No. 4 Georgia moves to 11-1 with 16-9 win over No. 23 Georgia Tech

No. 4 Georgia took down Georgia Tech 16-9 in a game that wasn’t pretty on Friday. It also didn’t take eight overtimes like the Bulldogs’ win did a year ago.

Georgia nearly ran out the clock in the fourth quarter and didn’t allow the Yellow Jackets to have a real chance to tie the game or go for the win after Tech kicked a field goal with 3:30 to go to make it a one-score game. 

After Georgia Tech kicked off, Georgia got a first down before Georgia Tech took possession with 13 seconds left and no timeouts after a Bulldogs punt. The Yellow Jackets had a chance for a Hail Mary, but the pass fell incomplete after it was knocked down in the end zone by Georgia defenders.

In 2024, Georgia Tech pushed Georgia to the brink as the Bulldogs finally won 44-42 after Georgia came back from a 17-0 halftime deficit. This year, Georgia Tech led for less than seven minutes in the first half and found itself down 13-3 at halftime.

The win pushes Georgia to 11-1 as the Bulldogs are in line for a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff if they stay in the top four. They could move even higher — or drop even lower — too. If No. 3 Texas A&M loses to No. 16 Texas on Friday night or No. 10 Alabama loses to Auburn on Saturday, the Bulldogs are in the SEC title game.

If both the Aggies and Crimson Tide win, Georgia won't play for the conference title. But that may not be a bad thing. The lack of a title game will give the Bulldogs an extra week of rest and preparation before the playoff and the Bulldogs will either host a first-round playoff game or not play until New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.