Georgia Tech: 10
Georgia: 42

In the final game of the 2012 regular season, Georgia Tech trucked up to Athens on Thanksgiving weekend to visit the third-ranked, archrival Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia entered the contest at 10-1, with their lone blemish coming in a 35-7 dismantling by the hands of Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks. Tech had not beaten Georgia since stunning the then eleventh-ranked Dogs in an electric 45-42 comeback in 2008 (Paul Johnson’s first season as head coach).

The Jackets quickly found themselves in a 7-0 hole after allowing the Bulldogs to march 44 yards in 4 plays and surrendering a 3 yard touchdown run to Todd Gurley. The drive was setup by a 47 yard Malcolm Mitchell kick return and consumed just over a minute of the opening quarter.

Tech returned with an aggressive drive of its own, covering 64 yards in 9 plays to the Georgia 20 yard line. Robert Godhigh then rushed to the right for 19 yards to the Georgia goal line before losing a fumble to Bacarri Rambo just short of the end zone. Rambo scooped up the fumble and returned it 49 yards to midfield to give the Bulldogs great field position to start their second drive of the contest.

Georgia would need eight plays to cover the distance before scoring on a one yard run by Gurley, and just like that, Tech found itself trailing 14-0 at the six minute mark of the opening period.

The Ramblin’ Wreck offense collected itself and put together a solid drive deep into Georgia territory. Tevin Washington and Zach Laskey received the bulk of the carries, while Washington also found Jeremy Moore on a 20 yard pass to the Bulldog 38 yard line. The drive would eventually stall at the 21, and Chris Tanner came on to connect on a 38 yard field goal to make it 14-3 at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter belonged entirely to Georgia. Aaron Murray hit Mitchell for 57 yards on the first play from scrimmage to follow, and the Bulldogs took a 21-3 lead on a 15 yard run by Marshall two plays later.

Tech moved the ball pretty well on its next two possessions with Vad Lee at the helm, but came up empty after the drives were killed by a turnover on downs and an interception, respectively.

The Bulldogs would add another score just before halftime when Murray found Rhett McGowan for an 11 yard touchdown to cap off a 68 yard march. Gurley provided the bulk of the Georgia yards with back-to-back runs of 21 and 22 yards to setup the score.

Georgia added two third quarter touchdowns to further ensure victory. Murray found Jay Rome for a 24 yard touchdown at the 10:38 mark, and Marshall raced in from 17 yards out to make it 42-3 with 6:00 to play in the period.

Midway through the fourth, the Jackets mustered up enough offense to account their lone touchdown of the game. Lee hit Godhigh for 43 yards on first down to the Georgia 28 before missing on his next two pass attempts. Godhigh lost a yard on third-and-ten, but Lee gained 20 to the Bulldog 9 on fourth down to keep Tech alive. David Sims then finished off the drive with a 9 yard run with 7:25 to play to reach the 42-10 final.

While the loss dropped Tech to 6-6 on the year, they still had a chance to win the ACC and earn a BCS berth with a victory over Florida State on December 1st.

Georgia went on to face second-ranked Alabama in the SEC Championship game for a chance to play Notre Dame for the BCS National Championship in Miami, FL. But after an exciting game, the Bulldogs would come up just short of victory, falling 32-28 to the Crimson Tide when Aaron Murray completed a pass at the Alabama 8 as time expired. They would eventually defeat Nebraska 45-31 in the Capital One Bowl to finish the year at 12-2 overall.

Statistics:

First Downs:
GT – 26
UGA – 18

Rushing yards:
GT – 306
UGA – 164

Passing (Comp-Att-Yds):
GT – 10-21-120
UGA – 14-18-215

Interceptions thrown:
GT – 1
UGA – 0

Fumbles (Total-Lost):
GT – 5-1
UGA – 1-0

Penalties (Total-Yds):
GT – 4-30
UGA – 5-55

References:

Game Summary: http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/112412aaa.html

Videos:

– Game Highlights