ATLANTA- Georgia Tech played #1 Georgia close falling 31-23 in Atlanta in the regular season finale for the Jackets. Tech led in the first quarter before Georgia pulled ahead 21-13 at the half and extended the lead to 31-13 through the third quarter. Brent Key’s team continued to fight adding a field goal and intercepting Carson Beck in the end zone to set up an 80-yard touchdown drive to make it 31-23.
Gavin Stewart’s onside kick failed and Georgia ate up the clock to seal the win for the Bulldogs.
But it was a step in the right direction for a Tech team that has struggled to compete with Georgia for a full game since the 2016 win in Athens.
Tech entered the game as a 24.5-point underdog, but that did not phase Key who was unhappy that his team missed a couple of opportunities on the plus side of the field led to field goals and that was the difference in the game.
“It was a disappointing loss to our in-state rival. I’m proud of our guys who played hard. Our plan was to take the game to the fourth quarter and to be able to win the game at the end. I’m proud that they played four quarters of football and have the mentality to play that way for four quarters. At the end of the day, we are not coming here to play a good game. There are no moral victories. I said the day I was hired that our goal was to beat the team in the state and that is still our goal and that is what we will work to do every day and we came up short today,” Key said with his voice almost totally gone from coaching. “That will not stop the work, not stop us continuing to progress and make progress to get that done.”
Tech quarterback Haynes King in his first rivalry game against Georgia passed for 158 yards and ran for two touchdowns and 24 yards in the loss.
The loss was the second-closest loss this season against #1 Georgia and King said the performance was a good sign of the state of the Tech program in the first full season under Key.
“It is just the first step,” King said of the transformation of Tech football. “I’m going to stay true to my words. I love this program, love the people in it. I love the way they are trying and they are doing it the right way and showing it. It is only up from here and as long as everybody sticks together just the process of getting better and better and competing against each other every day we will have no choice but to get better.
Running backs Jamal Haynes and Donate Smith combined for 149 yards on 30 carries and Tech became the second team since 2018 to rush for over 200 yards against Georgia.
Freshman receiver Eric Singleton Jr. snapped out of a multi-game funk with four catches for 96 yards but it was two plays he couldn’t make that ended up looming large. The first was a deep pass on the opening drive where a cornerback jam forced him to reroute and he stepped out of bounds prior to a long catch. The second was a deep shot in the end zone before the end of the half that he just missed catching in bounds. Aidan Birr had to settle for a 49-yard field goal attempt which he missed and the seven-point swing could’ve changed the game.
“Eric stepped up his game tonight,” Key said. “He did really well and for a freshman to come out and play that game the way did. He had a couple of rough games leading up to that and he came out and made plays. He got jammed on the line of scrimmage by a physical corner and there is nothing wrong with that and he was just going downfield and he reset himself and reestablished himself but his momentum carried him a little bit out of bounds there. The one at the end of the half, we talk about how it is a game of inches and that was a game of inches.”
Tech avoided costly turnovers that haunted them in several games this season and finished the day plus-two over the Bulldogs with an interception and a fumble recovery.
UGA did most of their damage on the ground with Kendall Milton racking up 156 yards and two touchdowns on just 18 carries. Daijun Edwards added another touchdown, but he fumbled deep in Georgia territory leading to a Haynes King touchdown in the first quarter to put the Jackets up 7-0 and he ended the day with 55 yards on 13 carries.
Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck passed for 175 yards and a touchdown, but a fourth-quarter interception by K.J. Wallace led to an 80-yard touchdown drive by the Jackets to make it a one-score game with just under four minutes remaining. An onside kick failed and Georgia was able to kill the clock.
“Credit to these kids in the room. We talked about growing as a team and where these guys have grown from really early in the season and the ebbs and flows within games and week to week, if you take the scoreboard out of it and look at how a team plays for an entirety of a football game. That is what you coach off of and that is what you use to correct and build on. I think we’ve made a lot of progress in that area,” Key said.
Linebacker Kyle Efford led the Jackets with eight tackles including five solo tackles. Kyle Kennard had 1.5 tackles for a loss and defensive tackle D’Quan Douse who participated in Senior Day had seven tackles.
