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Orange Bowl Postgame Interviews – Georgia and FSU

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Photo Gallery, Highlights, Stats: Georgia vs. Florida State 2023

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Game Highlights

Historic 50th Win For Seniors: With today’s 63-3 victory over No. 5 FSU, Georgia’s 2023 senior class set a school mark for career victories as they finish with a 50-4 mark including two national championships. During their career, they beat three teams they faced in bowl games/CFP that were undefeated (2020 Peach-Cincinnati, 2021 CFP Semifnal/Orange-Michigan, 2023 Orange-FSU). The Bulldogs finish this year 13-1.

UGA’s 60-point win is the largest ever in a bowl game by any team. The old mark of 58 was set last year by UGA in a 65-7 win over TCU for the 2023 title.

The Bulldogs in the Kirby Smart era are now 94-16 overall including 46-2 in their last 48 games. The Bulldogs are now 9-2 in bowl games/CFP appearances under Smart including winning the last seven contests.

Georgia extended the nation’s longest active bowl streak to 27 seasons and now has won its last seven bowl/CFP appearances.

The Bulldogs are now 4-1 in the Orange Bowl and improve to 38-21-3 in bowl games. The 38 wins and 62 games rank second nationally.

Summary Of The Offense: The Bulldogs finished with a season-high and Bulldog bowl record 673 yards of total offense (4th most overall in school history) on 76 plays in a record 63-3 victory in front of 63,324. Coming in today, Georgia ranked ninth nationally in Scoring Offense at 38.4 points a game. Georgia’s 372 rushing yards was a Bulldog bowl record too.

After turning it over on downs on its first possession, Georgia scored TDs on its next nine possessions before having to punt in the 4th quarter.

Georgia’s 39-point first half lead set an Orange Bowl record and also was school bowl record.

Georgia’s 35-point outburst in the 2nd quarter tied an Orange Bowl record and was a Bulldog bowl record, the previous schol mark was 21 twice (2006 Sugar Bowl vs West Virginia and 2023 CFP National Championship Game vs TCU. The 42 points in a half was a Bulldog bowl record.

The Bulldogs were 8-for-8 in the Red Zone with 8 TDs.

Senior RB Kendall Milton, named the Most Outstanding Player of the Orange Bowl, was the leading rusher with 104 yards on nine carries (11.6 avg.) with 2 TDs, all in the first half. He had the game’s first two TDs, a 15-yarder and then a 5-yarder. It was his fourth career 100-yard game. 

Georgia took a 7-0 lead with 4:05 left in the 1st, going 69 yards on seven plays in 2:40, capped by a Kendall Milton 15-yard run. 

The Bulldogs went up 14-0 with 14:57 in the 2nd, going 82 yards on six plays in 1:56 as Milton ran in for a score from five yards out.

Georgia made it 21-3 with 10:38 left in the first half, going 75 yards on four plays in 156 as Daijun Edwards capped it with a 15-yard run.

The Bulldogs extended the lead to 28-3 on a 27-yard rushing TD by Ladd McConkey. It was a one-play drive in 13 seconds.

Georgia made it 35-3 with a 12-yard completion to junior Arian Smith from Beck. It capped a five play, 62-yard drive in 2:20.

The Bulldogs went up 42-3 on a four play, 51-yard drive in 23 seconds following a turnover. Dominic Lovett caught a 2-yard TD.

*In the second half, Georgia went up 49-3 as Gunner Stockton led a five play, 75-yard drive in 5:37 as Edwards finished it with a 2-yard TD. Stockton connected for a four-yard TD with freshman Lawson Luckie to make it 56-3. It was the first TD pass and catch for each. The drive covered 90 yards in 10 plays in 4:31. Freshman Anthony Evans notched his first TD, a 14-yard catch to finish a 69-yard drive in nine plays for a 63-3 lead. Also, Evans had one punt return for 17 yards.

