Just a day after being eliminated from SEC championship contention by Missouri's win over Arkansas, things got even worse for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Mark Richt's team lost at home to rival Georgia Tech, 30-24 in overtime, in what might have been the wildest rivalry game played Saturday. The teams combined for three lost fumbles inside the opponent's 1-yard line, two blocked field goals, and two of the most egregious special-teams miscues imaginable by the Bulldogs.
Georgia Tech scored a late touchdown to go ahead 21-17, and recovered its own kickoff when the Bulldogs inexplicably failed to field the ball. The Georgia defense managed to force a turnover and score with 18 seconds remaining to go ahead 24-21, but squib kicked the kickoff to Georgia Tech, which returned the ball to about its 40-yard line. Tech quarterback Justin Thomas scrambled for a big gain and ran out of bounds to stop the clock on the following play, setting up a 53-yard field goal to put the game into overtime.
Georgia Tech scored a touchdown in overtime but had its PAT blocked by Georgia defensive lineman Ray Drew -- his second blocked kick of the day -- but Bulldogs quarterback Hutson Mason was intercepted on Georgia's overtime possession to end the game.
Georgia senior cornerback Damian Swann returned a fumble 99 yards for a touchdown earlier in the game. But the Bulldogs lost two fumbles of their own inside the Tech 1 to help keep the game close.
Bulldogs freshman running back Nick Chubb ran 25 times for 129 yards, but Tech fullback Zach Laskey ran for a game-high 140 on 26 carries as the dive man in GT's triple-option offense.
A few other performances from some of the game's top talents:
» Georgia linebackers Ramik Wilson and Amarlo Herrera were credited with 19 tackles each, but those totals were somewhat deceiving regarding the day each had. Georgia Tech rushed for 399 yards, and of those 38 tackles, 26 were assists.
» Swann made 10 stops and had a tackle for loss and a pass breakup to go with his forced fumble and 99-yard fumble return.
» Georgia Tech safety Isaiah Johnson led the Yellow Jackets with 10 tackles, two for losses, with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
