One of college football’s highest anticipated rivalry games took place November 28 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (ATL), Georgia. A battle between the Southeastern Conference (SEC) powerhouse, the University of Georgia (UGA) (11-1), and the rising Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team, the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) (9-3), highlighted football intensity over the Thanksgiving week. Fans flocked from throughout the country and surrounding areas to the heart of ATL, all to witness the head-to-head match-up. A rivalry tradition rooted in the idea of state supremacy ultimately asks one question: Who reigns supreme in Georgia college football?
Starting the game, both teams’ objectives shone clear: a need to win. However, both teams also aimed for the win for reasons outside of state supremacy. For the UGA Bulldogs, winning would put them 11-1, placing the team in a favorable spot to advance into the SEC Championship. For Georgia Tech, a win against UGA would help secure a memorable season for the team. This past season, Georgia Tech beat notable teams, including Clemson, Duke and Virginia Tech, moving into the UGA game with a 9-2 record. Beating UGA would only forge the notable season into the history books for Georgia Tech football. Ultimately, by the final whistle, UGA beat Georgia Tech in a close 16-9 game, allowing UGA to end their regular season games 11-1 while Georgia Tech ended their season with a 9-3 record.
“Last Friday’s match-up was such a big game because Georgia Tech is one of our rivals in football. My hopes were good going into the game for UGA to pull out a win against the Yellowjackets. Winning the game means we now move into the SEC championship and play Alabama, so we can get our revenge on them,” freshman Jackson Green said.
Starting off the first quarter slowly, UGA began the game receiving the opening kickoff after Georgia Tech lost the coin toss and deferred. UGA quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) threw an interception to Georgia Tech linebacker Tah’j Butler (15), setting up kicker Aidan Birr (33) to convert a 30-yard field goal with only 1:20 left in the first quarter, putting Georgia Tech up 3-0. The quarter ended with neither team finding any touchdown opportunities, but with Georgia Tech managing to obtain the lead and put points on the board.
With Georgia Tech ahead, UGA quickly responded in the second quarter and also stacked up points. Their kicker, Peyton Woodring (91), opened their scoring opportunities through a 22-yard field goal, following 71 yards of possession for UGA, tying the game 3-3. Only moments after, Stockton located receiver Zachariah Branch (1) and threw him a seven-yard touchdown pass. To end the second quarter, Woodring scored another field goal from 30 yards out, allowing UGA to take a 10-3 lead, transitioning into halftime. The second quarter proved pivotal by putting UGA in control, and after a slow first half, the team showed that they could pick themselves back up, ultimately changing the course of the game. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech’s offense began to fully feel the power of UGA’s controlling defense as the game progressed.
Transitioning out of halftime, the third quarter remained quiet. Neither team scored a touchdown, similarly to the first quarter. The only scoring occurred when Birr launched a 44-yard field goal, after a six-play drive to cut the Bulldog’s lead from 13-3 to 13-6. A seemingly uneventful third quarter created an intensely close game moving into the final quarter, with Georgia Tech only one touchdown away from tying or taking a lead against UGA.
“The game was super important because UGA is our [Georgia Tech’s] biggest football rival. Going into the match, I really had hoped to sting them, because the Dawgs are overrated — but we will get them next year. I watched the game with part of my family at home while the other half of my family went to the game and cheered in the student section,” magnet senior Diya Mohan said.
The last quarter of the game began with Woodring scoring a 50-yard field goal, growing UGA’s advantage and producing the new score of 16-6 with under 10 minutes remaining on the clock. Georgia Tech pushed back by moving 64 yards in seven plays before Birr once again scored a field goal from 41 yards out, transforming the matchup into a one-score game at 16-9. To close, UGA pushed back against Georgia Tech’s advances, forcing a turnover.
Ending the game with a score of 16-9 with a UGA win, both teams put up tough defense, constantly pushing against each other’s offense. As seen through a substantial amount of points scored from field goals. The only touchdown scored resulted from a pass from Stockton to Branch for UGA. The loss for Georgia Tech and win for UGA signals the end of their regular season games, with UGA now focused on their SEC championship game taking place, December 6 against the University of Alabama (10-2).
