Tevin Washington's late TD helps Ga. Tech survive
DURHAM, N.C. -- David Sims rushed for two touchdowns, quarterback Tevin Washington added 136 yards rushing and a long, late scoring run, and Georgia Tech held on to beat Duke 38-31 Saturday.
Washington finished 6 of 13 for 185 yards passing and ran 39 yards for a late touchdown for the Yellow Jackets (8-3, 5-3 ACC).
They rolled up 549 total yards, scored on four straight possessions and held off Duke's late charge to win for just the second time in 1 1/2 months.
Sean Renfree matched a career high with four touchdown passes for the Blue Devils (3-8, 1-6). His 10-yard TD to Cooper Helfet -- his second of the day to the tight end -- pulled Duke within seven points with 6:37 left.
Duke forced a fumble from Charles Perkins and took over at its 34 with 3:44 left. Renfree's deep pass for Helfet was intercepted by Jamea Thomas with 2:20 left.
Washington and Georgia Tech then ran out the clock to seal their eighth straight win in the series.
Renfree finished 26 of 42 for 250 yards with touchdown passes covering 15 yards to Conner Vernon, 12 yards to Donovan Varner and 3 yards to Helfet for Duke, which lost its sixth straight.
Washington showed once again just how capable he is of coming up with big plays both with his feet and his arm. He broke a pair of tackles during his long scoring run, which came 3 minutes after Duke had pulled within 31-24. Four of his completions covered at least 29 yards.
Sims had scoring runs of 4 yards and 1 yard, while Roddy Jones and Embry Peeples had 1-yard touchdown runs for the Yellow Jackets, who entered having lost three of four -- including an 11-point loss to Virginia Tech that took them out of the Coastal Division race.
Georgia Tech looked to have taken control of this one by scoring on its final four possessions of the first half. None of those drives took longer than 5 1/2 minutes.
Sims powered in from 4 yards out to tie it at 7. One series later, Washington hit Tyler Melton for 31 yards and raced 21 yards to set up Jones' short scoring run that put the Yellow Jackets ahead to stay.
Washington's 46-yard pass to Embry Peeples then set up Sims' second TD run to make it 21-7 barely 3 minutes into the second quarter. After Duke pulled within a touchdown, Washington lofted a 56-yard pass to Stephen Hill that set up Peeples' TD on the final play of the half to make it 28-14.
Duke wasted no time jumping out to a 7-0 lead, with receiver Donovan Varner taking a sweep 39 yards through the Georgia Tech defense to the 20. Three plays later, Renfree found Vernon over the middle for the receiver's sixth TD this season. His touchdown pass to Varner on fourth-and-3 pulled the Blue Devils to 21-14 with 5:24 left before halftime.
Will Snyderwine kicked a 35-yard field goal 5 1/2 minutes into the third quarter to make it 28-17. Justin Moore countered with a 25-yard field goal with just under 2 minutes left in the third to put the Yellow Jackets back up by 14.
Associated Press
DURHAM, N.C. -- David Sims rushed for two touchdowns, quarterback Tevin Washington added 136 yards rushing and a long, late scoring run, and Georgia Tech held on to beat Duke 38-31 Saturday.
Washington finished 6 of 13 for 185 yards passing and ran 39 yards for a late touchdown for the Yellow Jackets (8-3, 5-3 ACC).
They rolled up 549 total yards, scored on four straight possessions and held off Duke's late charge to win for just the second time in 1 1/2 months.
Sean Renfree matched a career high with four touchdown passes for the Blue Devils (3-8, 1-6). His 10-yard TD to Cooper Helfet -- his second of the day to the tight end -- pulled Duke within seven points with 6:37 left.
Duke forced a fumble from Charles Perkins and took over at its 34 with 3:44 left. Renfree's deep pass for Helfet was intercepted by Jamea Thomas with 2:20 left.
Washington and Georgia Tech then ran out the clock to seal their eighth straight win in the series.
Renfree finished 26 of 42 for 250 yards with touchdown passes covering 15 yards to Conner Vernon, 12 yards to Donovan Varner and 3 yards to Helfet for Duke, which lost its sixth straight.
Washington showed once again just how capable he is of coming up with big plays both with his feet and his arm. He broke a pair of tackles during his long scoring run, which came 3 minutes after Duke had pulled within 31-24. Four of his completions covered at least 29 yards.
Sims had scoring runs of 4 yards and 1 yard, while Roddy Jones and Embry Peeples had 1-yard touchdown runs for the Yellow Jackets, who entered having lost three of four -- including an 11-point loss to Virginia Tech that took them out of the Coastal Division race.
