Dwyer making push to repeat as ACC player of year

After a sluggish start to his junior season, Dwyer has been on a roll lately. He set a new career best for the second week in a row Saturday, rushing for 189 yards in a 30-27 overtime victory over Wake Forest.

Dwyer already was the ACC's third-leading rusher coming into the game and could be poised to move up after going over 1,000 yards for the second year in a row.

He has rushed for more than 100 yards in five of the last seven games, including a 186-yard effort the previous week against Vanderbilt.

This one was even better.

"I'm just trying to keep it going, man, doing what I'm supposed to do," Dwyer said.

What about his chance of repeating as ACC player of the year?

"I'm not really worried about the whole thing," Dwyer said. "If they give the award to me, they give it to me. But there's a lot of good players out there in this league."

One candidate, he said, is the guy who usually hands him the ball, quarterback Josh Nesbitt.

"If they don't give it to me, the person I think should get it is Josh," Dwyer said. But he also gave props to a couple of Virginia Tech players, running back Ryan Williams and quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

Dwyer credited his parents for keeping his spirits up after he was held to 7 yards on five carries and got hurt in a loss to Miami. Since then, he hasn't rushed for less than 82 yards in a game.

"They were telling me that I can't be discouraged about what's going on," Dwyer remembered his mother and father saying. "When things are not working out, just keep playing. That's something you've been through your whole life playing ball. When things aren't going right for you running, you just keep running. Some way, you're going to break a long run."

Dwyer broke a long one against the Demon Deacons, going 59 yards for a touchdown on Georgia Tech's first offensive play of the second half.

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UNEXPECTED TOUCHDOWN: Georgia Tech has plenty of scoring threats on offense. Preston Lyons isn't one of them.

Imagine his surprise when he got the ball with nothing but open field in front of him.

Lyons, who had carried the ball only 21 times while backing up Dwyer, broke off a 31-yard run for the first touchdown of his college career.

"It's nice to get that first one under my belt," he said. "I usually get the ball between the tackles. This time I got it on the perimeter and there was no one out there."

Lyons took a pitch from Nesbitt and got big blocks from Lucas Cox and Stephen Hill. Just like that, he was gone.

"All I had to do was run into the end zone," he said.

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TOUGH BREAK: Lee Malchow was looking forward to playing his first college game in his home state.

It lasted only one play.

Malchow, an Augusta native who plays defensive end for Wake Forest, was hurt making the tackle on the opening kickoff. He sustained a broken right leg and is done for the year.

"This is his place," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. "He really wanted to play. That's sad."

Malchow was down for several minutes while a cart was brought out and his right leg wrapped. Several of his teammates came over to shake his hand before he was taken off the field.

A former walk-on who earned a scholarship this year, Malchow was shifted from linebacker to end and made his first career start two weeks ago against Navy. He was supposed to start against the Yellow Jackets as well, but never got the chance.

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EXTRA POINTS: Georgia Tech had been leading the ACC in fourth-down conversions, making 9 of 12. They were 1 of 5 against Wake Forest, but made the one that counted in overtime. ... Wake Forest QB Riley Skinner moved into sixth place on the ACC career passing yards list, going past Duke's Spence Fischer. Skinner has 9,163 yards passing. ... The Yellow Jackets have won seven in a row, their longest streak since 2000. ... Paul Johnson now has a .783 winning percentage (18-5) at Georgia Tech, moving ahead of John Heisman (.779). ... Georgia Tech eclipsed 400 yards rushing for the third time this season. ... Wake Forest WR Devon Brown hauled in two touchdown passes, the first multi-score game of his career.