Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Match Player Stats On Dec 31, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Jan 1, 2015

No. 9 Georgia Tech 49, No. 8 Mississippi State 34: Synjyn Days and Justin Thomas each ran for three touchdowns as the Yellow Jackets rolled past the Bulldogs in the Capital One Orange Bowl.

Days concluded his college career with a personal-best 171 yards on 21 carries for Georgia Tech (11-3), which piled up 452 rushing yards in its first Orange Bowl win since 1952 and remained unbeaten in five meetings with Mississippi State. Thomas ran for 121 yards and finished 7-of-12 for 125 yards through the air - including a 41-yard touchdown pass to Darren Waller, who led the Yellow Jackets with five catches for 114 yards.

Dak Prescott went 33-of-51 for a career-high 453 yards and three touchdowns for the Bulldogs (10-3), who dropped three of their final four games after opening the season with nine straight wins. Prescott also ran for 47 yards and a score while De'Runnya Wilson (nine receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns), Joe Morrow (career highs of six catches and 117 yards) and Fred Ross (six for 102 and a TD) all topped 100 yards receiving.

Days scored from 3 yards out on Georgia Tech’s first offensive series and Waller made a leaping grab on his touchdown late in the first quarter before Thomas halted a string of three straight scoring drives by the Bulldogs with a 13-yard TD run with 29 seconds left in the first half. Mississippi State was able to cross midfield in four plays and drew within 21-20 at intermission when Ross made a diving catch on a tipped ball off a 42-yard Hail Mary pass as time expired.

Georgia Tech dashed the Bulldogs’ hopes for the first 11-win season in their 115-year school history with 21 unanswered points in the third quarter, getting a school bowl-record 69-yard burst from Days before Thomas added scoring runs of 32 and 15 yards. Wilson’s 7-yard TD catch on the first play of the fourth quarter made it 42-27, but Days answered with a 4-yard touchdown run on the ensuing drive.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Georgia Tech has amassed at least 200 yards rushing in a FBS-high 14 straight games. … Prescott completed 2014 with 3,449 yards passing and 986 rushing, falling 14 yards short of becoming the first player in school history to pass for over 3,000 yards and run for 1,000 in a season. … The Yellow Jackets’ 577 yards of total offense set another school record, surpassing the 514 Georgia Tech recorded against Syracuse in the 2004 Champs Sports Bowl.