Georgia Tech looked to have taken control of this one by scoring on its final four possessions of the first half. None of those drives took longer than 5 1/2 minutes.
Sims powered in from 4 yards out to tie it at 7. One series later, Washington hit Tyler Melton for 31 yards and raced 21 yards to set up Jones' short scoring run that put the Yellow Jackets ahead to stay.
Washington's 46-yard pass to Embry Peeples then set up Sims' second TD run to make it 21-7 barely 3 minutes into the second quarter. After Duke pulled within a touchdown, Washington lofted a 56-yard pass to Stephen Hill that set up Peeples' TD on the final play of the half to make it 28-14.
Duke wasted no time jumping out to a 7-0 lead, with receiver Donovan Varner taking a sweep 39 yards through the Georgia Tech defense to the 20. Three plays later, Renfree found Vernon over the middle for the receiver's sixth TD this season. His touchdown pass to Varner on fourth-and-3 pulled the Blue Devils to 21-14 with 5:24 left before halftime.
Will Snyderwine kicked a 35-yard field goal 5 1/2 minutes into the third quarter to make it 28-17. Justin Moore countered with a 25-yard field goal with just under 2 minutes left in the third to put the Yellow Jackets back up by 14.
Associated Press
Dawgs deal with 'drama,' inconsistency at RB
ATHENS, Ga. -- Leading rusher Isaiah Crowell should be available for Georgia's showdown against Georgia Tech to end the regular season this weekend.
The freshman standout left during the first offensive series in Saturday's game against Kentucky with an ankle injury and did not return. But Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said during his Sunday teleconference that he believes Crowell will be able to play against the Yellow Jackets.
"It didn't swell too badly," Richt said. "I don't know how much he'll be able to do tomorrow, but I would think throughout the week he'll be able to get enough work to be able to go. I think Ron [Courson, Georgia's director of sports medicine] is pretty confident that he'll be healthy enough to go."
No. 13 Georgia struggled to run the ball consistently without Crowell and backup Carlton Thomas, who was suspended for a game for the third time this season. The Bulldogs were forced to rely on Brandon Harton and Ken Malcome, who combined to rush 32 times for 138 yards but also lost three fumbles.
However, Harton posted his first 100-yard outing with 23 attempts for 101 yards -- 89 in the second half -- after rushing for 98 against New Mexico State while filling in for the suspended Crowell, Thomas and Malcome.
"It's a whole lot better today," Harton said of the Kentucky win, which clinched the SEC East title for Georgia. "This was the game to send us to the SEC championship. It was just a great feeling to get out there. I had no idea that I was even close to 100, but it just so happened I was. I'm just glad I had a performance that enabled us to win today."
It was just another week of uncertainty at Georgia's running back position, which has been hampered by injuries, player departures and suspensions since the start of the season. The questions are sure to continue this week with Crowell attempting to return to the lineup and Thomas' status for the Georgia Tech game uncertain.
"It hasn't been as steady as you'd like," Richt admitted. "There's been a little bit of drama, a little too much drama. But we're finding ways to win and guys are stepping up when they get opportunities."
Facing the option
There is nothing new about Georgia Tech ranking among the nation's top rushing teams with coach Paul Johnson. The Yellow Jackets rank second nationally in rushing at 323.55 yards per game.
The greater change from recent patterns is that Georgia's defense -- a unit that had been relatively porous for the previous three seasons -- is second against the run at 81.27 yards per game.
Georgia Tech quarterback Tevin Washington leads the Yellow Jackets with 1,481 passing yards and 849 rushing yards after passing for 185 yards and rushing for 136 in last weekend's 38-31 win against Duke.
The Yellow Jackets have seven players who have rushed for 198 yards or more while executing Johnson's option scheme, which few teams employ at the highest level of college football.
Richt said comparing what the Bulldogs have accomplished against more traditional offensive schemes won't necessarily translate into effectively defending the Yellow Jackets.
"It's a whole different world. It's a different type of running game," Richt said. "It's something that, you may be outstanding versus some of the more common things that we see on a week-to-week basis and then just get thrashed by this system we're about to go against. I just don't know if you can equate what's happened to this point versus the run and what's going to happen this week. I just think it's too different."
Kissing bandit TV commentators had fun with the clip of Richt's lengthy kiss with his wife Katharyn after the Kentucky win.
Richt laughed Sunday when a reporter asked for an evaluation of the couple's amorous display on the sidelines.
