2002 Season

2002-11-30 – Georgia Tech at Georgia

Georgia Tech at Georgia - 2002

Georgia Tech at Georgia – November 30, 2002

Georgia Tech: 7
Georgia: 51

After improving to 7-4 with a win over Duke, Georgia Tech headed to Athens, Georgia on Thanksgiving weekend to renew its rivalry with the 5th-ranked, 10-1 Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia’s lone loss on the season came at the hands of Ron Zook’s Florida Gators in Jacksonville in early November. While holding a 53-38-5 lead in the all-time series, the Bulldogs needed a 31-17 victory in Atlanta in 2001 to break a three-game losing streak to the Ramblin’ Wreck.

Georgia Tech was completely dominated from the opening kick. After surrendering a single first down, the Bulldogs covered 80 yards in 11 plays to jump ahead 7-0 in the early going. Billy Bennett then added a 46 yard field goal with 2:29 left in the opening period to put Georgia on top 10-0.

A twenty-four point second quarter virtually ended the game. D.J. Shockley first scored on an 8 yard run at the 12:37 mark, and David Green followed three minutes later with a 49 yard touchdown pass to Fred Gibson. Bennett connected again from 30 yards out with 4:28 to play, and J.T. Wall added an 18 yard touchdown run to make it 34-0 at halftime.

After the break, the Bulldog rout continued. Wall scored his second touchdown of the day from 2 yards out at the 5:46 mark, and Bennett hit another 30 yarder two minutes later to make it 44-0.

Tech nabbed its lone score at the start of the final stanza when A.J. Suggs found Jonathan Smith for a 4 yard touchdown pass to avoid the shutout.

Georgia would add a late score when reserve halfback Tyson Browning raced to the end zone from the 19 yard line to reach the 51-7 final with 4:19 to play.

Georgia would go on to dismantle the Arkansas Razorbacks by a 30-3 margin the SEC Championship Game to earn its first conference title since 1982. The victory earned them a berth in the BCS Sugar Bowl, where they defeated the Florida State Seminoles by a score of 26-13 to finish the season at 13-1, overall.

Statistics:

First downs:
GT – 12
UGA – 24

Rushing yards:
GT – 71
UGA – 230

Passing (Comp-Att-Yds):
GT – 18-36-222
UGA – 17-25-322

Interceptions thrown:
GT – 2
UGA – 0

Fumbles (Total-Lost):
GT – 6-3
UGA – 0-0

Penalties (Total-Yds):
GT – 4-28
UGA – 8-95

References:
Game Summary: http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/113002aaa.html

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