Georgia beats Tech, but offense has ‘got to get better’ for postseason run

The Bulldogs beat Tech 16-9 despite their offense setting season lows for points and yards (260).

“I thought the defense really stepped up today,” Smart said. “We did what we had to do offensively. Got to continue to get better.”

This shouldn’t have been a game in which Georgia’s offense did just enough to win. None of Tech’s past three opponents are national championship contenders. All of them had no problem scoring against the Yellow Jackets.

Last weekend, Pitt rang up 28 points and 240 yards against Tech during its first five possessions. The week before, Boston College’s awful offense produced 34 points and 537 yards against the Jackets. Tech began this month by surrendering scores in eight of 10 possessions against North Carolina State.

Georgia’s offense is the best the Jackets have faced all season. But Tech’s defense suddenly looked elite.

Georgia gained 3.9 yards per play. Gunner Stockton passed for 70 yards on 21 attempts and wasn’t much better running the ball. Play-caller Mike Bobo kept calling Stockton’s number even though running back Nate Frazier (108 yards on 22 carries) was the best thing going for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs had two chances to put away the Jackets with scores in the fourth quarter. They punted both times. Basically, Georgia’s offense grinded out yards and kept the clock running until the game was over.

“That’s who we’ve been, but we’ve been explosive,” Smart said. “We had a couple of (deep) shots. If we make those, it changes the game.”

The Bulldogs didn’t make those plays. Just three of their 67 plays gained more than 20 yards. They had as many turnovers (one) as touchdowns. Four of Georgia’s last five drives ended with punts.

Smart fouled up a chance to score a touchdown before halftime with poor clock management. After Josh McCray ran for 4 yards, Smart allowed the clock to run for 27 seconds before calling timeout with 48 seconds to go. There were three seconds left when the Bulldogs kicked a field goal on third down from the 12-yard line.

“We were being very methodical, intentionally,” Smart said. “We knew we were getting possession (after halftime). If I could do anything again, I probably would not do a hard count and wait and call the timeout late. Just let (Stockton) go fast on third down, which we ended up converting, and then we ran out of time.”

It was the kind of mistake that could cost the Bulldogs against better teams in the postseason. They did just enough to outlast Tech. It wasn’t easy.

Late in the third quarter, Tech kicked a field goal to reduce its deficit to 13-6. Four plays later, Smart decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 at Georgia’s 34-yard line. Cash Jones got the ball and fell forward just far enough to gain a first down.

That’s how it went for the Georgia’s offense for most of the game. Everything was hard against a defense that had been making it easy for opponents. Many of Georgia’s most important plays just kept the clock running.

“We controlled the game in terms of time of possession, but we didn’t dominate the game,” Smart said.

Much of that was because Stockton was off his game. He’s become a confident and decisive player during his first year as a starter, but this performance was more like his early-season outings. Stockton seemed hesitant to throw at times, gave up on plays too soon at other times and sometimes held the ball for too long against blitzes.

Stockton’s one big mistake was an interception during Georgia’s first possession. It was Tech’s first interception since the sixth game of the season and the first takeaway of any kind in the past four games.

“I just forced the ball,” Stockton said. “I shouldn’t have thrown it.”

Stockton made amends with two key passes to Zachariah Branch. The first pass went for a 7-yard touchdown that put Georgia ahead for good in the second quarter. The other pass was a 23-yard completion to Branch on third-and-4 in the fourth quarter.

That drive didn’t end with a score, but the Bulldogs ran three more plays and used nearly three more minutes off the clock before punting. During Georgia’s final drive, Stockton ran for seven yards to set up a third-and-short that the Bulldogs converted.

That was enough for the Bulldogs to get out of town with an eighth straight victory over Tech.

“We didn’t execute as good as we wanted to, I didn’t play as well as I wanted to,” Stockton said. “But as long as the ‘Dawgs’ win, it’s a good day.”

That’s especially true for the Bulldogs when the victory is against the in-state rival. But Stockton and Co. will have to be better if Georgia wants more good days in December.

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