For a while, it appeared a rainy and dreary Saturday would not make for a gloomy afternoon for the Georgia football team, as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 16-point halftime lead over rival Georgia Tech. But Tech scored the next 26 points en route to a 45-42 win. The victory is Tech’s first win over Georgia since 2000, when the Jackets won in Athens 27-15, ending a seven-year Bulldog win streak. “Most streaks do end, I’m sorry this one had to end today,” said Georgia head coach Mark Richt. “I do give credit to Georgia Tech and the job they did.”
Matthew Stafford and Mohamed Massaquoi led the way for the Bulldogs in the first half, connecting for three touchdowns, as Georgia took a 28-12 lead into the intermission. Stafford threw four first half touchdowns and finished the game with five, tying D.J. Shockley and David Greene’s school record. He was 24-for-39 on the day for a career-high 407 yards, but did not care too much for the numbers. “It’s all about getting wins,” Stafford said. “That’s the way I’ve been from the start, since I got here, and that’s the way I’m going to be for the rest of my life. Quarterbacks [are] judged by wins and we didn’t get it done today.”
Massaquoi also had a career-high 11 receptions, and accounted for 180 yards and a school-record tying three touchdowns, but he was likewise hurt by the loss. “This is such a big rivalry game that you never want to lose it,” Massaquoi said. “To be a part of the class that lost the streak, and that’s what our class was in a sense, you know it’s going to be tough. You know it’s going to be tough because you have to live with [Tech]. [We] share the State of Georgia and it’s not a good feeling.”
Tech (9-3) scored the first 26 points of the second half to take a 38-28 lead midway through the third quarter. The Yellow Jackets exploited the edges of the Georgia defense often. Roddy Jones was the main weapon on the outside, but Jonathan Dwyer’s 60-yard touchdown run off a pitch to the outside on the first play of the second half got the Tech comeback started. He added a two-point conversion and after a Jones 8-yard touchdown run, Yellow Jacket quarterback Josh Nesbitt ran in a two-point conversion to tie the game at 28-28. Richard Samuel fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Dwyer darted up the middle on the next play to help give Tech a seven-point lead before a Scott Blair field goal gave the Jackets the 10-point advantage. The Yellow Jackets finished with 409 rushing yards, as Jones ended up with 214 on 13 carries and Dwyer added 144 on 20 carries. Both players rushed for two touchdowns. “They are going to make their plays,” said Bulldog defensive coordinator Willie Martinez. “Shoot, they’re pretty good. You’ve just got to continue to keep playing assignment ball and make a play when you’re there and you have the assignment. You’ve just got to execute the assignment.”
One reason that Tech had success running outside versus Georgia is that their receivers did a good job of blocking the Bulldog cornerbacks, allowing the Yellow Jacket ball carriers to elude the pursuing Georgia safeties. “Usually your safety has to fill the lane if [the ball carrier] gets contained by your corner. Your safeties should be hitting it inside out,” Richt said. “If it goes outside, it is much more difficult for your safety to get outside. At worst, you want your cornerbacks to keep it from getting to that sideline. You want to turn up field.”
For whatever reason, Tech was winning those blocking battles on the corners, making it harder for the rest of the defense to pursue the ball. “It was just some mental mistakes,” said Georgia safety Reshad Jones. “They were cutting our legs and getting off blocks and getting to the pitch was the main [problem]. Just getting off blocks and making plays.”
A Knowshon Moreno 32-yard touchdown run and a 12-yard Stafford pass to A.J. Green brought the Bulldogs within three on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter, but the Georgia defense could not make a stop after either score. Moreno finished with 94 yards and the touchdown on 17 carries, but he was disappointed for the seniors. “I just wanted to win and I didn’t even want to win for myself, I just wanted to win for the seniors, that’s what it’s all about,” Moreno said. “I dedicated my whole season to winning for the seniors, and not to get this one on their day really hurts a lot of us on this team.”
Georgia seniors leave Athens with a 3-1 on-the-field record against the Yellow Jackets. Coming into the game, Richt was 7-0 against Tech, beating Yellow Jacket head coaches George O’Leary back in 2001 and Chan Gailey the six subsequent years. This was his first matchup with Tech head coach Paul Johnson. “We didn’t meet our expectations, [or] our goals,” Richt said. “Our goal is to win the Eastern Division, we didn’t do it. […] A victory [over Tech], could have put a little salve on the wounds, but it didn’t happen.”
Georgia (9-3) will now wait and see if it will be chosen for the Capital One Bowl, which had representatives at the game. The Cotton Bowl and Outback Bowl are other possibilities.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
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