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Georgia defeated Georgia Tech 44-42 in 8 overtimes on Friday night in Athens.
It was an instant-classic affair that unfolded over more 4.5 hours. Georgia fell behind 17-0 at the half and trailed by 14 with just over 5 minutes to go, but stormed back from that double-digit deficit to send the game to overtime.
Both teams scored touchdowns in the first 2 overtime periods, but chaos struck once the third overtime kicked in, requiring 2-point conversion attempts from both teams. The deadlock couldn’t be broken until the 8th OT when Nate Frazier found the end zone to finally end the game.
Here are 3 takeaways from Georgia’s thrilling victory over the Yellow Jackets:
Georgia’s historically-bad first half
Georgia had a nightmare first-half against the Yellow Jackets. The Bulldogs trailed 17-0 at the break and put up putrid numbers on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, the Bulldogs were shutout for the first time since 2019 and just the fifth time overall in the Kirby Smart era. The Bulldogs didn’t go over 100 total yards until their final drive of the half.
Defensively, Georgia allowed the Yellow Jackets to go over the 300-yard mark before the break. Georgia Tech had more than 100 rushing yards and more than 100 passing yards in the first half. It’s the second time a Georgia defense has allowed an opposing team to do that this season but only the fourth time in the Smart era.
Georgia’s offense woke up in the second half
It was a tale of 2 halves for the Georgia offense.
After not mustering any points before the break, the Bulldogs broke out of their slump in a big way in the second half. Georgia averaged over 6 yards per play in the second half and produced 4 consecutive touchdown drives after starting the third quarter with a 3-and-out.
UGA’s third TD of the half made it a 7-point game. Then, as Georgia Tech was driving to run out the rest of the clock, Georgia’s defense finally made a play by forcing Haynes King to fumble. A few plays later, Georgia tied the game — ultimately sending this instant-classic to overtime.
College Football Playoff implications
Win or lose, Georgia was always going to play in next week’s SEC Championship Game regardless of what happened in Athens on Friday night.
However, a win over Georgia Tech makes UGA’s life much easier moving forward. A loss to the Yellow Jackets likely would have forced Georgia into a win-or-go-home situation in next week’s SEC Championship Game.
Now at 10-2, Georgia is likely locked into the CFP regardless of what happens next weekend in Atlanta against either Texas or Texas A&M.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
