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#1 Bulldogs Shut Out Tech 45-0 In Atlanta

QB

By Don Stone - Georgia Football Magazine and Football Atlanta

  When I checked, I couldn't believe how long it has been since the Bulldogs lost a game at Georgia Tech. It was maybe the most exciting month of football I've ever had.
 
  First was the November, 1999 game at Bobby Dodd Stadium when Joe Hamilton outdueled Quincy Carter for a thrilling 51-49 victory.

    A few weeks later, I was at the Outback Bowl in Tampa where Georgia fell behind Drew Brees 25-0 in his last college game at Purdue. UGA  then crawled back in and pulled off what was then the biggest comeback in college bowl history, winning 28-25.

     Shortly after, I was in the Georgia Dome to see my hometown team, the St. Louis Rams, hold on to beat the Tennessee Titans in the Super Bowl.

     All to point out how long it has been, since the Millennium.

     And nothing was about to change for this game as Georgia did what all of the prognosticators thought they would do, dominate from start to finish.

     Georgia Tech struggled against the best defense in college football repeatedly going three and out while the Bulldogs added score after score in front of a red and black clad crowd that also dominated the stands in Bobby Dodd Stadium.

     It didn't help that the Yellow Jackets were playing without starting quarterback Jeff Sims and rushing leader Jahmyr Gibbs, who left the game early with an injury. They'll have the entire off season to get better.

     The Bulldogs have allowed an average of just 7.5 points per game in their undefeated 12-0 season and this third shutout only lowered that. It was their first shutout of the Jackets since 1964,

     "I hate to just demean it. It's a big deal. It's an honor. It's great," head coach Kirby Smart said in the postgame locker room. "But it's the next step in the process for this group. This group has had a single-minded focus. It never said, 'Hey, let's go 12-0.' It just said, 'Hey, let's beat everybody we play.'"

     Georgia Tech falls to 3-9 in Geoff Collins third season on the Flats. All three seasons have ended with the same three win totals. Tech had kept most of their losses close throughout the season until  their last two games against ranked teams when they were outscored 100-0.

     #1 Georgia comes back to Atlanta on Saturday for a date with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. The Crimson Tide needed to overcome a 10-0 deficit and four overtimes to beat Auburn 24-22 the previous week.

Geo