No. 7 Georgia used a power running game and effective passing by freshman quarterback Jake Fromm to defeat Georgia Tech 38-7 on Saturday.
For the game Georgia outgained Tech 471 yards to 226 and averaged 7.8 yards per play, to 4.1 for Tech.
The victory was the Bulldogs’ ninth consecutive win on Tech’s campus.
The Yellow Jackets’ record fell to 5-6, and they await word on whether a waiver will open a spot in a bowl game. Georgia improves to 11-1 and will face the winner of this afternoon’s Alabama-Auburn game on Saturday in the SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Here are three observations from the game:
Through the air.
Fromm’s play separated the Dogs from the Jackets. He left the game with 7:28 to play in the fourth quarter after completing 12 of 16 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns, and a passer rating of 233.9. He threw no interceptions.
His touchdown passes went for 21 yards to Javon Wims in the second quarter, giving Georgia a 14-7 lead, and for 78 yards to Ahkil Crumpton in the fourth quarter that gave Georgia a 38-7 lead. Fromm also rushed for 20 yards on two carries.
TaQuon Marshall was Tech’s leading rusher, with 72 yards on 17 carries, including a 24-yard run. He was 2-of-9 passing for 38 yards, with a touchdown pass of 10 yards to Ricky Jeune and an interception.
On the ground.
It wasn’t quite 2009 at Bobby Dodd Stadium, but Georgia turned the tables on Tech in the run game. The Bulldogs rushed for 247 yards on 43 carries (5.7 yards per rush) and three touchdowns.
Sony Michel gained 85 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries to lead the Dogs. Nick Chubb gained 53 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Neither played much in the second half. Freshman D’Andre Swift added 37 yards on four carries, including a 31-yard run that set up his 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Tech, meanwhile rushed for 188 yards on 46 carries. After Marshall’s 72 yards, KirVonte Benson was second with 44 yards on 12 carries. Nate Cottrell rushed for 43 yards on five carries.
Tech’s struggles on first downs.
Tech’s option offense excels at moving the chains for first downs that keep alive sustained drives. That didn’t happen much Saturday. Tech finished with only 12 first downs.
The culprit was the Jackets’ performance on first-down plays. On 18 such plays, the Jackets gained 62 yards, but 24 of those came on one play. The significance of that first-down futility is what it did to the Jackets on third downs.
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