Georgia rallies for win
ATLANTA – Tony Taylor set up two fourth-quarter touchdowns with interceptions and Georgia rallied from an 18-point deficit to upset No. 14 Virginia Tech 31-24 on Saturday night in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
Georgia finished an up-and-down season with three straight victories over ranked teams, a first for the program. The Bulldogs (9-4) salvaged an otherwise disappointing regular season with wins over No. 5 Auburn and No. 16 Georgia Tech.
Taylor’s interceptions gave the senior linebacker seven for the season and helped Georgia rally after Virginia Tech (10-3) led 21-3 at halftime.
Georgia freshman Matthew Stafford threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Martrez Milner in the third quarter and passed to Milner again for a two-point conversion in the fourth that tied the game at 21-21.
Brandon Coutu’s third field goal of the game, from 28 yards, gave Georgia a 24-21 lead with 10:42 left in the game. Taylor returned his second interception, on a pass deflected by cornerback Paul Oliver, 15 yards to the Virginia Tech 1. Fullback Brannan Southerland scored on a fourth-down run from the 1 for a 31-21 lead with 7:30 left.
Georgia safety Kelin Johnson added a third pick against Hokies quarterback Sean Glennon later in the fourth quarter. A 28-yard FG by Brandon Pace cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 31-24 with 3:41 left.
Georgia 31, Va. Tech 24
Georgia | 3 | 0 | 10 | 18 | — | 31 |
Virginia Tech | 0 | 21 | 0 | 3 | — | 24 |
Geo—FG Coutu 39
VT—Ore 1 run (Pace kick)
VT—Ore 1 run (Pace kick)
VT—Wheeler 53 pass from Royal (Pace kick)
Geo—FG Coutu 51
Geo—Milner 6 pass from Stafford (Coutu kick)
Geo—Lumpkin 3 run (Milner pass from Stafford)
Geo—FG Coutu 28
Geo—Southerland 1 run (Coutu kick)
VT—FG Pace 28
A—75,406.
Geo | VT | |
First downs | 9 | 9 |
Rushes-yards | 31-71 | 26-42 |
Passing | 129 | 147 |
Comp-Att-Int | 9-21-1 | 14-27-3 |
Return Yards | 44 | 53 |
Punts-Avg. | 7-37.7 | 4-48.8 |
Fumbles-Lost | 1-0 | 1-1 |
Penalties-Yards | 4-31 | 8-78 |
Time of Possession | 30:23 | 29:37 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Georgia, Lumpkin 12-39, Ware 6-24, Southerland 6-5, Stafford 7-3. Virginia Tech, Ore 20-42, K.Lewis 2-5, Glennon 4-(minus 5).
PASSING—Georgia, Stafford 9-21-1-129. Virginia Tech, Glennon 13-26-3-94, Royal 1-1-0-53.
RECEIVING—Georgia, Milner 3-49, Massaquoi 2-18, Southerland 1-27, Raley 1-24, Durham 1-11, Ware 1-0. Virginia Tech, Royal 4-45, Ore 4-11, Morgan 2-14, Wheeler 1-53, Boone 1-10, Clowney 1-8, Harper 1-6.