UGA ground game flattens Tech

By Ken Sugiura

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia had pancakes for dinner.

Against a Georgia Tech defense that had given up 53 rushing yards in its previous two games, the Bulldogs offensive linemen flattened Georgia Tech defenders to produce the team's best running game in coach Mark Richt's nine seasons in Athens.

The Bulldogs ran 44 times for 339 yards against the Jackets, a 7.7 per-carry average. In the mix were 10 runs of 10 yards or more. Repeatedly, Georgia linemen put Tech defensive linemen flat on their backs – "pancakes," in football parlance – to seal off running lanes for running backs Caleb King and Washaun Ealey.

On the field of a team that knows a little bit about running the ball – Tech entered the game ranked second in the nation in rushing – Georgia displayed stunning mastery over the Jackets, who had entered the game giving up an average of 117.2 yards per game on the ground.

The Bulldogs' front five – tackles Clint Boling and Josh Davis, guards Cordy Glenn and Chris Davis, and center Ben Jones – made the going fairly easy for King and Ealey, who both cleared 100 yards by the third quarter. Ealey finished with 183 yards and King had 166 yards, both career bests.

On perhaps the Dogs' play of the night – a 75-yard touchdown run by King that answered a 76-yard touchdown reception by Tech's Demaryius Thomas that made the score 17-10 in Georgia's favor – King went untouched the whole way.

On the first play of the drive, Glenn pancaked 341-pound defensive tackle T.J. Barnes while Boling turned aside defensive end Anthony Egbuniwe to create a clear path for King.

On carries up the middle, King and Ealey often ran through the line of scrimmage untouched, encountering tacklers only at the second and third levels. By game's end, Tech was bringing down as many as nine players close to the line of scrimmage to stop the run.

The Dogs bore little resemblance to the unit that, in the first six games of the year, averaged 98.2 yards per game and only produced two runs longer than 19 yards.

Saturday night, Georgia had 204 yards and runs of 34 and 35 yards by halftime.

Georgia found its stride in the second half of the season, averaging 164.8 rushing yards in its first four games against I-A opponents after the Tennessee loss on Oct. 10.

Georgia's final output exceeded the previous best under Richt, 328 yards against Ole Miss in 2007.

Georgia opened the game by running 10 consecutive times to score on King's 6-yard touchdown run. The big gainer was a 35-yard run by Ealey, sprung by a Davis block on Tech defensive end Derrick Morgan.