Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) scores a touchdown during the second quarter of the Hokies' 20-17 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon.

Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech's Macho Harris (right) tackles Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt during the first half on Saturday at Lane Stadium. Nesbitt rushed for 151 yards.

Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Georgia Tech's Roddy Jones, (center) scores on a 41-yard pass play, which gave the Yellow Jackets a 9-7 lead late in the first half.

BLACKSBURG -- Virginia Tech made a great escape Saturday afternoon that even the great Harry Houdini would have appreciated.

Despite being outgained by 140 yards and completing only five passes for a paltry 48 yards, the Hokies somehow wriggled off the hook and beat mistake-prone Georgia Tech 20-17 in a critical early-season affair at Lane Stadium.

In a victory that kept them from falling under .500 three games into a season for the first time in 13 years, young pups Tyrod Taylor and Darren Evans each ran for a touchdown and the Hokies put together a late scoring drive to fend off gift-giving Georgia Tech.

"I think that was a great team win, and I love team wins," Tech coach Frank Beamer, his ever-growing gray head mopped in sweat. "We found a way to win."

After Georgia Tech (2-1, 1-1 ACC) rallied to tie the game at 17 with 9:28 left, the Hokies drove 76 yards for a winning 21-yard field goal by Dustin Keys. A 24-yard burst by Evans and a pair of 15-yard personal foul penalties against Georgia Tech took care of much of the real estate for the Hokies. The two personals included a helmet-to-helmet hit by freshman safety Cooper Taylor on Tyrod Taylor that allowed the Hokies to convert a third-and-7 at their own 23.

"That kind of hurt ... I felt the guy was late," said Taylor, who also was the victim of the second infraction, a face-mask penalty against Jackets end Michael Johnson that advanced the ball to the Georgia Tech 21.

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson, whose option-based offense averaged 5.6 yards per carry in running up 289 rushing yards on Bud Foster's defense, seriously questioned the personal foul called on Taylor.

"That last drive was one for the books," Johnson said. "We push the quarterback out of bounds and we get a helmet-to-helmet call. Wow. Wow. 17-17 game. Wow. They didn't even take the guy to the ground. They pushed the kid out of bounds. I bet you they hit helmets on every play in football. I doubt they tackle anybody that the helmets don't hit. ... You could call holding every play, too, if you wanted to."

Johnson had plenty reason to be running hot. His squad outgained the hosts 387-247 and averaged 6.6 yards per snap, compared to 4.0 for the Hokies. As good as Jackets quarterback Josh Nesbitt was -- he amassed 259 total yards, running for 151 yards, a school record by a QB -- the slick operating sophomore committed three turnovers, a pair of fumbles and an interception.

"We're our own worst enemy," Johnson said. "You turn the ball over three times, you get penalties, ... your own worst enemy."

Down 20-17, Georgia Tech had one last chance. On third-and-7 on his team's 34, Nesbitt dropped back and saw Roddy Jones streaking by himself alone behind Hokies safety Kam Chancellor. Nesbitt's throw sailed about 5 yards over the outstretched arms of Jones. Instead of what looked like a certain go-ahead touchdown with 2:30 left, the Jackets were stuck with a fourth-and-7 play in which Nesbitt was sacked by Hokies linebacker Purnell Sturdivant.

"They actually had him in a box, kind of a phone booth, so there wasn't too much space to really get into, so I just tried to close the gap and make the tackle," Sturdivant said. "He was crowded. He couldn't go left, he couldn't go right. And I just came up the middle and made the play."

Taylor, making his first start in nine games dating back to last season, went the distance. He carried the ball 15 times for 87 yards. His 2-yard TD run with 10 seconds left in the first half came on a improvised zig-zag into the end zone on a play in which had been told to throw the ball away if his receivers were covered.

"They told me that, but I was too close to the goal line to do that," said Taylor, who sidestepped two defenders and wasn't touched.

"Tyrod's Tyrod," Beamer said. "That's a pretty good play ... that draw off of that look. I believe we're going to run it again. He could see the goal line and knew he could make the goal line."

From the looks of things, the QB job is sole property of Taylor's now.

Senior Sean Glennon, who had started the past nine games, never got off the sideline.

"For right now, this is where we are," Beamer said. "This is the best way for our football team to operate. I really feel for him. But Tyrod just fits where we are as a football team right now.

"I can tell you as you go along and get better, there's more Sean Glennon. He fits into this thing more down the road. I told him that. Same thing last year, We struggled in pass protection. I'm not saying that we're going to go back and do that. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying when we get better protecting and our receivers get better running routes and we get better at those kind of plays, Sean Glennon's a good, good good quarterback."