Heath's interception in end zone seals NC State's upset win

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Top 25 Overview

It was over when... NC State's Garland Heath intercepted Reggie Ball in the end zone with 26 seconds left saving the Wolfpack's victory. Gameball goes to... Brian Clark, who finished with 148 yards receiving and 2 TDs. It was his 80-yard TD -- where he took a short Jay Davis pass and outran the Tech defense for the score -- that put the Pack on top for good. Stat of the game... 6: The number of consecutive ACC games NC State had lost before beating Georgia Tech on Thursday night. Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	14	29
Total Yards	286	443
Passing	230	279
Rushing	56	164
Penalties	10-98	3-30
3rd Down Conversions	4-13	6-21
4th Down Conversions	0-0	3-3
Turnovers	2	2
Possession	25:48	34:12

Individual Leaders

North Carolina State Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Davis 18/25 230 2 2	Georgia Tech Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Ball 21/53 279 1 2
North Carolina State Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Baker 22 68 0 21 Brown 2 7 0 5 Davis 6 -18 0 3	Georgia Tech Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Ball 12 88 0 21 Daniels 22 61 1 12 Choice 4 15 0 7
North Carolina State Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Clark 4 148 2 80 Williams 4 38 0 13 Barrett 3 28 0 16 Washington 3 14 0 8	Georgia Tech Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Johnson 10 130 1 27 Daniels 3 45 0 20 Johnson 2 37 0 29 Bilbo 2 20 0 11

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				NCST	GT
	TD	8:47	BRIAN CLARK 40 YD PASS FROM JAY DAVIS (JOHN DERANEY KICK) Drive info: 4 plays, 80 yards.	7	0
SECOND QUARTER				NCST	GT
	FG	3:27	JOHN DERANEY 36 YD FG Drive info: 7 plays, 8 yards.	10	0
THIRD QUARTER				NCST	GT
	TD	6:57	CALVIN JOHNSON 27 YD PASS FROM REGGIE BALL (TRAVIS BELL KICK) Drive info: 12 plays, 97 yards.	10	7
FOURTH QUARTER				NCST	GT
	TD	14:47	P.J. DANIELS 12 YD RUN (TRAVIS BELL KICK) Drive info: 5 plays, 47 yards.	10	14
	TD	7:39	BRIAN CLARK 80 YD PASS FROM JAY DAVIS (JOHN DERANEY KICK) Drive info: 1 plays, 80 yards.	17	14

ATLANTA (AP) -- Jay Davis and Brian Clark connected on touchdown passes of 80 and 40 yards, but North Carolina State's biggest catch in the end zone was made by a defensive player in the final minute.

After driving all the way to the NC State 2-yard line, No. 24 Georgia Tech's second comeback attempt of the game ended with Garland Heath's interception in the end zone with 26 seconds left, saving the Wolfpack's 17-14 victory on Thursday night.

Georgia Tech had a first-and-goal at the 2 with 33 seconds left. Reggie Ball fired a pass in the end zone that hit the hands of receiver Calvin Johnson who was in the air as he was hit by Marcus Hudson. Heath grabbed the ball and got two feet down before going out the back of the end zone.

"We felt like we had a good play where we could fake the run up the middle and draw people up and give Calvin a chance to win it one-on-one," Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said. "He's obviously one of the best players on the field and you are going to give him a chance to win the ballgame.

"It's just a heartbreaking loss for our football team."

Johnson set a career high with 10 receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn't enough to keep North Carolina State (2-2, 1-2) from snapping a six-game losing streak in the Atlantic Coast Conference and a four-game losing streak against the Yellow Jackets (3-2, 1-2). The Wolfpack won in Atlanta for the first time since 1988.

"It's about time we got one, and we almost didn't for the same reasons -- penalties," NC State coach Chuck Amato said.

The Wolfpack were penalized 10 times for 98 yards.

"Penalties, penalties, penalties," Amato said. "But you know what, nobody on that team ever gave up. Nobody on that team ever quit. Nobody thought we wouldn't hold them and go into overtime or do something big in the end zone."

Though Heath had the interception, Hudson's pressure on Johnson was not overlooked by his coach.

"No doubt," Amato said. "Those corners played their fannies off against the best wide receiver in the country."

Clark, who had only three catches this season because of an ankle injury, had four receptions for 148 yards and the two touchdowns.

Georgia Tech's Travis Bell missed a 27-yard field goal attempt early in the game and then was wide right again from 24 yards in the fourth quarter -- the two shortest misses of his career. Bell has missed five straight field goal attempts over three games after missing only two attempts as a freshman in 2004.

One play after Bell's second miss, Davis threw over the Tech defense to Clark, who outran the secondary for the 80-yard touchdown and a 17-14 lead with 7:39 to play.

Davis passed for 230 yards.

Ball passed for 279 yards and rushed for 88, but threw two interceptions. Still, Ball led the drive that ended with the interception by Heath.

"We had the opportunity to make the play in the final minute, and we just didn't make the play," Gailey said. "I guess that's life. I don't like it, but I guess that's life."

The Yellow Jackets' close loss to the Wolfpack followed a 51-7 defeat to No. 3 Virginia Tech.

"It's definitely different, this one hurts a lot worse," Tech cornerback Kenny Scott said.

Johnson's 10th catch, on a fourth-down play, moved Tech to the NC State 44 with about one minute left. A 14-yard pass from Ball to P.J. Daniels pushed the Yellow Jackets to the 17. On first down, Ball ran 15 yards to the 2.

Ball completed only six of 25 passes in the first half as Tech trailed 10-0. Ball gained momentum on a 97-yard touchdown drive on his first possession of the second half and Scott's interception set up the Yellow Jackets' go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Daniels scored on a 12-yard run, charging through safety J.J. Jones' tackle attempt to give Tech a 14-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The only touchdown of the first half came on a trick play -- a 40-yard flea-flicker.

A 20-yard pass from Davis to Clark set up a first down at Tech's 40. From there, Davis handed off to Toney Baker, who flipped the ball back to Davis, who passed to Clark for the touchdown.

John Deraney's 36-yard field goal in the second quarter made it 10-0.

Tech's first touchdown came on a 27-yard scoring pass from Ball to Johnson.