Jovesa Damuni scored the go-ahead touchdown with two minutes remaining as No. 12 BYU rallied for a 25-21 victory over No. 22 Georgia Tech on Saturday at the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
Damuni’s 4-yard run capped a 15-point fourth quarter flurry for the Cougars (12-2), who earned their first 12-win season since 2001. Enoch Nawahine also rushed for a score in the final quarter and Evan Johnson made the game-sealing interception, as BYU overcame an 11-point deficit.
“We haven’t won 12 games in a while,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “So this is something to be really proud of and something to carry for the rest of their life.”
Bear Bachmeier completed 27 of 38 passes for 325 yards, one touchdown and one interception for BYU. Chase Roberts had a touchdown catch, and Carsen Ryan had eight receptions for 120 yards.
Haynes King was 23-of-41 passing for 275 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Yellow Jackets (9-4), who lost for the fourth time in five games.
Trelain Maddox rushed for a touchdown while Eric Rivers (102 receiving yards) and J.T. Byrne caught scoring passes. Malik Rutherford had eight catches for 105 yards.
BYU was part of this bowl game after being passed over for a College Football Playoff at-large berth. The Cougars’ blemishes were two blowout losses against Texas Tech.
BYU pulled within 21-18 when Nawahine scored from the 2-yard line on the direct snap and Bachmeier added a two-point conversion run with 11:13 remaining in the game.
Later in the quarter, the Cougars drove 70 yards on nine plays with Damuni scoring the game-winner.
“We were just staying calm,” Ryan said of BYU’s comeback. “We’ve been in this position before. We know to stick together and trust our process and trust your teammates and we’ll come out on top.”
Georgia Tech had one last chance, and King converted a fourth-and-15 with a 66-yard pass to Rivers to the BYU 18-yard line with 52 seconds left.
King then threw three straight incompletions, one just over the hands of Dean Patterson in the end zone with 14 seconds to play.
King’s final throw was into the end zone and Johnson, who was the beaten defender on the 66-yard play, made the pick with six seconds left.
BYU prevailed without star running back LJ Martin, the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, who sat out with an injury.
Earlier, Georgia Tech scored two second-quarter touchdowns in a span of 13 seconds to take an 11-point lead.
The stretch started with King throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Rivers with 5:28 left to cap a 10-play, 76-yard drive.
BYU’s Cody Hagen failed to catch the ensuing kickoff and Georgia Tech’s Will Kiker recovered at the BYU 6-yard line. On the next play, King tossed a scoring pass to Byrne for a 21-10 lead.
The teams traded touchdowns in the first quarter. Bachmeier tossed a 7-yard scoring pass to Roberts, and Maddox scored on a 3-yard run for the Yellow Jackets.
Will Ferrin kicked a 22-yard field goal to give the Cougars a 10-7 lead with 9:49 left in the first half.
