Georgia finished its third-straight season with a 12-0 record after defeating Georgia Tech 31-22 at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday in Atlanta.
Georgia’s active winning streak is now at 29 games. Dating back to the 2020 season, the Bulldogs have won 45 of their last 46 contests.
“A lot of credit to Georgia Tech. They did a good job, played hard, played physical. I thought (Tech offensive coordinator) Buster (Faulkner) and his staff did a great job with the run plan,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said after his team’s win.
“We expected to get a lot of quarterback runs. They did a good job of that. But once again our kids show up very resilient, and tough. I mean, this game is not measured by stats and rushing yards and first downs – it’s measured by heart. And you’ve got to have a whole lot of heart to go out there and fight and play like our guys have done week after week after week.”
Despite showing a lot of fight, Georgia grappled with Georgia Tech late in the game and the win wasn’t easy. The Bulldogs were also playing without several key players on both sides of the ball.
Still, Georgia prevailed as senior Kendall Milton had a career-high in rushing yards and touchdowns. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound running back totaled 156 yards on 18 attempts with two scores.
Milton’s first touchdown came after Georgia Tech led 10-7 early. He capped off a seven-play, 75-yard drive for Georgia with a three-yard rushing touchdown to put his team on top.
Milton’s second touchdown was arguably the most important, though. His fouryard scoring run toward the end of the third quarter put the Bulldogs up 31-13 as the Yellow Jackets made it close late.
“It feels great, but the winning feels even better,” Milton said of his performance. “I feel like Coach Smart, he’s put it into perspective. I feel like I’ve really seen this throughout my past years at Georgia individual success is all good, but team success is what’s going to take you the furthest.”
Per Smart, Milton ran “really physical,” but there were other players who also contributed to the win.
“Really physical. He’s getting his pads down, and running through contact,” Smart said. “He breaks a lot of arm tackles. I saw two or three of their guys have to go out from having to tackle him ‘cause he’s really physical and downhill. But make no mistake about it: it’s not just him.
“It’s a lot of them dudes up there in front of him. It’s the quarterback run-checking, the O-line moving people, tight ends, and receivers blocking downfield. It’s a team effort, and he was a big, big part of that tonight. I mean, even Daijun had some good runs, but I thought Kendall was really physical.”
Georgia was driving to extend its lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but senior quarterback Carson Beck was intercepted in the end zone, giving the Yellow Jackets new life and a spark of energy.
Georgia Tech took advantage of the turnover, scoring a touchdown with just under three minutes left. Yellow Jacket quarterback Haynes King scored his second rushing touchdown on a five-yard run.
Either way, Georgia ran out the clock on its next possession to secure the victory over Georgia Tech.
“You see across the country in these rivalry games what happens. I know better than anybody that it can go either way in these tight games,” Smart said. “Very emotional, very different week in terms of Thanksgiving … but I thought our offense played with a lot of consistency. We were able to run the ball really well and really physical up front. The line of scrimmage won the game for us.”