No. 1 Georgia started slowly before pulling away from visiting Georgia Tech for a 37-14 victory on Saturday at Athens, Ga., giving the Bulldogs consecutive undefeated regular seasons for the first time in school history.
Stetson Bennett went just 10-of-18 passing for 140 yards and two touchdowns for the Bulldogs (12-0), who will face No. 5 LSU in the SEC title game on Dec. 3.
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Georgia Tech (5-7) missed becoming bowl eligible for the fourth straight season after falling to its in-state rival for the fifth straight year and for the 18th time in the past 21 meetings.
The Bulldogs trailed 7-0 after the Yellow Jackets’ first drive before scoring the game’s next 37 points.
Kenny McIntosh rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries and caught two passes for 96 yards for Georgia, while Brock Bowers had five catches, including a 1-yard touchdown, for 20 yards.
Georgia Tech’s Zach Gibson went 19-of-35 passing for 191 yards, with Nate McCollum catching six passes for 65 yards. Dontae Smith rushed for 34 yards on 10 carries, in addition to throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Malachi Carter.
Leading 10-7 at halftime, Georgia extended its lead to 20-7 when Jack Podlesny’s 50-yard field goal was followed by Bennett’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Bowers with 5:51 left in the third quarter.
Jamie Felix fumbled on Georgia Tech’s next play from scrimmage, with Georgia’s Robert Beal Jr. recovering on the Yellow Jackets’ 20-yard line. Podlesny’s 36-yard field goal extended the lead to 23-7 with 4:11 left in the quarter.
McIntosh followed an 83-yard reception with a 2-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 30-7 with 13:45 left in the game.
Kendall Milton’s 44-yard touchdown run made it 37-7 with 11:13 to go before Smith capped the scoring with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Carter on a halfback-option pass with 2:55 left.
Georgia Tech, which lost to Georgia 45-0 last year, took a 7-0 lead on backup quarterback Taisun Phommachanh’s 7-yard touchdown with 10:43 left in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs pulled to within 7-3 on Podlesny’s 30-yard field goal with 18 seconds left in the first quarter.
Georgia took the lead for good on its next possession when Bennett threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint with 7:59 left in the first half.
–Field Level Media
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