“We knew coming in that we had to stop the run. When you are scouting them up and planning I, they are an explosive offense and our whole plan was to stop their explosive plays and I think we did that for the most part,” Efford said.
SERIES BY SERIES
Tech won the toss and elected to take the ball. The opening kickoff was a touchback. Haynes ran for four yards on first down. King connected with Singleton for a long pass but Singleton stepped out of bounds before catching the ball leading to an illegal touching penalty. King overthrew Singleton on third down to force a punt. David Shanahan’s punt hit Chad Alexander in the back at the UGA35.
Georgia running back Daijun Edwards fumbled on the first carry of the game Kyle Efford forced the fumble and Kenan Johnson recovered the ball at the UGA37.
King hit Brett Seither for a 28-yard gain on first down to the UGA9. Several Tech players carried Seither an extra five yards with a pile push. Haynes lost a yard on first down and a pass to Malik Rutherford yielded one yard. King kept the ball on third down and scored untouched to put the Jackets up 7-0 on UGA.
Luke Benson tackled Mekhi Mews at the UGA17 on the kickoff. Carson Beck hit Dominic Lovett for 12 yards on first down and then Kendall Milton ran for 14 yards to the UGA43 on the next play. Milton converted two plays later to the GT39 for another first down. A run by Milton, a short pass to Bell and a QB sneak gave the Bulldogs a first down at the GT29. Lovett bobbled a Beck pass, it bounced off Kyle Efford’s hands and into LaMiles Brooks’ lap for an interception. Brooks returned the ball for 19 yards to the GT36. The play was overturned on review during a TV timeout and UGA had a second life. Lovett redeemed himself with a 29-yard touchdown catch to tie the game at 7 with 7:23 left in the first quarter.
After a touchback, Dontae Smith ran for seven yards on first down. Luke Benson on a QB rollout caught a seven-yard pass for a first down at the GT39. Eric Singleton Jr. caught a 15-yard pass to the UGA46. Singleton caught another pass for 16 yards with King under pressure at the UGA29. King ran two times for 12 yards to the UGA17. Smith ran for three yards on first down and King ran for four on the next play to set up third and three at the UGA10. Smith was stopped just short of the sticks and Key opted to kick a short field goal to go up 10-7 with just 35 seconds left in the quarter.
Trenilyas Tatum entered the game at linebacker and chased Carson Beck on first down forcing a throwaway and then tackled Edwards for a one-yard loss to end the first quarter. On a broken play, UGA converted to midfield on a wheel route to Edwards for 26 yards. Milton ran for 18 yards on the next play to the GT32. Bell caught a 22-yard pass to the GT3 where Clayton Powell-Lee made a shoestring tackle. Milton scored on the next play to put UGA up 14-10.
Tech started at their 25 after a touchback. Haynes ran for six yards on first down. Haynes picked up three more on the next play but was stuffed for a loss on third down. Key opted to go for it on fourth down from his own 34 and Singleton hauled in a seven-yard pass on fourth down at the GT41. Smith ran for seven yards on the next play. On a fake reverse, King ran for 12 yards to the UGA28. Smith ran for four yards on first down to the UGA24. Haynes picked up four yards to the UGA20 to set up third and two. Rutherford picked up the first down on the jetsweep but a hold on Abdul Janneh wiped out the first down and set up third and 9 at the UGA27. King fumbled the mesh for a one-yard loss and Aidan Birr came on for the 44-yard field goal.
Mews returned the kickoff to the UGA36, 33 yards. Beck scrambles for five yards on first down out of a potential sack. Milton ran for six for a first down to the UGA47. Milton ran for 11 yards to the GT36, but a hold on a long touchdown run wiped out a potential score. Edwards caught a pass for five yards on first down. Beck misfired on second down to force third and long at the GT35. Edwards picked up 12 yards in an overshifted Tech defense. Oscar Delp caught a 16-yard pass to set up first and goal at the GT7. Edwards picked up four yards on first down to the GT3. Edwards scored on the next play to make it 21-13 UGA with 1:14 left in the half.
