ATHENS, Ga. (AP) – Georgia Tech can still win the Atlantic Coast Conference championship, but the Yellow Jackets will have to wait an agonizing year for another shot at their biggest rival.

Georgia’s Matthew Stafford threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Massaquoi with 1:45 remaining, leading the Bulldogs past No. 16 Georgia Tech 15-12 on Saturday – their sixth straight win against the Yellow Jackets.

This one was especially galling for Georgia Tech (9-3), which already had clinched a spot in next Saturday’s ACC championship game. But quarterback Reggie Ball had a miserable game, completing just 6-of-22 passes for 42 yards with two interceptions.

Most damaging, Ball had a fumble that Georgia (8-4) ran back for its first touchdown, a play that appeared over until linebacker Tony Taylor snatched the ball from a pile of players and took off the other way for 29 yards.

Tashard Choice, who rushed for 146 yards, put Georgia Tech back ahead 13-12 with a 10-yard touchdown with 8:50 remaining. But Stafford, a freshman also having a tough day, directed a gutsy 64-yard drive for Georgia’s first offensive score of the game.

On third-and-goal from the 4, Stafford fooled the defense with a pump fake and hooked up with Massaquoi, who slipped free over the middle. The Bulldogs made the 2-point conversion, then Paul Oliver finished off Ball’s awful career against Georgia with an interception.

AP-ES-11-25-06 1857EST