Georgia runs to upset of Georgia Tech

ATLANTA — Georgia Tech entered Saturday night’s game at Bobby Dodd Stadium with the heralded ground game, but it was Georgia that ran away with the show.

Freshman Washaun Ealey rushed for 183 yards and Caleb King added 166 as the Bulldogs shocked No. 7 Georgia Tech 30-24 before a crowd of 55,407. Georgia had 339 rushing yards overall, the most in nine seasons under coach Mark Richt.

The Bulldogs opened with a 10-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown run by King, and all 10 plays were on the ground. King had a 75-yard score early in the third quarter to put the Bulldogs up 24-10, and it answered a 76-yard pass play from Tech’s Josh Nesbitt to Demaryius Thomas.

“I didn’t see us running for 339 yards,” Bulldogs offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “It’s just a credit to our guys, coming out with the attitude and the effort that it took to win the ball game. We talked about playing with attitude and playing hard every snap for 60 minutes, and I thought our guys did that tonight.”

Georgia is now 8-1 against Georgia Tech under Richt, including wins in 2006 and Saturday when the Bulldogs were not ranked and the Yellow Jackets were. Georgia Tech will face Clemson, a 34-17 loser Saturday at South Carolina, in this week’s Atlantic Coast Conference title game.

Richt said he knows there are areas on his team that need improving but wanted to enjoy this victory instead of discussing potential staff changes or a timetable for them.

“That’s out of my control,” Bobo said. “The only thing I can do is show up to work and work hard and get the guys ready to play each and every week.”

Said defensive coordinator Willie Martinez: “I’m at Georgia, and I’ll get ready to prepare for the next ballgame.”

Seven Georgia coaches will hit the road recruiting today.