ATLANTA — Taking a page out of Georgia Tech’s playbook, Georgia rushed for 339 yards to beat the seventh-ranked Yellow Jackets 30-24 on Saturday night. Freshman Washaun Ealey rambled for 183 yards and Caleb King broke loose for 166 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bulldogs (7-5) reclaimed state bragging rights in a tumultuous year and handed the Yellow Jackets (10-2) a huge setback in what has been their best season in nearly two decades. The nation’s second-best rushing team was held to 205 yards — 109 yards below its average.
“It hurts. I know I’m hurting,” Georgia Tech safety Morgan Burnett said. “We were a higher-ranked team, but I think we got complacent.”
The offensive line was dominating, pushing around the Yellow Jackets to open one big hole after another.
High-scoring Georgia Tech, averaging 36 points a game, looked totally out of sync throughout the first half and put itself in another deep hole, just as it did against Georgia a year ago. In that one, Georgia Tech fell behind 28-12 at the midway point but rallied for a 45-42 victory that snapped a seven-year losing streak against its in-state rival.
“I just wanted to get this game,” said Georgia safety Reshad Jones. “It was real personal. I wanted redemption.”
No. 1 Florida 37, Florida State 10
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Gators won their sixth consective in the series, extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 22 games and improved to 12-0 for just the second time in school history.
S. Carolina 34, No. 15 Clemson 17
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Stephen Garcia threw three touchdown passes and South Carolina’s defense helped snap the Tigers’ six-game win streak.
No. 14 Virginia Tech 42, Virginia 13
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Hokies won their sixth straight in the series and the 10th in 11 meetings with the Cavaliers, in what was likely Al Groh’s last game as Virginia’s coach.
No. 17 LSU 33, Arkansas 30, OT
BATON ROUGE, La. — Josh Jasper hit a 41-yard field goal with four seconds to go to force overtime, then made a 36-yarder in overtime to lift LSU.
No. 19 Miami 31, S. Florida 10
TAMPA, Fla. — Dedrick Epps and Leonard Hankerson caught touchdown passes for Miami (9-3), which ran out to a 21-3 halftime lead and capped its first nine-win regular season since 2005. A bowl victory would give Miami its first 10-win season since 2003.
Miss. St. 41, No. 20 Mississippi 27
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Little-used backup quarterback Chris Relf accounted for three touchdowns and the defense came up with several big plays, including a 64-yard interception return for a touchdown by Corey Broomfield that sealed the victory.
N. Carolina State 28, No. 23 North Carolina 27
RALEIGH, N.C. — Russell Wilson connected twice with Owen Spencer for scores, including the go-ahead 38-yard touchdown two plays into the fourth quarter that gave the Wolfpack a third straight win against its next-door neighbor and fiercest football rival.
No. 25 Houston 73, Rice 14
HOUSTON — By scoring more points than any major-college team has in a game this season, the Cougars avenged last year’s 56-42 loss to the rival Owls, a setback that kept Houston out of the C-USA championship game. The Associated Press
