Written by Mark Schlabach at ESPN.com
Georgia Tech quarterback TaQuon Marshall had carried the ball 44 times, and Tennessee’s defense figured he was going to get it one more time on a two-point conversion try in the second overtime on Monday night.
The Volunteers guessed right, and defensive end Darrell Taylor stuffed Marshall on an option play to the right, forcing him to throw an incomplete pass while falling down to preserve Tennessee’s 42-41 victory in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Volunteers, who had rallied back from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, went ahead on tailback John Kelly’s 2-yard run in the second overtime. Aaron Medley’s extra-point kick put the Volunteers ahead by a 42-35 score, but then Tech scored on Marshall’s 13-yard touchdown run.
After Marshall scored in the second overtime, Yellow Jackets coach Paul Johnson immediately called timeout and elected to go for two points and the victory.
Johnson wasn’t second-guessing his decision after the game.
“He pitched it late, but he kind of had to throw it out there,” Johnson said. “If we do it right, he could have still pitched it and the guy would have had a race to the end zone.”
It wasn’t surprising that Johnson put the ball back in Marshall’s hands. He scored five rushing touchdowns, the most ever by a Georgia Tech player in a single game, and his 249 rushing yards were the most ever by a Tech quarterback.
Georgia Tech finished with 655 yards of offense, including 535 rushing, the most ever allowed by a UT defense.
Tennessee blocked a 36-yard field goal attempt as time expired in regulation to force overtime.
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