During his post-game press conference, Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson was disappointed in the way his team performed saying, “I think we got beat just about every way you can get beat.” He continued, “They certainly outplayed us, outcoached us. It wasn’t much fun out there.”
The Georgia Tech offense was unable to gain any real momentum as they were held to just seven total points and 225 total yards. Georgia Tech quarterback Taquon Marshall finished as the leading rusher for the Jackets, finishing with 17 carries for 72-yards. In the passing game, Marshall finished only completing two of his nine passes for 38-yards but was able to score the only points for the Jackets when he completed a 10-yard pass to redshirt Senior wide receiver Ricky Jeune. This was the only real highlight of the game for the Yellow Jackets as the Bulldog Defense otherwise shut them down.
Taquon Marshall did, however, break the Georgia Tech single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback, breaking former Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas’ record set in 2014.
The story of the game was how well the Georgia Bulldogs played in all facets of the game. From a steady offense and stout defense, to even momentum-building plays on special teams, the Bulldogs were in control early, breaking the game open in the third quarter and cruising to the finish line.
The Georgia offense looked to use the running game to open things up in the passing game for freshman quarterback Jake Fromm. Using their duo of senior running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, the Bulldogs did just that. Michel led the team with 13 rushes for 85-yards and a touchdown, while Chubb finished with 12 rushes for 55-yards and a touchdown. The tandem was a large part of a rushing attack that gained 247 of the team’s 471 total yards in the game. Freshman running back Deandre Swift also joined in with a touchdown of his own late in the third quarter, but it was the senior duo that did the most damage.
When asked about Georgia’s rushing attack and the struggles the Jackets had slowing them down Coach Johnson said, “They’ve got good backs and we missed a ton of tackles. There were times when we were in position to make plays and we didn’t make them. You have to give them credit, they’ve got good backs and we didn’t tackle.”
Fromm continued his stellar freshman campaign completing 12 of his 16 passes for 224-yards and two touchdowns. The play of the game was a 74-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter that all but sealed the win for the Dawgs. Fromm connected with junior wide receiver Ahkil Crumpton, who escaped a would-be tackler and went unchallenged the rest of the way to the end zone. This was the final score of the game, extending the Bulldogs lead over the Jackets to 38-7.
Georgia has seemingly regained all of their momentum after their loss to Auburn two weeks ago. The Bulldogs will next head into the SEC championship next week to take on the winner of the Iron Bowl, which will either be top-ranked Alabama, or a rematch against 6th ranked Auburn.
For Georgia Tech, the season is likely over after the loss. With a record of 5-6, they will most likely miss out on a bowl game and be left with a disappointing end to their season. Coach Johnson talked about how he will address the offseason saying, “I think like any season, when you finish you have to take a long hard look at everything.” He continued, “You have to go back and look at everything, no question. Especially when you have a disappointing season like this.”
