Bulldogs Rally, Edge Tech In Eighth OT

Friday, November 29

Athens, Ga.

7:30 p.m.

University of Georgia

10-2 , 6-2

Georgia Tech

7-5 , 5-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Georgia Tech

Georgia

November 30, 2024 | Football

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Highlights

Coach Smart

ATHENS, Ga. — In a familiar matchup played on an unfamiliar day, and in a game that almost wouldn't end, the No. 7-ranked Georgia football team wrapped up its regular season with its seventh consecutive win over Georgia Tech, 44-42 in eight overtimes, on Friday night at Sanford Stadium. But it wasn't close to that simple.

Georgia trailed 17-0 at halftime and was behind 27-13 with 5:37 to play. Then came the rally. With 1:01 remaining, the Bulldogs drew even on quarterback Carson Beck's second touchdown pass to Dominic Lovett in the closing minutes. And in overtime, the teams traded scores and failed attempts until Georgia's defense stopped Tech and then Nate Frazier ran the ball in from the 3 in the eighth extra period. Beck passed for 297 yards and five touchdowns.

It was the in-state rivals' first meeting on a Friday since 1994 (Georgia won 48-10) and their first non-Saturday game since 1995, when the Bulldogs won 18-17 on Thanksgiving Day. Georgia now leads the all-time series 72-39-5.

Up next for Georgia is next Saturday's SEC Championship Game in Atlanta against either No. 3 Texas or No. 20 Texas A&M — they play Saturday afternoon with a spot in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on the line. The Bulldogs will be playing for the conference championship for the fourth year in a row.

Georgia ended its regular season with a record of 10-2, while Tech finished at 7-5. The Yellow Jackets out-gained the Bulldogs 563-405 and had the ball nearly 14 minutes longer, but Georgia managed to claw its way back and outscore Tech 44-25 after halftime.

Tech led 3-0 after the first quarter thanks to a 31-yard Aidan Birr field goal. Birr later missed a 25-yarder when the ball hit the left upright and bounced away.

The Yellow Jackets went ahead 10-0 on a 2-yard run by quarterback Haynes King with 4:40 to go until halftime. The Bulldogs were able to move the ball into Tech territory on their next drive, but the Yellow Jackets then produced the game's first turnover, forcing a fumble after a Lovett reception.

Tech's offense went right back to work and soon took a 17-0 lead on a 4-yard touchdown pass from King to Jamal Haynes. Tech ended the half with 307 yards of offense and 15 first downs, while the Bulldogs had 137 yards and seven firsts. It was the first time Georgia had been shut out in the first half since 2019.

The Bulldogs finally got on the scoreboard on their second drive of the half. An Arian Smith run went for 30 yards to the Tech 21, and Beck later hit Cash Jones out of the backfield for 11 yards to the 8. On second down at the 2, Beck hit tight end Oscar Delp for a touchdown. Georgia went for the two-point conversion but came up empty, making it 17-6 with 9:53 left in the third.

Georgia Tech started its next drive at its 4 after a botched return, but the Yellow Jackets still drove for a score at the end of an 18-play drive that lasted more than 10 minutes. Tech converted a fourth-and-3 at the Bulldog 37 and later went ahead 20-6 on a 23-yard field goal with 14:17 left in the game.

The Bulldogs responded with a 13-play drive that ended with a 1-yard Frazier rushing touchdown with 8:18 to go, making it 20-13. Georgia caught a break with a pass interference call against Tech on a fourth-and-four pass attempt that came up empty. It was Frazier's seventh touchdown in the last five games.

Tech answered right back, going ahead 27-13 with 5:37 remaining after King ran 11 yards for a touchdown. Georgia quickly followed that with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Lovett with 3:39 remaining.

Georgia's defense gave the Bulldogs a chance. On third-and-1 at the Tech 31, King ran for the first down but was stripped by safety Dan Jackson and linebacker Chaz Chambliss recovered at the Tech 32 with 2:02 to play. The Bulldogs took full advantage of the turnover, tying the game 27-all with 1:01 remaining on Beck's 3-yard touchdown pass to the right side to Lovett.

The Bulldog defense stopped Tech near midfield in the final minute, and soon the game was headed to overtime. It was the first Georgia-Georgia Tech game to head to OT since the rivals did it in 2013 and '14.

In overtime, Georgia got the ball first and struck first, scoring on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Beck to wideout London Humphreys. The Bulldogs' first lead of the game came in overtime, 34-27. Tech answered to force a second overtime, scoring on a 12-yard touchdown pass from King to wideout Eric Singleton, Jr.

Tech got the ball first to start the second overtime and needed just three plays to score, going up 40-34 on King's 1-yard rush. On the mandatory two-point attempt in the second OT, Georgia's Smael Mondon Jr. broke up King's pass attempt.

The Bulldogs, knowing they needed a touchdown, got one on the first play, a 25-yard touchdown from Beck to Cash Jones on the left side to make it 40-40. On the two-point try, Beck's pass to Humphreys fell incomplete, sending the game to a third extra period in which the teams only got one attempt from the 3-yard line.

Neither team could find the end zone in the third or fourth overtimes. In the fifth, Beck hit wideout Dillon Bell for the score, and Tech followed with a King scoring pass to Malik Rutherford. Both teams then came up empty in overtimes six and seven.

In the eighth OT, linebacker CJ Allen's pressure forced an incompletion on King's pass attempt, and again Georgia was just one play away. On the Bulldogs' attempt, Frazier scooted through the middle for the victory.