ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia freshman Bo Walker ran for the first three touchdowns of his collegiate career, fellow running back Nate Frazier added a pair of scores, and the fourth-ranked Bulldogs rolled to a 35-3 win over underdog Charlotte on Saturday at Sanford Stadium in its bid to protect its College Football Playoff standing.
Georgia (10-1) was looking to play well enough to retain its No. 4 CFP ranking and position for a first-round bye in the 12-team bracket that will be finalized in two weeks after conference championship games are completed. The Southeastern Conference’s Bulldogs overwhelmed Conference USA member Charlotte (1-10) for their seventh consecutive win entering Friday’s regular-season finale against No. 15 Georgia Tech (9-2) of the Atlantic Coast Conference at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and the site of the SEC title game each December.
The Bulldogs have defeated the Yellow Jackets in the past seven meetings of the rivalry known as “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” — including an eight-overtime marathon a year ago in Athens.
“We’re rolling, but every game is independent of itself,” said Georgia tight end Lawson Luckie, who said the Yellow Jackets will be “a great opponent. One of the best teams in the country right now, super physical, and they play the game kind of like us. So, we’re ready to bring it next week.”
The 49ers lost their eighth straight game. Charlotte fell to 0-5 all time against teams from the SEC.