MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Well this one went exactly as predicted.
Today (Dec. 30), No. 6 Georgia faced off against No. 5 Florida State University in the 90th Capital One Orange Bowl. This matchup contained multiple storylines, including two teams that believed they were robbed by the College Football Playoff Committee, a preview of Florida State’s future without Jordan Travis, and Kirby Smart’s bowl dominance as the Georgia head coach.
Defensively, the Bulldogs opened tonight’s contest by holding FSU’s offense to 12 yards and a punt. After a strong opening offensive drive, the Bulldogs failed to capitalize on a fourth down conversion just outside the red zone.
Midway through the first quarter, Georgia found the end zone, as Kendall Milton rushed for a 15-yard touchdown.
On their very next drive, Georgia marched down the field, recording a big reception from Ladd McConkey and another long rush from Milton. The drive ended as Milton found himself back in the end zone after a 5-yard rush to open the second quarter.
FSU appeared to strike back as Carson Beck found Kentron Poitier for two huge gains, putting the ‘Noles inside the Bulldogs 10-yard line. Unfortunately for Florida State, they only came away with three points, cutting Georgia’s lead to 14-3.
Georgia decided to start their own Air Raid, when Beck found Dillon Bell for a long reception, putting the Bulldogs inside the ‘Noles 20. UGA capitalized on the field position, as Daijun Edwards punched in a 15-yard touchdown.
To add insult to injury, Georgia recovered a fumble on the following kickoff, placing the Bulldogs in prime scoring position. After a little trickery on the first play of the drive, Ladd McConkey found himself in the end zone following a 27-yard touchdown rush.
After a quarter and a half, Georgia finally scored a passing touchdown, as Beck completed a 12-yard pass to Arian Smith, extending the Bulldogs lead to 35-3.
Midway through a promising drive, FSU fumbled the ball just outside the red zone.
Georgia capitalized on the mistake, driving down the field with under a minute remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs scored their sixth touchdown of the night, as Beck found Dominic Lovett for a 2-yard touchdown.
At halftime, Georgia led FSU 42-3, marking the largest scoring margin (39) in Orange Bowl history. This surpassed West Virginia’s 29-point lead over Clemson in the 2012 Orange Bowl.
Coming into the second half, Georgia pulled the majority of their offensive starters. Regardless, they still marched down the field, capping off their opening drive with a 2 yard rush from Daijun Edwards. The Bulldogs kept applying pressure as Gunner Stockton found Lawson Luckie for a 4 yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter. Stockton tossed another touchdown, this time to Anthony Evans for a 14 yard score.
After tonight’s dominant victory, Georgia broke the Orange Bowl record for the largest margin of victory (60 points). Georgia Head Coach, Kirby Smart, became the Bulldogs’ winningest Bowl coach (9-2). The Bulldogs also recorded 673 total yards tonight (372 Rushing, 301 passing).
After the game, Kendall Milton was named game MVP after his 104 rushing yard and 2 rushing touchdown performance.
COVER PHOTO CREDIT: Chuck Bethel
