‘I Run This State,' Georgia tailbacks declare

By Tim Tucker

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia's football players -– even its passer –- got a kick out of the way the Bulldogs ran the ball in Saturday night's victory over Georgia Tech.

"Some guy in the stands behind me yelled, ‘Joe Cox, you [stink]. Your coach won't even let you throw the ball,'" Georgia's quarterback said. "I wanted to turn around and say, ‘We don't need to!'"

Georgia ran the ball on each of its first 13 offensive plays, not throwing a pass until the second quarter, and by night's end had run for more yards -– 339 -– than in any game in nine seasons under coach Mark Richt. Conversely, Georgia passed for fewer yards (76) than in any previous game under Richt.

Running the ball was Georgia's not-so-secret plan all along against the Yellow Jackets. It was even written on tailback Washaun Ealey's face for the game.

Under one eye were the words "I Run" and under the other eye the words "This State."

Fellow tailback Caleb King had written the same play on words -– "I Run This State" –- on his arms.

Still, the extent of the running game's success exceeded even the Bulldogs' expectations.

"I never could have predicted that," Richt said of 339 yards rushing. "We knew we wanted to run the ball, control the clock, keep the ball away from Georgia Tech as long as we could."

"Hopefully we will do a lot more of this in the future," Ealey said.

The offensive line did a dominant job of opening holes, which Ealey and King ran through forcefully in the Bulldogs' 30-24 upset of the No. 7-ranked Yellow Jackets.

"We felt like we could push [Tech] around up front," Cox said. "You could tell our offensive line was handling them well [early in the game]. At that point,  we just said we're going to run it until they stopped it, and they really didn't the whole game."

Both Ealey and King had the first 100-yard games of their collegiate careers -- Ealey carrying 20 times for 183 yards (9.1 yards per carry) and King 18 times for 166 yards (9.2 yards per carry).

"They were feeding off each other," Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. And they were keeping Tech's offense off the field. "That's what you have to do against their offense -– try to make them impatient a little bit," Bobo said.

The runners' success also compensated for the absence of Georgia's best player, wide receiver A.J. Green, who missed the game with an injured shoulder.

Ealey, a freshman, and King, a redshirt sophomore, were prized recruits when they signed with Georgia, and their recent play bodes well for the Bulldogs' future.

"Caleb is finally starting to run like the guy we saw in all those Rivals clips," said Cox, referring to videos of King as a high school star on the Rivals.com Web site.

Jones' ‘redemption'

Georgia safety Reshad Jones got a lot of criticism for his performance in last year's loss to Tech, particularly for a missed tackle on the Jackets' game-clinching touchdown.

He made amends Saturday night with a dazzling one-handed interception of a Tech pass at Georgia's 43-yard line in the second quarter, setting up a drive that led to a touchdown and a 17-3 lead.

"This game was real personal for me," Jones said. "I wanted redemption. ... This is as sweet as it gets."

Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said Jones "had a great game. ...  The interception was exceptional."

The game was therapeutic for all of Georgia's defense, which tackled poorly in the second half of last year's 45-42 loss to Tech.

"We had a bad taste in our mouths, and we thought we could play better against them than last year," Martinez said. "We wanted to take away fullback, quarterback and pitch, in that order. It's no secret what you have to do to stop them."

‘A tough call'

One of Richt's tougher decisions in Saturday's game came with just over three minutes to play, when Georgia faced a fourth down at the Tech 37-yard line.

Should Blair Walsh be called on for a career-long 55-yard field goal that would all but clinch a victory if successful but give Tech the ball at its 37 if unsuccessful? Or should Georgia punt and try to pin the Jackets inside the 10?

"That was a tough call," Richt said.

He decided to turn to Walsh, who already had made three field goals in the game -– from 22, 38 and 43 yards – and was 4-for-4 this season from 50-plus yards, including a long of 53.

Walsh's 55-yard attempt late Saturday had sufficient distance but was wide left, just his second miss this season.

"I didn't play it the way I wanted to," Walsh said. "I hit it well, but I didn't aim it the way I wanted."

The miss gave Tech the ball back for a final time with three minutes to play, trailing by six points. After one first down, four consecutive incomplete passes –- three deep throws that were well-defended, then a drop by star Tech receiver Demaryius Thomas –- clinched Georgia's victory.

"The defense wanted to be on the field at the end," Martinez said.