Georgia 31, Georgia Tech 17

Georgia defeated in-state arch rival Georgia Tech for the seventh consecutive year. In fact, the Bulldogs have not lost to the Yellow Jackets since Mark Richt became head coach in Athens.

It was a hard-fought game, as this one always is, and GT made it close until well into the second half. Georgia clearly had superior talent and much greater depth than the Jackets and they finally pulled away. Georgia also had luck on their side as three fumbles in their own end zone that could have been recovered by Tech for touchdowns instead turned into touchbacks.

It was good to see Thomas Brown lead the way. The oft-injured senior running back rushed seventeen times for 139 yards. Another senior who missed all of last season with an injury and who is finishing out this season with an injured knee, Sean Bailey, caught three passes for 85 yards. Junior Mohammed Massaquoi caught six passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for one touchdown and had a thirty one yard run for another.

Georgia’s defense intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble.

Because of Tennessee’s heart-stopping 52-50 win in four overtimes over Kentucky, Georgia will not play in the SEC Championship Game against LSU. Arkansas’ thrilling 50-48 triple overtime win over #1 LSU insures that no SEC team will play in the BCS National Championship game, which is a shame, since the SEC is, in my opinion and in the opinion of many folks who know a lot more it than I, the strongest conference in the NCAA. But, the way that the SEC teams beat up on one another week in and week out is what makes is so strong.

It appears that UGA is a lock for an at-large BCS bowl bid, although in this crazy year we shouldn’t count our chickens before they hatch. Where will the Dawgs land? Well, it won’t be the Sugar Bowl since the SEC champion will get an automatic berth there. Therefore, Georgia could be heading to the Rose, Fiesta, or Orange Bowls. If they go to the Rose, they will play the PAC 10 champion, probably USC. That could only happen if Ohio State plays in the BCS Championship game and does not go to the Rose Bowl. If Georgia goes to the Fiesta Bowl, they would play the Big 12 champion, which would ordinarily be the winner of the Big 12 Championship Game between Oklahoma and Missouri. But if Missouri wins that game they will likely play in the BCS Championship Game; then I would guess that the Big 12 representative in the Fiesta would be Kansas. If the Bulldogs go to Miami, they would play the ACC champion, which will be the winner of the Boston College vs. Virginia Tech game.

Personally, I’d love to see Georgia play USC in the Rose Bowl. That would be a matchup between what are arguably two of the hottest teams in college football here at the end of the season. And, UGA has not played in the “Granddaddy of Them All” since 1943. They’ve never played in the Fiesta Bowl and last appeared in the Orange Bowl in 1960.




It’s been a great season for the Bulldogs. Next season looks good, too, as the Dawgs will return nine starters on defense, Stafford will be a junior, Knowshon Moreno a sophomore, the three freshman starters on the offensive line will be back with a year’s experience under their belts, some seventeen redshirt freshmen will make their debut, including highly touted running back Caleb King—but I’m getting ahead of myself.

We’ll have to do a lot of worrying about the Braves before any of that matters!