ATLANTA — Orwin Smith scored two of Georgia Tech's four first-quarter touchdowns, Stephen Hill caught two touchdown passes from Tevin Washington and Georgia Tech beat Western Carolina 63-21 on Thursday night in the opener for both teams.
The Yellow Jackets piled up 662 yards of total offense — their most productive game since 2000 — but they struggled throughout the night to hold on to the football, losing two of six fumbles and allowing a second-quarter punt to get blocked and recovered for a touchdown.
Brandon Pechloff had 180 yards passing for Western Carolina.
Georgia Tech, facing an FCS opponent that dropped to 10-46 since the start of 2006, showed flashes of a formidable passing game after ranking 119th in the nation last year as Washington completed eight of 13 passes for 271 yards and three TDs.