on their first drive of the game. The Yellow Jackets scored on the third play of the drive with a 58-yard touchdown run up the sideline. Georgia Southern’s first drive resulted in a three and out, quickly giving the ball and the momentum to GT. They made the most with it. After an offside penalty from the Eagles, Tech’s QB threw up a bomb to a wide open runner who picked up a 65-yard touchdown. In five play, the Georgia Tech offense had scored twice. The ensuing Eagle possession showed flashes of life as Upshaw picked up a quick first down, followed by Breida converting a third and short. Four first downs later and the Eagles were knocking on the door inside the five-yard line. The Eagles took a risk and went for in on fourth down and came up big with a one-yard plunge from L.A. Ramsby. Georgia Tech answered quickly at the end of the first quarter with a 50-yard run that set up a short plunge from their freshman running back to extend the lead, 21-7.

After picking up a quick first down, the Eagles picked up a holding call that would end up halting the drive deep in their own territory. Georgia Tech was finally slowed on the next drive and was forced to punt. The following Eagle possession saw a long drive with a big pass interference penalty along with Favian Upshaw being injured and taken off the field. Ellison and his running backs continued to move the ball inside the red zone. The Eagles couldn’t keep the ball moving and settled with a 44-yard field goal from Younghoe Koo, who remained perfect on the year. With time running out, Tech started marching down the field to try and put more points on the board before heading to the locker room. Despite getting inside the red zone, the Yellow Jackets would come away scoreless after a missed field goal to keep the score at half 21-10.

The second half saw the return of Upshaw on the opening drive after aggravating his injured hip. After checking back into the game, a big hit sent him back to the sideline after converting a crucial third and long. He checked back into the game and was obviously feeling the pain. After getting into enemy territory, a failed fourth down conversion gave Tech the ball again at midfield. The Eagle defense held strong and forced a three and out from the Yellow Jackets. Ellison opened the drive and slowly marched down the field. After a few first downs, the Eagles were forced to punt but pinned Georgia Tech at their own 12-yard line. Despite the field position, the Yellow Jacket offense moved into Georgia Southern territory, seemingly picking up first downs at will. The third quarter ended with Tech knocking on the door in the red zone.

The Georgia Tech offense would punch in another score at the start of the fourth quarter to extend the lead, 28-10. With memories of the late game comeback in 2014, the Eagle offense took the field. Ellison was in at quarterback and orchestrated a drive that put the Eagles inside the five-yard line. Ramsby was able to fight his way into the end zone for his second score of the game. With 9:38 remaining, the Eagles trailed by 11 points but were ready to continue the comeback. Unfortunately, Tech continued to keep their offensive dominance and worked down the field to put another score on the board with under five minutes to play, holding onto a 35-17 lead. The Eagles and Ellison started the drive with three quick first downs. A pass interference gave the offense the ball inside the five-yard line which set up a touchdown pass from Ellison to Johnson to cut the lead back to 11 points. The bell would sound with Tech on top, 35-24.