Georgia Tech went ahead late in the first quarter, taking advantage of its most dominating weapon. Johnson lingered at the line to haul in a short pass from Ball, then burst through two defenders and rumbled all the way to the Notre Dame 4 for a 29-yard gain.

On the very next play, Ball took a couple of steps back and simply lofted the ball toward the 6-foot-5 Johnson in the corner of the end zone. He easily outleaped helpless 5-11 cornerback Mike Richardson for the touchdown.

Johnson went deep in the second quarter, running past Darrin Walls to haul in a 45-yard pass to the Notre Dame 12. The Yellow Jackets stalled there and settled for Travis Bell’s 30-yard field goal.

At that point, Notre Dame’s five possessions had produced four punts and Gioia’s first miss from 42 yards. Hardly the sort of production that was expected from one of the country’s most dynamic offenses.

But Quinn and the Fighting Irish finally got going, converting a couple of key third-down plays before they reached the Georgia Tech 5 and called their final timeout with 16 seconds remaining in the half.

Notre Dame lined up with two receivers to one side, three to the other and no one behind Quinn. It was all a ruse, designed to spread out the Georgia Tech defense.

Quinn took one step back, then burst up the middle and dove into the end zone. If he had come up short, it’s doubtful the Fighting Irish would have been able to line up for another play.

“We really had to score on that play,” Quinn said, “one way or another.”

At that point, Notre Dame’s five possessions had produced four punts and Gioia’s first miss from 42 yards. Hardly the sort of production that was expected from one of the country’s most dynamic offenses.

But Quinn and the Fighting Irish finally got going, converting a couple of key third-down plays before they reached the Georgia Tech 5 and called their final timeout with 16 seconds remaining in the half.

Notre Dame lined up with two receivers to one side, three to the other and no one behind Quinn. It was all a ruse, designed to spread out the Georgia Tech defense.

Quinn took one step back, then burst up the middle and dove into the end zone. If he had come up short, it’s doubtful the Fighting Irish would have been able to line up for another play.

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