"The kiss itself? Well, I thought it was a good one," Richt said. "I kind of thought she was mauling me. I went there just for a nice, friendly kiss and she started to wear me out and I didn't know what to do other than go with it. So that's the way I saw it.
"She's going to be so mad at me."
No kidding.
Extra points
Georgia is ranked 13th in the Associated Press poll and the BCS standings released Sunday. The Bulldogs came in at No. 14 in the coaches' poll. ... Richt said Georgia's coaches rested nose guard Kwame Geathers against Kentucky rather than have him play at less than 100 percent, but that he should be available against Georgia Tech. Geathers suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter against Auburn and has not played since.
David Ching
DawgNation
ATHENS, Ga. -- Leading rusher Isaiah Crowell should be available for Georgia's showdown against Georgia Tech to end the regular season this weekend.
The freshman standout left during the first offensive series in Saturday's game against Kentucky with an ankle injury and did not return. But Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said during his Sunday teleconference that he believes Crowell will be able to play against the Yellow Jackets.
"It didn't swell too badly," Richt said. "I don't know how much he'll be able to do tomorrow, but I would think throughout the week he'll be able to get enough work to be able to go. I think Ron [Courson, Georgia's director of sports medicine] is pretty confident that he'll be healthy enough to go."
No. 13 Georgia struggled to run the ball consistently without Crowell and backup Carlton Thomas, who was suspended for a game for the third time this season. The Bulldogs were forced to rely on Brandon Harton and Ken Malcome, who combined to rush 32 times for 138 yards but also lost three fumbles.
However, Harton posted his first 100-yard outing with 23 attempts for 101 yards -- 89 in the second half -- after rushing for 98 against New Mexico State while filling in for the suspended Crowell, Thomas and Malcome.
"It's a whole lot better today," Harton said of the Kentucky win, which clinched the SEC East title for Georgia. "This was the game to send us to the SEC championship. It was just a great feeling to get out there. I had no idea that I was even close to 100, but it just so happened I was. I'm just glad I had a performance that enabled us to win today."
It was just another week of uncertainty at Georgia's running back position, which has been hampered by injuries, player departures and suspensions since the start of the season. The questions are sure to continue this week with Crowell attempting to return to the lineup and Thomas' status for the Georgia Tech game uncertain.
"It hasn't been as steady as you'd like," Richt admitted. "There's been a little bit of drama, a little too much drama. But we're finding ways to win and guys are stepping up when they get opportunities."
Facing the option
There is nothing new about Georgia Tech ranking among the nation's top rushing teams with coach Paul Johnson. The Yellow Jackets rank second nationally in rushing at 323.55 yards per game.
The greater change from recent patterns is that Georgia's defense -- a unit that had been relatively porous for the previous three seasons -- is second against the run at 81.27 yards per game.
Georgia Tech quarterback Tevin Washington leads the Yellow Jackets with 1,481 passing yards and 849 rushing yards after passing for 185 yards and rushing for 136 in last weekend's 38-31 win against Duke.
The Yellow Jackets have seven players who have rushed for 198 yards or more while executing Johnson's option scheme, which few teams employ at the highest level of college football.
Richt said comparing what the Bulldogs have accomplished against more traditional offensive schemes won't necessarily translate into effectively defending the Yellow Jackets.
"It's a whole different world. It's a different type of running game," Richt said. "It's something that, you may be outstanding versus some of the more common things that we see on a week-to-week basis and then just get thrashed by this system we're about to go against. I just don't know if you can equate what's happened to this point versus the run and what's going to happen this week. I just think it's too different."
Kissing bandit TV commentators had fun with the clip of Richt's lengthy kiss with his wife Katharyn after the Kentucky win.
Richt laughed Sunday when a reporter asked for an evaluation of the couple's amorous display on the sidelines.
"The kiss itself? Well, I thought it was a good one," Richt said. "I kind of thought she was mauling me. I went there just for a nice, friendly kiss and she started to wear me out and I didn't know what to do other than go with it. So that's the way I saw it.
"She's going to be so mad at me."
No kidding.
Extra points
Georgia is ranked 13th in the Associated Press poll and the BCS standings released Sunday. The Bulldogs came in at No. 14 in the coaches' poll. ... Richt said Georgia's coaches rested nose guard Kwame Geathers against Kentucky rather than have him play at less than 100 percent, but that he should be available against Georgia Tech. Geathers suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter against Auburn and has not played since.
David Ching
DawgNation