A Look At Beck: Junior QB Carson Beck was 13-for-19 for 203 yards and 2 TDs in directing Georgia to a 42-3 halftime lead. With 203 yards, Beck moved up to 2nd in single season history for passing yards with 3,941 yards, passing Aaron Murray (3,893 in 2012). Beck is 5-1 against Top 25 opponents.

Sophomores Dillon Bell (5 rec., 86 yards) was the leading receiver. Georgia got TD catches from juniors Arian Smith, Dominic Lovett, Lawson Luckie and Anthony Evans.

Defensive Review: FSU finished with 209 yards of offense on 53 plays and just three points. FSU had 185 yards on 41 plays in the first half.

Coming in to Satrday, Georgia ranked ninth nationally in Scoring Defense, allowing just 16.6 points a game.

FSU was 2-for-12 on 3rd Downs as the Bulldogs came in today leading the nation with opponents converting just 26% of the time on 3rd Downs.

FSU cut it to 14-3 with a 22-yard field goal, going 71 yards on six plays. The big play in the drive was a 55-yard reception by Kentron Poitier that gave them a first-and-goal at the 3, and the Bulldogs held them to a FG.

Sophomore Mykel Williams registered a sack/forced fumble and fumble recovery with 49 seconds left in the first half. He now has 4.5 sacks on the year. It was his first career caused fumble and fumble recovery. It led to a TD. Also to end the first half, sophomore Malaki Starks had an INT, his third.

Tonight’s leading tacklers were freshman CJ Allen with six while Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams had four apiece.

*Sophomore Daylen Everette registered an interception, the first of his career. 

A Look At The Special Teams: Freshman PK Peyton Woodring tallied 9 points, going 9-for-9 on PATs which is a bowl record. He now has 134 points this season, which ranks third in school history.

Early in the 2nd quarter, Georgia forced a fumble (Cash Jones) on a kickoff, and it was recovered by Cole Speer. It led to a TD one play later and a 28-3 edge. It was the fifth forced fumble and second recovered by the Bulldogs this year. The Bulldogs are +3 in Turnover Margin.

Sophomore P Brett Thorson’s first punt came with 7:02 left in the game. Junior Jared Zirkel handled the kickoffs.

Captains, Coin Toss and For Starters: Senior Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint (WR) and juniors Sedrick Van Pran (C), Javon Bullard (S) and  Kamari Lassiter (DB) served as the game captains. UGA won the toss and elected to defer. Van Pran made his team-leading 44th career start while freshman Raylen Wilson (ILB) made his first career start. Georgia improves to 7-4-1 all-time against FSU and snapped the Seminoles 19-game winning streak which was the second longest active streak in the FBS. 

Honoring #77 Devin Willock: Senior Xavier Truss (RT), normally #73,wore #77 today in honor of his late teammate Devin Willock. A different Bulldog offensive lineman has worn #77 each game this season.

Stats

WBB: Asia Avinger powered the Georgia women’s basketball team past the Wofford Terriers

A career performance from Asia Avinger powered the University of Georgia women’s basketball team past the Wofford Terriers, 76-57, Saturday afternoon before 2,406 spectators in Stegeman Coliseum.  

Avinger finished with 11 points and 10 assists, marking her first career double-double. As a team, Georgia shot 47 percent from the field.  

A back and forth scoring effort from both teams opened the game. Georgia (9-4) used a short scoring spurts to build an 11-6 lead, but three Wofford (7-6) triples gave the Terriers a 16-15 advantage after the first period.  

The Terriers scored the first five points in the second quarter to extend their lead, 21-15. Georgia moved its scoring around the floor, using a 16-0 run, highlighted by three baskets from Javyn Nicholson, to propel back into the lead, 31-21. A three-pointer from Savannah Henderson capped off the half as the Lady Bulldogs carried an 11-point lead into the second half, 34-23.  

Both teams traded points in the third quarter. Wofford used four triples to close the scoring gap to 10, 47-37. Georgia attacked the paint while Wofford used four consecutive triples to close the third period trailing 55-46 to the Lady Bulldogs.  

