A crisp afternoon in Athens transitioned into a cold night for the Dawgs and Jackets to renew their bitter rivalry.

Georgia deferred and kicked to Tech to get the game started in front of a packed house at Sanford Stadium. It was clear from the start that the Bulldogs had been reading about their playoff seeding rather than concentrating on their traditional rival. Of course, that first reaction to the game was based more on my expectations, which boiled down to UGA pulling away late after a hard-fought contest. At least I got the hard-fought part right.

Haynes King slipped to the right side of a clogged line of scrimmage and squirted for a 59-yard scamper to open the game. That run set the tone for most of the game. That is, King, running and throwing on Georgia all the way through the overtime periods.

The Dawgs took the ball and moved down the field with the aid of a 4th down conversion from Beck to Dillon Bell, but gave the ball back to Tech at their 14 after a second 4th down try on the drive failed.

Tech began the second quarter from the Georgia 36-yard line. Tech moved behind King’s passing and keepers to the UGA 14, where King threw one of his few incompletions. Then Tech missed a short field goal to put Georgia back on offense, but a third-down sack ended the drive.

Throughout the game, Tech moved the ball consistently outside the 20-yard line but could not convert yards gained into points after their initial field goal. However, a 3rd-down conversion to the tight end put the ball on Georgia’s two-yard line, where Haynes King ran it in for the score.

Georgia’s defense could not slow Tech’s offense in the first half, and the Bulldog offense looked anemic, but Beck and Company took the kickoff after Tech’s score and moved the ball until a Dominic Lovett fumble gave the ball back to the Jackets. Tech won the offensive and defensive lines of scrimmage for much of the game.

After watching UGA sleepwalk through the first half, it baffled me that UGA seemed flat for this game against its most bitter rival. That is in stark contrast to Tech’s squad, who was fired up and kicking Georga’s butt at the half.

Georgia received the second-half kickoff and began from its 25, but the drive stalled, and a punt ensued. Tech started its possession from the ten but was forced to punt. Georgia muffed the punt, but the fumble gods were kind.

Arian Smith’s 30-yard run put Georgia in business at the 22. Cash Jones’ catch put the ball on the 8, then Frazier rushed to the 2. Play was suspended after the play for a fumble review. The review went Georgia’s way, and on 2nd and goal, Carson Beck hit Oscar Delp for the touchdown – but a 2-point try failed, leaving the score 6-17. Coach Smart said in his postgame interview that the decision to go for two was based on analytics.

Tech started deep in its territory after the kickoff and immediately resumed its offensive thrust, moving the ball consistently, aided by some poor tackling. Tech is not intimidated by the Bulldogs. The Yellow Jacket’s offensive line consistently beat Georgia’s front seven all night.

About halfway through the 4th, I moved from the press box to the field and, in the process, and I was in place for the late-game excitement.

Rather than try to review the final minutes, I’m going to end this here and let the video tell the story of the final score.