Photos by Associated Press

Georgia Tech's Anthony Allen (left) breaks free from Virginia's defense on the way to a touchdown during the second half of the Yellow Jackets' 34-9 victory over the Cavaliers at Scott Stadium.

Associated Press

Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell (10) tries to avoid Georgia Tech's Morgan Burnett (left) and Michael Petersen during Saturday's game at Scott Stadium.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- With 10 minutes remaining Saturday, football fans were notified of a severe-weather alert and given the option of evacuating Scott Stadium and returning at their leisure.

Maybe some Georgia Tech supporters accepted the offer.

By that point, the UVa faithful had seen enough of a Virginia offense that could manage only three field goals in a 34-9 loss to the 11th-ranked Yellow Jackets.

It was the first victory at Scott Stadium for Georgia Tech (7-1, 5-1 ACC) since the Yellow Jackets' epic showdown with then-No. 1 Virginia in 1990.

"I talked to them about it before the game," said second-year Tech coach Paul Johnson, who revealed that he had never been to Scott Stadium. "I told them that they could be the team to break that streak."

Virginia (3-4, 2-1) was looking for its fourth straight victory after an 0-3 start but simply couldn't keep Georgia Tech's offense off the field.

The Yellow Jackets' time of possession was 42:43, compared to 17:17 for the Cavaliers. That translated into 75 offensive plays for Georgia Tech and 44 for the Cavaliers.

"It didn't even seem like that much," said UVa quarterback Jameel Sewell, who either ran or passed the ball on 37 of those 44 snaps. "We were on the sidelines all day, it seemed, but that was our fault.

"We just didn't get it done."

Virginia, ranked 107th out of 120 Division I-A teams in total offense, could muster only 198 yards against a Georgia Tech team that had given up 1,026 yards in its previous two road games (at Mississippi State and Florida State).

The Cavaliers have had one offensive touchdown in their last two games, and that came on a 2-yard drive late in a 20-9 victory over Maryland.

Virginia couldn't even score from the 2-yard line Saturday. The Cavaliers had a first-and-goal at the 2 following a 23-yard pass from Sewell to Vic Hall late in the first quarter, but they had to settle for a 19-yard Robert Randolph field goal with 14:51 left before halftime.

That gave Virginia a short-lived 6-3 lead, and while the Cavaliers would be outscored 31-3 the rest of the way, the game remained competitive into the fourth quarter.

In fact, on the final play of the third period, officials reviewed a pass from Sewell to Kris Burd that had been ruled incomplete in the end zone. A reversal would have resulted in a one-score game.

The replay official upheld the call, then, after the teams switched ends of the field, Sewell threw one of his best passes of the day, a bullet to Burd on third-and-goal from the 13. The ball hit Burd in the numbers, but he did not have possession before being rocked from behind by a Georgia Tech defender.

"They cooperated a little bit," said Johnson of UVa's offensive performance. "They dropped a lot of balls."

Randolph's third field goal of the day made it 20-9 with 14:51 left, and the Cavaliers had one more defensive stand in them. On third-and-7 from the Georgia Tech 37, Yellow Jackets running back Jonathan Dwyer was stopped for no gain.

But a yellow flag flew into the air after Nate Collins' stop and another UVa player was penalized for a late hit. Virginia coach Al Groh said the offender was not identified to him. The ACC's officiating operations center confirmed that the call was on UVa cornerback Ras-I Dowling.

"I'd say you've got to have a real conscience to make that call," Groh said. "I look forward to reviewing it."

The Yellow Jackets went on to score two touchdowns and amass 143 yards after that. They methodically wore down a Virginia defense that was on the field for nearly 23 minutes in the second half.

"That's been the story of every game they've played," Groh said. "We had a lot of good plays on defense, not enough, but there were a lot of 1- and 2-yard plays in there."

Virginia outside linebacker Denzel Burrell said one of the challenges of facing Georgia Tech is that they're a four-down team.

"They're going to go for it [on fourth down] almost anywhere on the field," he said.

The Yellow Jackets did attempt two punts but a fourth-and-2 conversion was critical on an 18-play, 82-yard drive that consumed nearly the first 11 minutes of the third quarter and resulted in the touchdown that put the Yellow Jackets ahead 20-6.

Georgia Tech was 8-of-17 on third-down conversions against a UVa team whose first six opponents had converted first downs at a 29.3-percent rate.

Virginia, on the flip side, was 2-for-11 on third-down conversions. And, because Virginia was having so little success running the ball, all of the failed drives were short ones.

Tailbacks Mikell Simpson and Rashawn Jackson had a combined seven carries, none in the second half, for 4 total yards.

Georgia Tech, which ranked second in Division I-A in rushing offense, finished with 362 yards on the ground. Two running backs, Dwyer and Louisville transfer Anthony Allen, had more than 100 yards apiece. Quarterback Josh Nesbitt added 82.

"Dwyer, Nesbitt and [wide receiver Demaryius] Thomas are clearly the engine that drives that train," Groh said, "and they are a powerful engine."