No contest.
No two words more applicably describe the carnage Saturday at Sanford Stadium as No. 5 Georgia rolled past visiting Georgia Tech, 45-21.
"Our kids came out and played fast," said Head Coach Kirby Smart afterward. "Much has been made about the kickoff time. Much has been made about where we’ve played. Much has been made about the weather. We really can’t worry about all that, because none of those things we can control. We just want to go out there and play old-fashioned, tackle the man with the ball, and I think you’ve got to have that demeanor and approach when you play Georgia Tech."
The Bulldogs (11-1) now turn their attention to next week’s SEC Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where Georgia will challenge top-ranked Alabama for ultimate conference bragging rights and, more importantly, a spot in the College Football Playoff.
"It's where this program should be. It feels like a game we should be going to every year. Our guys will lay it on the line, and they're excited about the opportunity," Smart said. "It will be a great atmosphere, one of the best in college football. It will be another game week for us. We'll prepare for our opponent and treat it like every other week."
Quarterback Jake Fromm enjoyed one of the best games of his young career. The sophomore tossed a career-best four touchdown passes, completing 13 of 16 passes for 175 yards.
Two of the scores went to wide receiver Riley Ridley, while running backs D’Andre Swift and Elijah Holyfield tallied a pair of scoring runs for the Bulldogs.
Swift earned his fourth 100-yard game of the year (14 carries for 105 yards) for Georgia, which outgained Georgia Tech 447-219.
“(Fromm) has done a good job. He understands where the ball needs to go; he’s got good players to throw it to. He knows what the coverage is, he’s very accurate, and we protect. That’s critical, the time he gets in the pocket," Smart said. "The touchdown there over the middle—he had the protection. When he’s had good protection, he’s accurate.”
The Yellow Jackets (7-5) had no answers for a tenacious Bulldog defense. Paul Johnson’s squad came into play as the nation’s leading rushing team with 353 yards per game, but managed just 128 on the ground against Georgia, easily a season low.
“It was a challenge. We had to change our minds and get prepared for the game because their offense is so different," Georgia defensive end Malik Herring said. "We just had to prep really hard and stay focused throughout the week, even though we’re getting cut (blocked) in practice and stuff like that. We just had to change our minds.”
Georgia Tech’s only other offensive touchdowns came on a 3-yard touchdown run by Qua Searcy and a 28-yard pass from TaQuon Marshall to Brad Stewart in the fourth quarter, with the game already decided. The Yellow Jackets’ only other score came on a 100-yard kickoff return by Juanyeh Thomas late in the first quarter.
Georgia’s victory also snapped a two-game winning streak at Sanford Stadium for Georgia Tech, which had beaten the Bulldogs in their home stadium in 2014 and 2016.
Not this time. The victory was the Bulldogs’ largest over the Yellow Jackets since a 51-7 win in 2002. Georgia is now 15-3 against Georgia Tech since 2001.
“We played against a really good football team, and we played really poorly," said Tech's head coach, Paul Johnson. "We got ourselves dug in a hole, and we never could put together anything consistently on offense. The first drive, we made a couple of first downs, then got 4th-and-1 and jumped offside. "I think the first half, we got the ball a few times and didn’t do much with it. In the second half, we got the block below-the-waist call, which I talked to them about. The game was over by then. We just could never get anything going offensively at all."
Georgia didn't have such trouble.
All six of the Bulldogs’ possessions to start the game resulted in points for the SEC champs, with touchdowns coming on the first five. The only thing that stopped it from being six was the clock, as instead of taking one more shot from inside 10 with five seconds left, settled for a 25-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship to send Georgia into halftime with a 38-7 lead.
Fromm was again brilliant. The native of Warner-Robins, who completed 12 of 15 for 171 yards in the first half, threw a trio of touchdowns on throws of 5 yards to Ridley, 12 to Jeremiah Holloman, and 44 to Mecole Hardman.
Swift and Holyfield punched in a pair on the ground, scoring from 1 and 8 yards out respectively for Georgia. The Bulldogs piled up 343 yards of first-half offense compared to just 66 for Georgia Tech, which scored on Thomas’ 100-yard return to make the score 14-7.
