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Georgia Tech Battles, But Falls to No. 1 Georgia – Football — Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

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ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia Tech more than held its own against the nation’s top-ranked team for much of the game, but No. 1 Georgia pulled away late to defeat the Yellow Jackets, 37-14, on Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium.

Georgia Tech (5-7) jumped out to an early 7-0 lead by scoring the first first-quarter touchdown allowed by Georgia (12-0) this season. The Yellow Jackets took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 11 plays for the score, highlighted by a 34-yard pass from Zach Gibson to Nate McCollum on fourth-and-nine and capped by a 7-yard touchdown run by quarterback Taisun Phommachan.

The Jackets – only the third team to lead UGA at any point of a game this season – went on to outgain the Bulldogs, 187-153, in the first half and trailed just 10-7 at the break.

Tech remained in the game until well into the third quarter but a pair of miscues deep in its own territory – an errant snap on a punt and a fumble – led to UGA scoring 13 points in a span of just 6:29 to turn the narrow 10-7 lead into a 23-7 advantage. The Bulldogs then tacked on a pair of touchdowns early in the fourth period to put the game away.

Georgia Tech running back Dontae Smith closed the scoring with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Malachi Carter with 2:55 to go in the game. The scoring strike came on the first pass attempt of Smith’s career.

Tech’s defense – which limited Georgia to 406 total yards, the Bulldogs’ third-lowest offensive output of the season – was led by linebackers Ayinde Eley and Charlie Thomas, who led all tacklers with 11 and eight stops, respectively. Eley and Thomas closed the season with 118 and 112 tackles, which were the most by any Yellow Jackets since PJ Davis racked up 119 stops in 14 games in 2014.

Making only his third start, Gibson completed 19-of-35 passes for 191 yards – all career highs – and engineered touchdown drives of 75 and 65 yards to lead the Yellow Jackets’ offensively. McCollum led all players with six catches for 65 yards, giving him 60 receptions for the season, the seventh-most in Georgia Tech single-season history and the most by a Yellow Jacket since Calvin Johnson hauled in 76 receptions in 2006.

Multimedia

Coach Key Postgame Press Conference (Video)

Coach Key Postgame Press Conference (Audio)

Student-Athletes Postgame Press Conference

Game Highlights (ACC Digital Network)

Condensed Game (ACC Digital Network)

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