TENNESSEE TECH AT NO. 1 GEORGIA
Sept. 7 | 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT | Sanford Stadium | Athens, Ga.
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | VIDEO | AUDIO
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
ATHENS, Ga. – Tennessee Tech came excruciatingly close to knocking off a Football Bowl Subdvision opponent last weekend as the Golden Eagles saw Middle Tennessee emerge victorious with just seconds remaining on the clock in a 32-25 victory.
Saturday, the Golden Eagles will stay in FBS territory as they head down to Athens to take on the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs.
Kickoff on Saturday is set for 1 p.m. Central, 2 p.m. Eastern. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ (streaming, SEC Network subscription required) with Jay Alter (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst) and Ashley Stroehlein (sideline reporter) on the call. Roger Ealey (play-by-play) and Dylan Vazzano (analyst) will have the Tech call on 106.1 The Eagle.
It's hard for a Football Championship Subdivision team to take out an FBS team. It happens with a lot of notable examples. Tech has technically done it twice, but it was to a Western Carolina team out of the Southern Conference before that league reclassified to the FCS. Those two games aside and the Golden Eagles are 0-39 in competition against their bigger brothers.
However, it's still an incredible experience for the student-athletes as they can face off against some of the best players in the game and it's something they'll remember for all their lives. It's also a huge boost for the football program and athletics as a whole financially.
Looking over the FBS contests the Golden Eagles have been to over the years and it's an incredible who's-who of football talent with visits to UNLV, Tulsa, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Ohio, UAB, Bowling Green, Air Force, Iowa State, Memphis, Northern Illinois, South Florida and Middle Tennessee. Once Watson Brown came in as Tech head coach in 2007, the difficulty ramped up with visits to Auburn, Louisville, Western Michigan, Kansas State, Georgia, Arkansas, TCU, Iowa, Oregon, Wisconsin, Houston, Tennessee, Ball State, Utah State, Miami (Ohio), Kansas and New Mexico.
Saturday marks the first time that the Golden Eagles have faced the No. 1-ranked team in football. In 2010, Tech took on No. 4 TCU, then the No. 4-ranked Oregon Ducks two years later. The 25 points scored against Middle Tennessee was the most scored against an FBS opponent and the seven-point margin the closest in the series.
This is the third meeting all-time against the Bulldogs. The first meeting between the two teams was in 1943 with Georgia winning 67-0. The two teams squared off again in 2009 with the hosts winning 38-0.
Georgia opened its season last week with a 34-3 victory over No. 14 Clemson in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Carson Beck threw for 278 yards on 23-for-33 passing and two touchdowns. Nate Frazier led the team in rushing with 83 yards and a score, while Cash Jones also had a 15-yard touchdown run.
Arian Smith led the Bulldogs with five catches for 56 yards, while London Humphreys had a team-best 63 receiving yards on two catches, including a touchdown. Colbie Young also hauled in a scoring strike.
As a team, Georgia rushed for 169 yards with the defense holding Clemson to 46 on the ground. The Tigers passed for 142 yards to end the contest with 188 yard of offense to the Bulldogs' 447.
Defensively, Jalon Walker was credited with six tackles, including a 1.5 sacks for 13 yards. Mykel Williams and Damon Wilson II each had three QB pressures in the contest, while Malaki Starks had an interception in the contest.
For the Golden Eagles, after an injury to starting quarterback Dylan Laible, Jordyn Potts threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns as he led Tech from 21 points back and had the Golden Eagles a minute away from the victory before the host Blue Raiders pulled together a seven-play, 75-yard drive over 44 seconds to retake the lead.
Ashton Maples caught two of the three touchdowns as he had three catches for 57 yards, while D.J. Linkins led Tech with seven catches for 61 yards. Jordan Yates had the other touchdown catch. On the ground, Jalen Mitchell led the Golden Eales with 11 carries for 52 yards.
As a team, Tech rushed for 67 total yards and threw for 274.
Defensively, Cayman Spaulding led the team with nine stops, including 1.5 tackles-for-loss for three yards. Caldra Williford had a 10-yard interception return, while Omari Philyaw and Aaron Swafford each had eight tackles. Swafford was credited with a seven-yard sack and also had a pick-six called back on a defensive penalty elsewhere on the field.
Following Saturday's trip to Athens, the Golden Eagles will get a week to rest up as they take their bye week before opening Big South-Ohio Valley Conference play at home against Tennessee State.
Season tickets are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
