Breaking down Georgia Tech's thrilling win over Florida State

ATLANTA -- The final six seconds of Georgia Tech's dramatic win over Florida State happened so fast that it was impossible to soak it all in. By taking some additional time to relive the sights and sounds of the event, you can better comprehend the enormity of perhaps the most dramatic play in the program's 102-year history at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

With six seconds remaining and the game tied at 16, Florida State place-kicker Roberto Aguayo lined up to try a 56-yard field goal to win the game. He already had made three field goals in the game, but none as long as this. Still there was no reason to believe Aguayo would miss; he made 60-of-66 field goals in his career, a 91-percent success rate, and he had never missed a fourth-quarter kick.

Georgia Tech play-by-play announcer Brandon Gaudin set it up nicely.

"This will be his first attempt this year from over 50 yards. He's 3-of-3 tonight but those were inside of 40. From the left hash, a 56-yarder, just like last week against Pittsburgh."

Aguayo takes one final look at holder Cason Beatty and sets the play in motion.

"You just hope he's going to kick it low because it's such a long kick," Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson said after the game.

The snap is perfect, and Beatty puts the ball down with no trouble. But Georgia Tech gets a tremendous push from the interior of the line, something that tackle Pat Gamble thought about before the snap.

"The only thing going through my mind was block the kick," Gamble said. "I knew we still had a chance. Actually, when I got down in my stance, you know this is the crazy thing, I saw myself, I saw myself blocking that kick."

Gamble and tackle Adam Gotsis even had a conversation about it.

"Adam and I looked at each other and said, 'Let's get some push on this guy.' And just got our hands up, and luckily it just hit my hand," Gamble said.

Gaudin's call: "Kick is blocked! Georgia Tech blocked it."

Unlike most blocked field goals, the ball carried past the line of scrimmage and toward the end zone. Lawrence Austin realizes this and starts toward the ball on a dead sprint, pushing a referee out of the way.

"It was crazy. We block it, I see it roll across the line and I go from saying, 'Get away from it' to 'Run, run, run,' " Johnson said.

The ball ends up in the hands of Lance Austin, Lawrence's twin brother, at the 22.

Gaudin's call: "The Jackets pick it up back at the 25 and Austin is returning it down the left sideline!"

Lance Austin said, "When I picked it and started running, I saw a lot of green. I was like, 'OK, maybe I can return it.' "

There is plenty of confusion on the field. Most of the Florida State players act as if the play is dead and are slow joining the pursuit of Austin.

"It took me a minute because I thought the play was dead," Gamble said. "I started celebrating and yelling, and then I heard the crowd first. I was like, 'Wait.' I looked back, and he was taking off. So I went into blocking mode real quick."

Austin begins to run toward the Georgia Tech sideline. His cadre of blockers in front is led by Jamal Golden, KeShun Freeman and Corey Griffin. By the time he reaches midfield, Austin turs upfield toward the North stands.

"Everybody, when I came around, it was a wall," Austin said. "My teammates did a great job blocking."

Golden remains between Austin and Florida State defender Ken Burnham, who never gets close enough to take a shot at a tackle. By the time Austin approaches the Florida State 40, P.J. Davis has arrived to cover Austin's left flank. Austin scoots past another Florida State tackler at the 30, making the touchdown a reality.

Former Yellow Jackets center and radio analyst Sean Bedford is now screaming, "He's got blockers."

The final Florida State player with a chance to make a play is Aguayo. But Austin cuts back to the right at the 15 and makes the kicker fly by and miss.

"He's a pretty good tackler," Austin said. "So when I came around and kind of got by Aguayo and got in the end zone, it was kind of surreal."

By the time he reaches the 10, Austin is fittingly joined on his right shoulder by his brother, and they run into the end zone together. Lance Austin casually drops the ball at the back of the end zone, and they both run into the arms of the fans and smash into a couple of perplexed photographers who happened to be in the way.

Gaudin's call: "And he scores! He scores!"

Bedford's analysis: "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I think (Lawrence) might have been the first one to me when I passed the goal line," Lance Austin said. "He said, 'Grandma was looking down on us, and you did it for her.' And I did."

Georgia Tech wins 22-16.

By this time, the fans realize what has just happened and begin to pour onto the field. What seems like most of the white-out crowd end up standing on the field, celebrating with players, hugging each other and enjoying an unexpected celebration.

Gaudin's call: "We've had the 'Miracle on North Avenue,' and now we've got the 'Miracle on Techwood Drive.' What an ending."

It's a good 30 minutes before the crowd begins to disperse. The band plays every song it knows. No one wants to leave. It's like an election party for the winning candidate. The party finally leaves the stadium and moves to a variety of spots on campus, leaving the surface streets choked with traffic for many subsequent hours.

There is no question that this play will live on. While there have been more memorable games -- last year's win over Georgia had more drama and more momentum shifts -- this one has the play that will endure forever, a fact that wasn't lost on folks who were there.

Gamble said, "It feels great to be a part of a play like this, a game like this that is going to go down in history. I'm going to be old and gray one day, and I can tell my child about this."

This story was originally published October 25, 2015 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Breaking down Georgia Tech's thrilling win over Florida State ."