After a touchback, UGA began at their 25. Haynes ran for five yards on first down and then seven more and a facemask by UGA gave Tech the ball at the UGA48. Haynes ran for 11 yards to the UGA37 and Key burned his first timeout with 35 seconds left. Rutherford made a one-handed catch for seven yards and Key used his second timeout with 29 seconds left at the UGA30. King took a shot downfield for Haynes but couldn’t connect. Smith picked up the first down and King clocked the ball with 15 seconds left. Smart called a timeout after seeing how Tech lined up with an empty set. King was sacked on second down for a five-yard loss and Key burned his final timeout with 9 seconds left. Singleton just missed catching a touchdown pass out of bounds before the half and Birr missed a 49-yard field goal.
The second-half kickoff was returned by UGA to their 38 by Mews 37-yards. Paul Moala had a TFL on first down for a two-yard loss. A pass to Bell was broken up by a pair of Tech defenders. Bell caught a 39-yard pass down the sideline but bobbled the ball going out of bounds and the play was overturned under review to force a three and out for UGA. Dominick Blaylock fair caught the punt at the GT22.
Haynes picked up five yards on first down and Smith ran for seven yards and a first down at the GT34. Smith picked up 10 yards on the next play to the GT44. Benson couldn’t haul in a pass on second down and King overthrew Chase Lane on third down to force a punt. Shanahan’s 48-yard punt was muffed by Mews, but rolled out of bounds at the UGA12.
Milton picked up 12 yards on first down to the UGA24. Milton ran for 19 yards to the UGA43 and then 13 yards to the GT40. Lovett caught an 11-yard pass and Arian Smith caught a 12-yard pass to the GT17. Kyle Kennard had a TFL on first down and Makius Scott had another on second down to set up third and long at the GT21. Mews couldn’t haul in the pass on third down and UGA kicked a 39-yard field goal to make it 24-13 UGA.
After a touchback, Haynes ran two times for 11 yards and a first down at the GT36. King misfired on first down for Blaylock. A personal foul on UGA for unnecessary roughness on King’s one-yard run gave the Jackets the ball at the UGA48. King couldn’t connect with Haynes on first down. Smith ran for three yards on second down. A pass interference on fourth down gave the Jackets a first down at the UGA30, but a review wiped that out because the pass was tipped at the LOS and UGA got the ball at their own 45.
Bell on a reverse gained 29 yards to the GT26. Bell caught a pass on second down to the GT13. Lovett caught a pass to the GT4 and Milton punched the ball in to make it 31-13 with 31 seconds left in the third quarter.
After a touchback the Jackets started at their own 25, Dylan Leonard caught a five-yard pass on first down to end the third quarter. Singleton on the jet sweep went 57 yards to the UGA13. Smith lost a yard on first down, ran for four yards on second down but King was sacked and fumbled on third down by Marvin Jones Jr. and Aidan Birr was forced to kick a 40-yard field goal to make it 31-16 UGA with 12:13 left.
Bell returned the sky kick 39 yards to the GT46. Edwards ran for eight yards on first down and Beck hit Smith for 11 yards to the GT27. Edwards ran for 16-yards to the GT11. A hold by the left guard backed UGA up to the GT20. Edwards ran for five yards and a touchdown to Bell was wiped out by an illegal man down field to make it 2nd and 20 at the GT21. Beck scrambled for 15 yards to the GT6 to set up third and five. Wallace intercepted Beck’s pass in the end zone for a touchback.
Rutherford picked up 12 yards on the jet sweep on first down. Rutherford caught a pass for 12 more yards to the GT44. Singleton picked up nine yards on the jet sweep to the UGA47. Haynes ran for 23 yards to the UGA24. Haynes picked up three yards on the next play. Haynes caught a swing pass from King for three yards to the UGA19. Smith picked up four yards on the next play. Zach Pyron came in and ran for eight yards to the UGA5. King scored on the next play untouched.
Stewart’s onside kick failed and UGA recovered at the GT48. Edwards picked up four yards on the first play to the GT44. Beck ran for two yards on second down and Key called his first timeout. Edwards on a toss sweep picked up the first down to the GT36. Milton ran for one yard and Key called a second timeout with 1:58 left. Milton ran for 15 yards to the GT19 to give UGA first and 10. Smart had his team take a couple of knees to end the game.
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