Georgia’s College Football Playoff aspirations will extend at least one more week, and Georgia Tech’s lamentations as the gridiron subordinate in the state will continue at least another year.
On a gray afternoon before a sea of red, the No. 5 Bulldogs parceled out a 45-21 defeat of the Yellow Jackets at Sanford Stadium. UGA throttled Tech, amassing 447 yards to the Jackets’ 219, more than half of which were gained in the fourth quarter when the game was well out of reach.
“They’re a good team, and we played horribly,” Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “So put the two together, and that’s what you get. You get your butt kicked.”
Georgia (11-1) has now pummeled Tech (7-5) in consecutive years, following its 38-7 win last season at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Tech held hopes of upsetting Georgia at Sanford Stadium for a third consecutive time – a hat trick that the Jackets hadn’t achieved since the 1950s – but those aspirations were dashed by halftime. If the past two games were any indication, it may be awhile before the Jackets score back-to-back wins in Athens. Or maybe even a single win, if you would listen to UGA linebacker D’Andre Walker, who was second on the team with seven tackles.
“I feel like after this year, there will be no more years where Georgia Tech will come into the University of Georgia and beat us in our own stadium,” Walker said.
Needing a win to keep alive its hopes for getting into the four-team playoff, Georgia jumped on Tech from the start. The Bulldogs raced through the Jackets on the game’s opening drive to take a 7-0 lead, as UGA running backs Elijah Holyfield and D’Andre Swift ran freely behind the Georgia line and quarterback Jake Fromm threw from the safety of a seemingly impregnable pocket. After stopping Tech’s first drive – the Jackets foiled themselves by false starting on a fourth-and-1 that they were going for, ending their possession – Georgia sped through Tech again for a 14-0 lead.
Tech’s only highlight of note followed on the ensuing kickoff – kick returner Juanyeh Thomas’ 100-yard return for a touchdown – but the Bulldogs poured it on, scoring on their next four possessions to go up 38-7 at the half.
“Offensively, they were pretty much a machine there in the first half,” Johnson said.
For the game, Fromm completed 13 of 16 passes for 175 yards and four touchdowns. With the Georgia offensive line controlling the line of scrimmage, Swift and Holyfield combined for 184 rushing yards and two scores on just 23 carries.
The Bulldogs had six possessions in the first half and ran only three third-down plays. For the game, they averaged 7.3 yards per play on offense, the highest rated posted on Tech since the Bulldogs’ 7.9 last year.
“Our offense is functioning at a high level,” UGA coach Kirby Smart said. “We’re efficient and we’re getting positive plays.”
Tech needed to give a near-perfect performance to have a chance, but relinquished its bid with errors on offense and defense. The aforementioned fourth-and-1 was botched, Johnson said players told him, when backup quarterback Tobias Oliver (in because TaQuon Marshall’s helmet had come off on the previous play) called the play “3” in the huddle, but some teammates heard “Freeze,” the name of another play.
Georgia delivered its knockout punch in the second quarter (after another failed fourth-down try by Tech) when it was able to isolate speedy wide receiver Mecole Hardman against linebacker Brant Mitchell. Hardman flew past Mitchell for a 44-yard touchdown reception with a precision delivery from Fromm. The score expanded Georgia’s lead to 28-7 with 9:22 remaining in the second quarter.
“If you want to take a 4.3 guy (Hardman, referring to his 40-yard dash time) and put him against an – I don’t know what I run; it’s not good – but it was just a mismatch,” Mitchell said.
Tech will now wait for its bowl destination. The Belk, Music City, Military and Independence bowls are all possibilities.
With Tech behind them, the Bulldogs can now turn their sights on No. 1 Alabama in Saturday’s SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In a rematch of last year’s national championship game – in the same stadium, no less – Georgia will need to pull the upset to get into the playoff.
“It feels like a game we should be going to every year,” Smart said. “Our guys will lay it on the line and they’re excited about the opportunity.”
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