Dogs Dominate Tech
After A Slow Start, Georgia Steamrolls The Jackets, 52-7
Tech’s Top Rival Now Considers This Game A Tune-up For Bigger Things
Georgia vs Georgia Tech
In the 2019 episode of the battle for college football supremacy in the Peach state, the Georgia Bulldogs started slowly. They let heavy underdog Georgia Tech hang around for a half, thanks largely to a couple of Bulldog turnovers and a still- sputtering offense. But the Dogs obviously regained their focus at halftime. They scored 3 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter and saw their modest 17-7 halftime lead balloon to 38-7 by the start of the final stanza. By then the game’s outcome was emphatically decided and the only remaining plot twists were several side issues. Would Georgia TE Charlie Woerner score his first career touchdown ? ( he would). Would the Dogs’ talented freshman WR George Pickens make it through the game without getting ejected? ( he would not). Would Georgia break the all-time record for points scored vs Tech? (they would, on a 4th quarter touchdown off a muffed punt by Tech).
Georgia Coach Kirby Smart moved to a 3-1 career mark vs Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets by contrast, added little drama. Their offense had mustered a a solitary score, a touchdown in the 2nd quarter on a 6 yard toss from James Graham to TE Tyler Davis to draw within 10, at 17-7.
Tech TE Tyler Davis scored the Jackets’ only TD this day, his last collegiate game. He gave credit to his teammates.
That score came on the heels of a fumbled punt by the Dogs’ Dominick Blaylock. The 17 yard drive that followed featured Tech’s first 1st down of the game, which came about 4 minutes into the 2nd quarter. Brenton King’s PAT brought Tech to within 10, and when the Jackets then recovered an onside kick, the Tech faithful had momentary reason to wonder if this game might indeed be a contest.
It was no contest. The score by Davis ( his only score in his one year stint as Tech’s First Tight End in Eleven Years) was as offensive as Tech’s offense would get. After recovering the onside kick, Tech went 3 and out. Georgia generously made one more offering to the home team when D’Andre Swift fumbled on Georgia’s next possession. Tech’s Justice Dingle recovered at the Georgia 42 and the Jackets earned 2 first downs on the ground before the drive stalled at Georgia’s 10. On 4th and 2, Collins elected to kick the field goal, but Brenton King missed a 27 yard attempt wide-right, keeping the margin at 10 into halftime.
In the 2nd half, Kirby Smart let the Dogs out. Jake Fromm tossed 3rd quarter touchdown passes to a trio of teammates– Tyler Simmons, George Pickens and Dominick Blaylock–turning the game into a full-blown rout. Georgia did offer up one more fumble, but Tech’s offense again could do nothing with it. The Dogs added a couple more TD’s as the game wound down.
Tech’s freshman QB Jordan Yates saw some late action for the home team.
He finished the game on a 6-play drive that generated 40 yards against Bulldog backups. Those 40 yards took Tech’s net yardage over the century mark to a paltry 139 total on the day. And as has been the pattern, the Jackets especially struggled on 3rd down, converting only 3 of 17.
Smart had put his backup QB, Stetson Bennett, in the game late in the 3rd quarter. Bennett led his fellow backups on a 90 yard drive for a score, even as Graham and Tech continued to struggle. As one measure of their offensive futility, Tech generated only 31 yards total on 4 possessions in the 3rd quarter. The 4th quarter was largely a battle of back-ups. Still UGA outscored Tech 14-0 in the final quarter, setting all-time series records for points scored (52) and margin of victory (45).
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For Georgia Tech, the 2019 season ended on a sour note. Tech was a 29 point underdog at home in this game, so realistically speaking, an upset win was highly unlikely. Still, the Jackets did not play well in many areas. On a day where the Dogs yielded 3 turnovers and gave up an onside kick, Tech was able to do very little with those opportunities. If not for Tyler Davis’ scoring reception, the Jackets might have been shutout for the second time in their final 3 games. The Yellow Jackets defense was fairly stout in the first half but crumbled in the 3rd quarter. Special teams were inconsistent. Harvin had a good day punting, although his record number of punts-13 — did not reflect well on the offense. Brenton King did get the inside kick, but he missed the short field goal. Kick and punt coverage were a bit shaky. QB James Graham completed only 5 of 20 passes for 40 yards. RB Jordan Mason carried 16 times for net 37 yards.
Even with these issues, Geoff Collins spent the major portion of his post-game remarks offering his heartfelt appreciation for his first outgoing senior class as head man at Georgia Tech.
Tech Coach Geoff Collins said “..I know the future is bright.”
He called his seniors out by name. He praised their buy-in, their dedication and their central role in the “unbelievable success” the program will see down the road. Collins reiterated his belief in the rosy future awaiting Georgia Tech football and offhandedly said he would not start recruiting “.. til noon tomorrow”.
As for UGA and Kirby Smart, they have a big date awaiting in Atlanta at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium against LSU for the SEC Championship. The Bulldogs have now posted 3 consecutive 11-1 regular season records. They are ranked 4th in the CFP poll from last week. With a win over LSU, the Dogs are in the College Football Playoff. If they lose to the Tigers, their inclusion in the CFP is much less likely, depending on the fates of teams in spots 4 through 8 in the week to come.
This game vs Tech has to raise some concerns regarding the Dogs’ inconsistent offense and the 3 turnovers they handed Tech. Too, the Dogs will miss WR Pickens for at least the first half of next week’s game. He was ejected for fighting with Tech’s Tre Swilling late in the game. Georgia will already be without WR Lawrence Cager due to injury. In any case, it’s clear that for Georgia, the yearly game against their traditional archrival Tech has become a tune-up game for their now annually expected entry into the playoff/ bowl season. Toward that end, Georgia’s goal is to win this game, play plenty of subs, and avoid serious injury. If they happen to put a big whupping on the Yellow Jackets in the process, so much the better. In 2019, the Dogs checked off all the boxes on that list.
Patrick Conarro