Swatted: Bulldogs bite Yellow Jackets in intrastate blowout

The Governor’s Cup is coming back to Athens.

Georgia exacted revenge from last year’s loss to Georgia Tech in dominating fashion. The Bulldogs used a balanced attack to maul the Yellow Jackets 38-7 in this year’s annual rivalry game at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Running back Sony Michel led the way on the ground for Georgia, totaling 85 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Jake Fromm finished the game 12-of-16 for 224 yards and two touchdowns.

Georgia (11-1) got an inspired performance from its defense, which held Georgia Tech (5-6) to only 225 yards of total offense.

Three who mattered

Michel: Michel has been a terror for Georgia Tech to deal with over the past three years. On Saturday, Michel rumbled for 85 yards and a touchdown. While Michel didn’t top the 100-yard mark, his bruising style helped wear Georgia Tech’s defense down. Michel also had a nifty juke move on his 4-yard score in the third quarter. Michel’s game followed a 149-yard performance in 2015 and a 170-yard showing in 2016.

Georgia receiver Javon Wims: Wims was a go-to target in the first half. He nearly had a touchdown on a back-shoulder catch in the first quarter and came back to score on a 21-yard throw in the second. He finished with five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.

Georgia inside linebacker Roquan Smith: Smith was all over the field defending Georgia Tech’s triple option. He finished the game with nine tackles and a sack.

Turning point

Following Michel’s 4-yard touchdown in the third quarter, it was evident Georgia Tech wouldn’t be able to keep up with the Bulldogs.

Observations

Over-matched opponent: Georgia Tech did what it could to keep this a competitive game in the first half. But things got out of hand in the third quarter with the talent discrepancy quite evident. The Yellow Jackets couldn’t spring the outside runs as often and the passing game was mostly taken away. The Bulldogs made it a goal to take away the fullback dive as well. Georgia Tech came into the game averaging 319.3 rushing yards per game and managed 187 against the Bulldogs. Quarterback Taquon Marshall, who went 2-of-9 passing for 38 yards, a touchdown and an interception, was unable to offer a downfield passing threat against Georgia’s defense either.

Final first-half drive: Georgia could have been content to head to the half with a 14-7 lead but decided otherwise. With 48 seconds left in the second quarter, Marshall tossed a 10-yard touchdown to Ricky Jeune to make it a one-score game. But head coach Kirby Smart decided to see if his offense could at least get in field goal range to add some points to its lead. After a 9-yard run from Michel, quarterback Jake Fromm hit Riley Ridley and Isaac Nauta for gains of 9 yards each through the air. Fromm then found Wims for 23 yards, which set up a 37-yard field goal attempt from Rodrigo Blankenship. Blankenship made the kick and gave the Bulldogs a 10-point lead and some added momentum heading into halftime.

Red zone offense: Georgia entered Saturday tied for first in the nation in red zone scoring. The Bulldogs have scored 40 of 41 times inside opponents’ 20-yard lines, which includes converting 30 of those trips for touchdowns. Against the Yellow Jackets, the Bulldogs got inside the 20-yard line four times and scored three touchdowns and one field goal.

Worth mentioning

Crumpton goes deep: Georgia receiver Ahkil Crumpton entered Saturday game with only three catches for 18 yards. He caught his fourth pass of the year on a jet sweep pitch out in front of Fromm. His fifth grab of the year, however, went for many more yards. Crumpton ran a post and got behind the Georgia Tech secondary early in the fourth quarter. Fromm lofted a perfect throw that Crumpton snagged in stride. Crumpton then took off to the end zone for a 78-yard score with 11:21 left to play in the game.

Balanced attack: By hitting Crumpton for the 78-yard touchdown, Georgia actually had slightly more passing yards than rushing yards at that point in the game. Before Georgia got the ball back at the 7:28 mark of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs had totaled 32 carries for 202 rushing yards and three scores. It was a much more balanced day -- not necessarily by design -- from an otherwise run-heavy team. In the end, Georgia totaled 247 rushing yards and 224 passing yards.

Michel moves up: With his performance Saturday, Michel is now Georgia’s third all-time leading rusher. Michel now has 3,314 total rushing yards through four seasons. He sits third only behind Herschel Walker (5,259) and Chubb (4,522).

They said it

Chubb on being able to put away Georgia Tech in the second half: “That’s pretty impressive as a team. Those guys like to hold on to the ball. We didn’t have many opportunities in the first half but it’s pretty impressive because those guys do a great job with what they do.”

Smith on finishing the regular season 11-1: “It’s awesome to be 11-1. I haven’t seen this in a while here at the University of Georgia. It’s an awesome feeling. We just beat a good team in Georgia Tech.”

Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson on the loss: “Clearly disappointed in the way we performed. I think we got beat just about every way you can get beat. They certainly out-played us, out-coached us. Whatever you want to say. It was frustrating. It wasn’t much fun out there.”

What’s next?

Georgia will continue its season in the SEC Championship next Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 4 p.m.

This story was originally published November 25, 2017 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Swatted: Bulldogs bite Yellow Jackets in intrastate blowout."