No. 12 BYU rallies to beat No. 24 Georgia Tech 25-21 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl

ORLANDO (AP) — Jovesa Damuni scored on a 4-yard run with two minutes remaining and No. 12 BYU rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half for a 25-21 win over No. 24 Georgia Tech on Saturday in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

Damuni’s scoring run capped a nine-play, 70-yard drive by the Cougars (12-2), who were led by freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier. Bachmeier passed for 57 yards in the drive.

Bachmeier was 27 for 38 passing for 325 yards with a touchdown and an interception as the Cougars piled up 426 total yards. It was the freshman’s third 300-yard passing game of the season.

“Mistakes are part of the game, I just like the reaction that we had to the game overall,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “We weren’t hanging our heads, we were excited to play. When you give these guys that much time, we’re never out of it.”

Georgia Tech (9-4) had a chance to tie the game when senior quarterback Haynes King found Eric Rivers down the sideline with a 66-yard pass on fourth-and-15 to the BYU 18-yard line with 35 seconds to play. Facing fourth down, King threw to the end zone for Jamal Haynes, but BYU’s Evan Johnson intercepted the pass in the end zone to secure the victory.

King was 23 for 41 passing for 254 yards, two touchdowns and the game-ending interception.

“To me, it is almost like a little bit of I didn’t get the job done,” King said. “I didn’t find a way to help my teammates win more of the last four out of five. That’s how it ended. It doesn’t feel good.”

The Cougars fell 11 points behind due to a 10-second scoring binge by the Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech took a 14-10 lead on a King pass to Rivers with 5:28 to play in the first half. Cody Hagen muffed the ensuing kickoff and the Yellow Jackets recovered the fumble. One play later, King found tight end J.T. Byrne for a six-yard TD pass.

Red Zone trouble

The game was defined by red zone troubles.

BYU took the opening drive and went for it on fourth and one, but Enoch Nawahine was stopped at the 1-yard line. The Cougars were 4 for 6 in the red zone, throwing an interception in the end zone in the third quarter.

Georgia Tech converted early, but ended the game 3 for 6 in the red zone, too. The Yellow Jackets fumbled the ball after a short catch in the third quarter at the 11-yard line. Aiden Birr’s 35-yard field goal late in the third quarter was blocked.

The game ended on a BYU interception in the end zone.

Jackets history

With a throw late in the second quarter, King set a Georgia Tech record for completions in a career. King finished his career with 676 completions in three seasons with the Yellow Jackets, passing Reggie Ball’s mark of 662 completions.

King also became the second player in Yellow Jackets’ history with 10,000 total yards, joining Joe Hamilton, who played at Georgia Tech from 1996-99 and tallied 10,640 yards.

“The way he affects others around him is unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said. “He is infectious the way he does things. He affects every single person on the football team. Those people come around once every 20-30 years.”

King finished his career with 10,184 yards of total offense.

The takeaway

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets ended a breakthrough season with Brent Key in disappointment, losing their final three games to miss out on the ACC championship game and College Football Playoff.

BYU: The Cougars scored another bowl victory and won their 12th game of the season, the first time BYU has won 12 games in a season since 2001.

Up next

Georgia Tech is to open its 2026 season at home against Colorado on Sept. 5.

BYU will open the 2026 season at home against Utah Tech on Sept. 5.

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