News / Sports
Chick-fil-A Bowl: Georgia Overcomes 18-Point Deficit to Beat Virginia Tech 31-24
The Georgia Bulldogs (9-4) capitalized on three fourth quarter interceptions and scored 28-points in the second half to beat the Virginia Tech Hokies (10-3) 31-24 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Saturday night.
The Bulldogs were the first on the board when Brandon Coutu kicked a 39-yard field goal in the first quarter. After forcing Virginia Tech to punt the Bulldogs took over on their own 16-yard-line. On their first play from scrimmage Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford was picked off and the Hokies took over on the 17-yard-line of Georgia. Virginia Tech drove the 17-yards and took a 7-3 lead at the beginning of the second quarter.
Virginia Tech then turned to their defense to shut down the Bulldogs offense. Georgia had the ball three times in the second quarter and on each possession the Hokies defense held them to three plays and a punt.
While the Hokies defense was shutting down the Dogs, their offense was moving with relative ease. They tacked on another two touchdowns in the quarter to take a 21-3 halftime lead.
Georgia started the second half in the same manner and they were forced to punt on their first possession. Instead of allowing the Hokies offense to continue their domination the Bulldogs stepped up their defense. Georgia forced Virginia Tech to punt and the Bulldogs offense managed to put 3 points on the board after Coutu kicked a 51-yard field goal cutting their deficit to 21-6.
It was that field goal that turned the tide for the Bulldogs. Georgia recovered the ensuing on-side kickoff and drove 52-yards for a touchdown.
With the third quarter over the Hokies were operating with a fresh set of downs to begin the fourth. On third down Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon was picked off by Tony Taylor and the Bulldogs offense took over on their own 42-yard line. The Bulldogs drove 58-yards and scored on a 3-yard touchdown run from Kregg Lumpkin. They converted their 2-point attempt and tied the score 21-21.
The Bulldogs defense was determined to prove they could match the intensity the Hokies defense showed in the first half. On the Hokies first play after the Bulldogs tied the score, Kenneth Harris forced Glennon to fumble and Quentin Moses recovered for Georgia. Coutu kicked his third field goal of the game and gave the Bulldogs a 24-21.
Glennon then threw his second interception of the quarter and Georgia returned it to the Virginia Tech one. On fourth and goal Brannan Southerland found the endzone on a one-yard plunge and the Bulldogs extended their lead to 31-21.
For the third time in the quarter Glennon was picked off and Georgia had the ball once again. While Georgia didn’t add any more points, there wasn’t any need. Virginia Tech was able to manage a field goal to cut into the Bulldogs lead 31-24 but they couldn’t get any closer.
Both defenses played well enough to win the game for their schools. Georgia allowed just 189 yards of offense to the Hokies while Virginia Tech’s defense surrendered 200 yard of offense to Georgia. The difference of the game was the Hokies four turnovers compared to the one committed by Georgia.
