Sony Michel burns Georgia Tech on the ground again

Not once this season had Sony Michel received Georgia’s first handoff in a game.

Usually, Nick Chubb is the first Georgia running back to touch the ball. Then Michel enters when a defense has taken a few hits and the initial excitement of a game has worn off. In a 38-7 win over Georgia Tech, that tendency changed.

Michel received a handoff on Georgia’s first offensive play of the game and ran for seven yards. His next carry, he picked up eight yards. Same result on his next carry. Not until Michel’s fifth carry — a 2-yard run — did he rush for less than seven yards.

Continuing a run of positive performances against the Yellow Jackets, Michel ended the game with 13 carries for 85 yards a touchdown. Early on, Michel said Chubb told him to stay in the game.

“Me and Nick talked about it,” Michel said. “We actually both started the game. He was like, ‘Yeah, you stay in.’”

Michel said it wasn’t different for him to carry the load early in a game because Georgia’s offensive line created creases in the defense for him to run through. At halftime, he had eight carries for 67 yards while Chubb had 20 yards and a touchdown on five carries.

In the third quarter, after a 39-yard completion to Mecole Hardman gave Georgia the ball at Georgia Tech’s 4-yard line, Michel lined up behind quarterback Jake Fromm, received a pitch, juked cornerback Lance Austin and strolled into the end zone.

As Michel did his jazz hands celebration, Austin knelt on the field and watched. Georgia took a 24-7 lead on the ensuing extra point.

Michel didn’t receive a carry in the fourth quarter, but he finished the game with 3,314 career rushing yards, putting himself third on Georgia’s all-time list behind Herschel Walker and Chubb.

In a season full of lasts, the game was Michel’s final against Georgia Tech. Some of Michel’s best games in his career have come against the Yellow Jackets. One of the reasons he returned to school was to avenge Georgia’s loss to them last season.

Michel said he doesn’t approach Georgia Tech differently than any other opponent, but the senior Georgia running back rushed for a career-high 170 yards in a loss to the Yellow Jackets last year. As a sophomore he ran for 149 yards and scored Georgia’s only touchdown in a six-point win. He ended his career against the Yellow Jackets averaging seven yards per carry.

After the teams met at midfield following Saturday’s game, Michel began to run toward a concentration of Georgia fans in the southeast corner of the stadium. Suddenly, he was stopped. A police officer wanted to take a selfie with him. Michel obliged, then finished his run toward Georgia’s fans, where he smiled wide as he gave out high-fives.

“I thought he played tough,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “He’s one of the best competitors I’ve ever been around.”

This story was originally published November 25, 2017 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Sony Michel burns Georgia Tech on the ground again."