KEYS TO THE GAME

Georgia Tech ended its 129th season on as low a note as had been struck in any of the previous 128 season finales. On Saturday afternoon at Bobby Dodd Stadium, the Yellow Jackets lost 45-0 to No. 1 Georgia for their sixth consecutive loss and to finish 3-9. Tech’s two widest margins of defeat to the archrival Bulldogs in the 115-game series are now both on the résumé of coach Geoff Collins after the Jackets lost 52-7 to the Bulldogs in 2019 in Collins’ first season. The Jackets suffered the further indignity of having their home grounds taken over by Bulldogs fans, who occupied a significant majority of the 55,000 seats. Key play

Tech weathered a critical mistake on the opening kickoff — Jahymr Gibbs appeared to expect the ball to reach the end zone for a touchback, but it landed inside the 5-yard line. Gibbs had to rush over to pick it up, and his return reached only the 9-yard line — and then limited the Bulldogs to a field goal after poor punt coverage enabled Georgia to start its first drive on the Tech 36-yard line.

But the Jackets then went three-and-out for a second consecutive time, and Georgia drove 80 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead at the 4:38 mark of the first quarter that, given the immovability of the UGA defense, all but put the game out of reach. The Bulldogs finished the drive with a 25yard touchdown pass in which wide receiver Jermaine Burton got behind the defense, and quarterback Stetson Bennett looped a pass to him in the end zone.

Key stat

Stuck with poor field position and unable to gain any traction, Tech did not advance the ball into Georgia territory until its fifth possession. By that point, Georgia had scored on each of its four possessions and led 24-0. The Jackets penetrated UGA’s side of the field on two more possessions, but obviously did not score.

Key quote

“Seeing all the red in the stadium on Senior Day, my last game being here, just truthfully, it doesn’t feel great. Looking back to everything that we’ve been through, and the seniors and every guy that’s been here, that’s one of those things that I get that comes with it, though.” — Tech cornerback Tre Swilling

What we learned

While it could have been reasonably assumed beforehand, Saturday’s result confirmed the chasm between Tech and the Bulldogs. The Jackets’ thin offensive line compromised their ability to function, but Tech couldn’t score against the Bulldogs backups, either. When Tech was on defense, Georgia’s efficiency was such that it ran 51 plays over 10 possessions and got to third down only five times — its fewest third-down plays in a game since the 2015 season.

What’s next

Tech’s season is complete. Collins is expected to make changes as early as today to a coaching staff that has stayed intact through his first three seasons.