ATLANTA -- Beating state rival Georgia Southern wont make Georgia Techs season.Even so, it provided much-needed relief.Justin Thomas was the difference in the matchup of spread-option offenses, running for two touchdowns and passing for another, and Georgia Tech beat Georgia Southern 35-24 on Saturday to end a three-game losing streak.Its definitely better than being on the other side, said Yellow Jackets senior center Freddie Burden.Georgia Tech (4-3) enjoyed a dominant opening quarter and put the game away with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Dedrick Mills had a 20-yard scoring run, his second of the game, with less than four minutes remaining.Thomas had a season-high 172 yards passing and 78 rushing. Georgia Tech gained 437 yards with three plays of at least 50 yards.Georgia Southern coach Tyson Summers said this week he thought his defenses familiarity with the option attack would help when preparing for Georgia Tech. But the super-quick Thomas adds a different edge to the Yellow Jackets version of the spread option.Its the speed and the cutting, Summers said. Those are the two things that you cannot simulate.Burden said Thomas is just amazing, he is just one of a kind.Georgia Southern (3-3) has lost three straight -- all on the road. The Eagles rank sixth in the nation in rushing but managed only 167 yards -- more than 100 below their average -- on 50 carries.It was a confidence-building win as the Yellow Jackets look to end a 2-10 two-year skid in Atlantic Coast Conference games, including a 1/3 ACC start this season.A 58-yard scoring run by Thomas and a 65-yard scoring pass from Thomas to Clinton Lynch gave the Yellow Jackets a 14-0 lead. A 50-yard run by Marcus Marshall set up Mills 6-yard touchdown run for a 21-7 lead late in the first quarter.We came out fast like we needed to, to put pressure on them, Thomas said.MEGA BOWFormer Georgia Tech standout receiver Calvin Megatron Johnson was recognized at halftime for his induction into the schools sports hall of fame on Friday night. The six-time Pro Bowl player with the Detroit Lions retired after last season. He played at Georgia Tech from 2004-06 as the schools all-time leader with 2,927 yards receiving and 28 touchdown receptions.Among seven other inductees was former basketball star Jarrett Jack, now with the Atlanta Hawks.UPSHAW UPDATEFavian Upshaw drew the start in Georgia Southerns two-quarterback system. Upshaw completed 8 of 16 passes for 66 yards and had 10 carries for 41 yards. Kevin Ellison took over at quarterback when Upshaw had to leave the game for the second time with an undisclosed injury.Summers did not have an immediate update on Upshaw. Itll be easier for us to kind of tell tomorrow, he said.Ellison completed 10 of 17 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.THE TAKEAWAYGEORGIA SOUTHERN: The Eagles strengths didnt match up well against Georgia Tech. Georgia Southern leads the Sun Belt in total defense but couldnt stop Georgia Tech. L.A. Ramsbys 1-yard scoring run in the first quarter gave the Eagles their only touchdown until Ellisons 3-yard scoring pass to B.J. Johnson III with 1:03 remaining. Younghoe Koo kicked a 44-yard field goal in the second quarter.GEORGIA TECH: The Yellow Jackets had the strong showing on both sides of the ball they needed to regain momentum after last weeks last-second loss at Pittsburgh. Thomas showed strong leadership as he didnt turn the ball over. Corey Griffin had 10 tackles and a fourth-down sack to end the Eagles first drive of the second half.UP NEXTGEORGIA SOUTHERN: The Eagles return to their Sun Belt Conference schedule when they try to extend their two-game winning streak against New Mexico State.GEORGIA TECH: The Yellow Jackets are off next week and will play another home game against Duke on Oct. 29. Duke beat Georgia Tech 34-20 in 2015 for their second straight win in the ACC Coastal Division rivalry.---AP college football website: http://collegefootball.ap.org Chicago Blackhawks Shirts . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Chicago Blackhawks Gear . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. https://www.cheapblackhawks.com/ . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. Chicago Blackhawks Store .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Cheap Blackhawks Jerseys . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Inconsistency. Bad technique. Lack of effort and discipline.Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason saw all that and more out of his Commodores in their first road trip, and he knows exactly what he wants next: To forget the 38-7 loss at Georgia Tech.Simply focus on their first trip ever to Western Kentucky because nobody else will be running the same offense the Yellow Jackets did to embarrass the Commodores.We go back and we can fix the effort, Mason said Tuesday. We can fix the composure, the discipline a little bit. In terms of structure, thats gone, so you go back and you look at the things we can do better like tackle. WE need to tackle better, we need to execute better in the pass game.Last season, defense was Vanderbilts strength with the Commodores ranking in the top 30 in several categories. In the past two games, the Commodores have given up a combined 1,006 yards topped by 511 yards in the loss to Georgia Tech .Linebacker and safety Oren Burks blamed consistency and perhaps the Commodores first road game of the season contributing to the issues at Georgia Tech.We didnt stick to our technique, we were getting off discipline, things like that, Burks said I think moving forward that focus has to be even more centered.Mason said he challenged his Commodores on a number of areas, including demanding that they be more physical. The coach believes he saw just that at Tuesdays practice with the defense picking off eight passes and a couple of scraps with the Commodores much more intense.Were still growing, aand its still early in the college football season for us, Mason said.dddddddddddd Weve got to get whats there to be had and theres some things to clean up. I think those guys did a good job taking the first step.Right now, the Commodores (1-2) are giving up 438 yards per game -- 101st in the nation. They ranked 28th in that category last season. They also are 104th in giving up 269.3 yards passing per game after being 41st in that category in 2015. Theyve only managed two sacks over the first three games.Those opportunities have been there, Mason said. We just have to take advantage of them.The Commodores should get more opportunities Saturday when they visit Western Kentucky (2-1). Mike White has replaced Brandon Doughty and kept the Hilltoppers rolling up 345.3 yards passing per game. Western Kentucky beat Vanderbilt 14-12 in Nashville to open last season, and coach Jeff Brohm said the Commodores defense is big and athletic.Its tough to create a lot of big plays, you have to do some unorthodox things, you have to create some confusion, Brohm said. But theyre very sound and they play against good opponents every year, so they understand their scheme and how to be productive. Its going to be a very tough challenge for us.---AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org and AP-Top 25 Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker ' ' '