Prior to Friday night the Georgia Bulldogs had not played an overtime game since 2019.
I think we’re good for another few years.
It was frequently maddening, and never pretty. But in the end the Red and Black managed to put a fiesty Georgia Tech squad back in its customary place, defeating the Gnats 44-42 in an octuple overtime shootout that will be remembered as one of the classics of this storied series.
What ended in exhausted exhilaration began with pure horror. Georgia Tech under former offensive lineman Brent Key played the first three quarters to way an old lineman would want his team to do it, winning the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense. The Yellow Jackets churned out 263 rushing yards, 101 of them from gritty quarterback Haynes King, who also threw for 303 in this supersized all-night edition of the storied intrastate rivalry.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 17-0 lead thanks to a Bulldog offense that looked stilted, disjointed, and physically overpowered. Mike Bobo once again fell into the trap of calling a lot of horizontal screen action, a part of the playbook that hasn’t really worked well all season. I’m sure he thinks he’a doing something terribly brilliant by slinging it out to Dominic Lovett for a 2 yard gain on 2nd and 10. What he’s really doing is giving me ulcers.
For his part Carson Beck played a low key veteran leader game. Georgia could not afford for bad Carson to make an appearance, and to his credit he didn’t. Beck had no turnovers on the evening despite handling the ball a lot on the ground and through the air. The Jacksonvillain finished 28 of 43 passing for 297 yards and 5 touchdowns. He added 10 yards on the ground, though sacks diminutive total somewhat. The 10 yards he had to move the chains late in the fourth on a scamper to the sideline, setting up his own tying touchdown to Dominic Lovett one play later.
Neither team covered itself in glory offensively during the ensuing eight overtime slugfest. Though I think some credit goes to Mike Bobo for using his big brain to recognize that the receivers were too tired to get much separation while the Tech front seven had been worn down by curb-stomping the Georgia offense for most of three and a half hours. Nate Frazier has gone from “not ready for prime time” to “the future of the running back room” over the last three weeks. That run to end the game will secure him a page in the Bulldog history books if he never played another down.
What did we learn from this marathon affair? Not much really. Same flaws, different week. Georgia simply isn’t as strong or physical up front as it has been under Kirby Smart, and that has to change. The Jackets were only 7 of 15 on third down conversions, but it felt much worse because it seemed they converted every attempt of 8 yards or more. “3rd and Schumann” feels like the new 3rd and Grantham at times, which is not what we want heading into the postseason.
The Bulldog linebackers who are semi-reliable tackling are a liability in the passing game. Buster Faulkner recognized this and nearly shallow crossing routed the Dawgs right out of playoff contention. The tackling? Cheese Louise. Can’t even begin to discuss it. It’s tragicomic. Like a Greek tragedy without the daggers or weird family relationship stuff.
Nevertheless, our rickety, leaky ship sails on. I’ve spent half this season lamenting the problems with this team. The problems are still there. You can’t reinvent a college football team in week thirteen. This mess is the mess we’ll carry to the SEC Championship Game, and hopefully beyond. What is encouraging is that arguably the most flawed team Kirby Smart has coached since his debut season is still playing for a shot at a title. The seniors on that team will leave Athens having never lost to Auburn, Florida, Tennessee or Georgia Tech. The me that suffered through the Goff and Donnan eras couldn’t even comprehend such a thing.
There may come a day when Brent Key snaps the Dawgs’ win streak in this series. But it wont be this year. Seven in a row is nice. Even if it took eight overtimes to get there. Until later…
Go ‘Dawgs!!!