Breaking news:5 star WR flip  to Miami hurricanes over Alabama, Gator’s and more….read more

Georgia Tech coaches believed the best way to beat Cam Ward and No. 4 Miami was to keep the ball away from the quarterback.

Despite losing their top two running backs and having their starting quarterback operate primarily as a runner, the Yellow Jackets’ game plan was successful.

Ward and Miami finally ran out of second-half comebacks as Haynes King led Georgia Tech to a 28-23 win over the previously unbeaten Hurricanes on Saturday for the Yellow Jackets’ first victory over a top-five team in 15 years.

King rushed for 93 yards and ran and passed for touchdowns as Georgia Tech held the ball almost 10 minutes longer than Miami. The Yellow Jackets held the Hurricanes to a season low in points — less than half of their top-ranked average of 47.4 per game.

King threw only six passes, completing them all for only 32 yards, in his return after missing two games with a right shoulder injury. The Yellow Jackets outrushed the Hurricanes 271-88.

“The way they ran the football, knowing that they were banged up at quarterback, they did a better job than we did,” said Miami coach Mario Cristobal.

“Extremely, extremely disappointing. I think, as you can imagine, the entire locker room is really sad, down, disappointed. You have to own it.”

The Yellow Jackets overcame 347 passing yards and three touchdown passes by Ward, the Heisman Trophy contender.

“Good football game, if you believe in running the ball and stopping the run and time of possession,” said Georgia Tech coach Brent Key. “Those type of things still work.”

The Yellow Jackets held the ball for 17 plays on a monstrous 75-yard touchdown drive capped by King’s 5-yard screen to Malik Rutherford in the second quarter. The drive put Tech up 14-10 and chewed 10 minutes, 45 seconds off the clock.

Ward’s 38-yard scoring pass to Xavier Restrepo cut the lead to 28-23 in the fourth quarter. Miami’s final possession started at its 19 with 1:52 left. Ward fumbled when sacked by Romello Height, and Jordan Van Den Berg recovered for Georgia Tech.

“Our guys played,” Key said. “They didn’t bat an eye. They didn’t flinch.”