2000
George Godsey's 16-yard touchdown pass to Kerry Watkins with seven seconds left in the game gave Georgia Tech a 31-28 upset victory over No. 4 ranked and previously undefeated Clemson on October 28, 2000. The game was played in Clemson, SC. Quarterback George Godsey set a Georgia Tech record with 454 yards passing.
as we exited the stadium chanting "who let the dorks out" the Clemson fans treated us nice, offered food and libations at their splendid tailgates after seeing their Tigers turned to balm in the final seconds.
We had taken a lead with about 7:30 to go, but then Clemson had marched down the field themselves, the crowd loud and boisterous behind them, and had gone up on us and thought they were going to preserve their Top5 ranking having scored with a mere 1:52 remaining. With about a minute and a half left after the kickoff, Godsey engineered an incredible winning drive that culminated with an amazing catch by Watkins. Exaltations!
Burns almost got 100 yards rushing and we had about 550 yards of offense; and to make it sweeter, Florida beat Georgia the same day
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2000-10-28-clemson.html
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NCAAF FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
GEORGIA TECH 3 13 0 15 31
CLEMSON (4) 14 0 7 7 28 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QTR: CLMN - TD, WOODROW DANTZLER 1 YD RUN (AARON HUNT KICK),
1:00
GTCH - FG, LUKE MANGET 27 YD, 3:33
CLMN - TD, TRAVIS ZACHERY 29 YD PASS FROM WOODROW
DANTZLER (AARON HUNT KICK), 8:54
2ND QTR: GTCH - TD, KERRY WATKINS 33 YD PASS FROM GEORGE GODSEY
(LUKE MANGET KICK), 7:13
GTCH - FG, LUKE MANGET 29 YD, 12:49
GTCH - FG, LUKE MANGET 40 YD, 14:56
3RD QTR: CLMN - TD, BRIAN MANCE 88 YD PUNT RETURN (AARON HUNT
KICK), 14:54
4TH QTR: GTCH - TD, KELLY CAMPBELL 48 YD PASS FROM GEORGE GODSEY
(JONATHAN SMITH RECEPTION FOR TWO-POINT
CONVERSION), 8:25
CLMN - TD, ROD GARDNER 18 YD PASS FROM WILLIE SIMMONS
(AARON HUNT KICK), 13:08
GTCH - TD, KERRY WATKINS 16 YD PASS FROM GEORGE GODSEY
(LUKE MANGET KICK), 14:53
-------------------------
CLEMSON, South Carolina (Ticker) -- Sophomore Kerry Watkins
could only get one hand on the ball, but that was enough to
resurrect Georgia Tech in "Death Valley."
George Godsey's 16-yard touchdown pass to Watkins with seven
seconds left in the game gave Georgia Tech a 31-28 Atlantic
Coast Conference victory over No. 4 and previously undefeated
Clemson.
The two connected on their second attempt to give the Yellow
Jackets (6-2, 4-2 ACC) the upset victory. The first time
Godsey's pass fell just out of Watkins' reach, but the second
time the receiver stretched out his right hand just in time to
pull in the ball.
"I think it was a great win for Georgia Tech up here," Yellow
Jackets coach George O'Leary said. "It was a tough game for
Clemson. It was a great college game, and I'm extremely proud of
our players because they have handled setbacks extremely well
all year. And when we're down with 1:56 left, they just found a
way to come back and get the win. It was a great college game,
a great win for Georgia Tech."
It was a great game for Godsey, who completed 35-of-57 passes
for 454 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
Kelly Campbell was his prime receiver, hauling in 14 passes for
209 yards and one TD.
Joe Burns led the Georgia Tech rushing attack, carrying 29 times
for 98 yards.
The Tigers (8-1, 6-1) looked like they might have wrapped up the
game with 1:52 left, when backup quarterback Willie Simmons
found Rod Gardner in the corner of the end zone, giving them a
28-24 lead.
Simmons was on for Woodrow Dantzler, who started the game but
was often noticeably slowed by the bruised ankle he suffered
last week in a 38-24 victory at North Carolina.
He rolled out to the left, but finding no one open in the end
zone and feeling the Yellow Jackets pressure mounting, he went
back to his right until he saw Gardner making his move into the
end zone.
He lofted a pass into the deep right corner, just in front of
Gardner, who handled it easily.
"They are a well-coached team," Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said.
"They made one more play than we did right there at the end. We
brought Willie in off the bench with Woody going down and I
thought he did a good job of bringing us back. Again, they made
one more play."
With Dantzler ineffective and on the bench, Georgia Tech had
taken a 24-21 lead on Godsey's 48-yard bomb to Kelly Campbell
with 6:35 left in the game.
Dantzler, who played himself into Heisman Trophy consideration
with his ability to be equally devastating either passing or
rushing, ran for one touchdown and passed for another in the
first quarter as Clemson took a 14-3 lead.
Dantzler finished with 18 yards on 11 carries and completed
6-of-9 passes for 76 yards, but uncharacteristcally he was
sacked three times.
"Woody could not go," Bowden said. "His ankle. Had he been
healthy, we would have played him. He could not run on his
ankle."
The second quarter was all Georgia Tech. Watkins took a Godsey
pass 33 yards and Luke Manget kicked a pair of field goals,
putting the Yellow Jackets on top, 16-14.
Simmons completed 9-of-18 passes for 131 yards with one
touchdown and one interception. He also rushed eight times for
25 yards. Travis Zachery gained 101 yards on 15 carries and
caught four passes for 49 yards.
The loss could put an end to Clemson's national title hopes.
Even undefeated, the Tigers were ranked seventh in the Bowl
Championship Series rankings, due to their weak schedule.
Georgia Tech has reeled off four straight victories since a
30-23 overtime loss to North Carolina and is in position for a
bowl appearance.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/scores100/100302/100302380.htm#RECAPS