Eight points from Nicholson contributed to a 15-3 run for Georgia in the fourth quarter. The Lady Bulldogs used close-range scoring to conclude with a 19-point lead, 76-57.  

Storylines from Today’s Game 

• Savannah Henderson saw her first minutes of the season after suffering a season-ending injury in the fourth game of last season.  
•  Javyn Nicholson is tied to lead the SEC with eight double doubles 
• The Lady Bulldogs have tallied double figures in the paint in every game this season, recording 24 this afternoon. 
• Georgia has led in bench points in five of the last six games, outscoring Wofford by a 23-7 margin.  
  
  Career Highs/Player Superlatives 

• Asia Avinger recorded her first career double-double (11 pts, 10 assists) and grabbed a season-high nine boards. 
•  Javyn Nicholson tallied her 13th-straight double digit scoring performance with 22 points and tied her career high with 14 rebounds 
• Zoesha Smith had 12 points with six rebounds to mark her eighth double figure scoring game this season. 
• Destiny Thomas grabbed 10 boards, just one shy of her season high.  
• Stefanie Ingram tallied six points and dished out a career-high five assists. 

MBB: Blue Cain leads the Bulldogs over Alabama A&M, 93-73

Blue Cain led the team in scoring for the second time this season, tying his career-high of 18 points as the Georgia Bulldogs defeated Alabama A&M, 93-73, before 7,793 spectators inside Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs (10-3) had four players finish in double figures alongside Cain. RJ Melendez finished with 11 points, six rebounds and a career-high four steals while Silas Demary Jr. and Justin Hill each had 10 points and five assists. Georgia finished with 56 bench points and 48 points in the paint against Alabama A&M (1-11), both of which were the team’s season high. 

Despite a slow offensive start scoring only 11 points in the first seven minutes, the Bulldogs closed out the opening half with 34 points and carried a 45-24 lead into the locker room. Seven different players had at least four points in the first half, led by Cain’s eight from a pair of 3-pointers. Georgia continued to impress in the second half, growing its lead to as many as 33 with eight players scoring at least seven points in the contest. This marks the second time this season the Bulldogs scored at least 90 points and the first time having multiple 90-point games in a season since 2020-21.

Georgia’s contest against the opposing Bulldogs marked the final game for official Tony Greene, who began officiating for the Southeastern Conference in 1988. During his career, Greene was a referee for six Final Fours and more SEC Tournament games than any other official in the event’s history.

Georgia has concluded its six-game homestand and the non-conference portion of its schedule. The team will begin Southeastern Conference play on Jan. 6 against Missouri at 1 p.m. ET, which will be televised on the SEC Network. The Bulldogs are 8-11 versus the Tigers all time and are seeking their first win in the series since winning at home on Feb. 16, 2021.   

Five Fast Facts

• The Bulldogs have started 10-3 or better in consecutive seasons for the first time since doing so in its 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons.

• Georgia produced its largest lead in a game this season, as it led 75-42 (33 points) with 9:27 left in the second half. 

• The Bulldogs tallied 15 steals against Alabama A&M, tied for most in the Mike White era.

• Georgia’s freshman Blue Cain (18 points) and Silas Demary Jr. (10 points) reached double figures for the fifth and sixth time this season, respectively.  

• RJ Sunahara recorded seven points, four rebounds and one block on the day, all tallied in the first half for new season-highs.

Key Quote

Head Coach Mike White: “We wanted to stay in front of the ball. We wanted to stay in gaps and be active. We didn’t do a great job actually at times with tracing the basketball, pressuring passes that led to post feeds that led to fouls. You have to do a better job in that category and a bunch of other categories. But, that said, we’ve been a pretty good defensive team to this point. We’ve got to continue to improve to be competitive in the best league in college basketball.”

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men’s Basketball on social media on Facebook, Instagram and X @UGABasketball, and the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.

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