It was not a good day to be a Miami sports fan playing Atlanta teams. After Georgia Tech achieved a stunning upset against No. 4 Miami, Atlanta United shocked the soccer world and made MLS history upsetting Supporters’ Shield winners Inter Miami CF 3-2 in Game 3 of the MLS Cup Playoffs, eliminating the #1 seed from the postseason.

   The Hurricanes football team came into Bobby Dodd Stadium undefeated at 9-0, ranked #4. DraftKings had the Canes as a 12.5-point favorite. Georgia Tech had lost the last two games due in large part to the loss of quarterback Haynes King to a shoulder injury. He was a game time decision and wound up splitting time with redshirt freshman Aaron Philo.

  The Yellow Jackets were successful in large part because of the running game putting up 271 yards on the ground against the nation’s No. 8 ranked rushing defense. Miami had been allowing just 95.2 yards per game. This was the most by far that they had given up all season.

  Tech got off to a 21-10 lead before the Hurricanes turned things on and blew down field seemingly with little resistance in a 7 play 78 yard drive in just 2:17. That pulled them to within five.

   But the defense stepped up and forced a fumble of Heisman candidate Cam Ward by Jordan Van Den Berg in the final minutes to seal the improbable 28-23 victory.

   It was even more unlikely considering that star running back Jamal Haynes had 83 yards on just three carries before leaving due to an injury in the Jackets’ second possession.

   The 23 points were half of what the Hurricanes had been putting up (47.4 ppg) and (556.9 ypg). Their No. 1 nationally ranked offense only had 436 yards this time.

   A key to holding their offense down was keeping them off the field with the time of possession favoring the Jackets 35 minutes to 25. It was Tech’s second win over a 9-0 team in the AP Poll era since 1936.

   The crowd of 47,538 was the largest for an ACC game at Bobby Dodd since a 27-21 win over Miami in 2018. Immediately after the win, a good portion of that crowd stormed the field and tore down the goal posts.

   Georgia Tech is now bowl-eligible in back to back years for the first time since 2013-14. Under Brent Key as head coach, they are 6-1 against nationally ranked ACC opponents. It was their first over a top-five team since toppling then No. 4 Virginia Tech by the same 28-23 score in 2009.

   Tech has beaten the Canes four times in the last six meetings. Their 4-0 record at Bobby Dodd Stadium is their longest streak since 2016-17.

   “Hayne’s King’s special, guys, in a lot of ways,” said Key afterwards. “He went out there and willed himself to carry the ball 20 times for over a hundred yards rushing.

  Despite dealing with an injury, King had insisted on playing, telling the coaches, “I was going to fight through it, no matter what role I was going to play.”

   The Yellow Jackets get some much needed rest as they prepare for their last home game of the season on Thursday night, November 21 versus NC State. It’s a 7:30 p.m. kickoff nationally televised on ESPN.