Athens, GA – Despite taking a 27-14 lead into the fourth quarter, Georgia lost their fifth game of the season to the visiting Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Bulldogs finish the regular season at 7-5 and are eligible for a bowl game. Team selections for this season’s bowl games will take place on Sunday, December 4th after the conference championships.
Series History:
After today’s 28-27 result, Georgia saw its three-game winning streak snap. For only the third time in the past 16 seasons, the Governor’s Cup Trophy will not reside in Athens. The series is now 65-39-5 in favor of Georgia. In the last eight meetings with Tech, Georgia is 6-2 with both losses coming in Athens in 2014 and today.
Michel Leads Ground Attack:
Georgia used a powerful rushing attack to accumulate 263 yards and two touchdowns. The Bulldogs ran an 11-play drive for 75 yards that took 6:00 in the first quarter to tie the score at 7-all. This drive was the longest drive by time for Georgia this season after posting a 5:54 scoring drive at #23 Ole Miss. Junior TB Sony Michel capped the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run, which marks his third touchdown this season.
Michel then had a season-long rush of 42 yards to push him over 100 yards to set up the Bulldogs’ second touchdown. Michel had 12 carries for 117 yards in the first two periods and finished with a career-high 170 yards on 19 carries. His previous career high was 165 versus Kentucky last year. He now has eight career 100-yard rushing games and three this season. Michel has 2,324 yards in his career and that’s good for 10th in school history while teammate Nick Chubb moved up to 3rd today with 3,282 yards. Junior Isaiah McKenzie scored UGA’s second touchdown on a 6-yard reception giving him a team-leading 10 total touchdowns (seven receiving) this year.
More Rushing Milestones:
Junior TB Nick Chubb finished with 22 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown. He passed Garrison Hearst (3,232) and moved into third place in the all-time Bulldog career-rushing list now with 3,282 yards. Todd Gurley (3,285) ranks second while Herschel Walker holds the mark at 5,259.
Points Off Turnovers:
The Bulldogs are now +7 in Turnover Margin after tallying an interception and a fumble recovery and throwing two interceptions. Junior S Dominick Sanders snagged his 12th career interception (team-high third this season) on the Georgia 9-yard line with 0:56 left in the first half. Georgia leads the SEC with 15 interceptions in 2016. The Bulldogs ran out the clock on the next possession. On the opening drive of Georgia Tech, sophomore ILB Roquan Smith forced a fumble that Dominick Sanders scooped up and returned it 13 yards to the Georgia Tech 28. This was Smith’s second forced fumble this year.
Redshirt freshman PK Rodrigo Blankenship booted a 27-yard field goal to put Georgia up 17-14 on the next drive. Blankenship was 2-for-3 for the game (missed 42 yarder, connected on a 32 yarder) and is 13-for-16 on the year. Tech got an interception from Lance Austin at the Georgia 46 with 3:39 left in the contest. It led to a touchdown and 28-27 lead. The last interception by Tech came on the final play of the game. Overall, Georgia has forced 25 turnovers for 50 points while opponents have turned 18 Bulldog miscues into 66 points this season.
Leading Tackler:
Sophomore ILB Roquan Smith had a career-high 13 tackles including seven solo stops while junior OLBs Lorenzo Carter and Davin Bellamy had eight tackles apiece.
Eason Review:
Freshman QB Jacob Eason finished 14-for-27 for 139 yards and one touchdown but had his first game with two interceptions. The second pick happened on the final play of the game. At this point, he is 192-for-349 for 2,266 yards with 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has started the past 11 games.
Starters:
Junior OG Isaiah Wynn returned to the starting lineup after missing last week’s contest. Junior Dyshon Sims started in place of Wynn last week.
Today’s Captains:
Junior TB Nick Chubb, senior C Brandon Kublanow and senior DB Maurice Smith served as the Bulldog captains.
Up Next:
Georgia (7-5) will be making its 52nd appearance in a bowl game and it owns a 29-19-3 mark. Georgia’s destination and opponent will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 4. Georgia will be making their 20th consecutive trip to a bowl.