ATLANTA _ With a punishing defensive performance, Georgia will retain bragging rights in the state for another 12 months. Limiting Georgia Tech to 139 yards of offense, the No. 4 Bulldogs defeated the Yellow Jackets, 52-7, winning for the third consecutive season and the 16th time in the past 19 meetings.
Georgia's point total was a high for the series and its margin of victory the largest for either team.
Georgia (11-1) won its 10th consecutive game at Bobby Dodd Stadium and kept alive its candidacy for a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs will play No. 2 LSU on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the SEC championship.
Under coach Kirby Smart, Georgia has seized firm control of the rivalry, having won the past three games by an average of 33.3 points. It's the first time in the 114-game history of the series that either team has won three consecutive games by at least 21 points.
Completing its first season with coach Geoff Collins at 3-9, Tech challenged the Bulldogs for a half, trailing 17-7 at halftime. However, the Jackets lost their grasp on the game in the third quarter as Georgia drove for three touchdowns to take a 38-7 lead.
After the final touchdown of the quarter _ a 9-yard pass from Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm to wide receiver Dominick Blaylock at the 4:28 mark _ many Georgia starters were taken out of the game.
On that Blaylock touchdown catch, UGA wide receiver George Pickens and Tech cornerback Tre Swilling got tangled apart from the play, and Pickens took swings at Swilling as the two jabbed at each other. Pickens appeared to grab Swilling and throw him into the fence behind the end zone.
Pickens was ejected from the game. The SEC will review the play and will determine if Pickens will be disciplined going forward, potentially having to sit out the first half of the SEC Championship game.
Georgia also lost running back D'Andre Swift to a shoulder injury, putting his availability for the Bulldogs' game against LSU in jeopardy.
Georgia, rated No. 5 nationally in total defense and No. 2 in scoring defense, did not permit a Tech first down for the Jackets' first six possessions. It enabled the Bulldogs to take a 17-0 lead, taking advantage of a 29-yard punt return by Blaylock to set up a Rodrigo Blankenship field goal and then driving 64 and 77 yards for touchdowns on consecutive drives.
Before a sellout crowd of 55,000 largely dressed in red, the scenery changed little from that point. Tech pushed back in the second quarter, as a fumbled punt recovered by Tech's Tyler Cooksey gave the Jackets a short field for a 17-yard touchdown drive. Tech then caught Georgia by surprise with a successful onside kick, but the Jackets could not capitalize, going three-and-out.
What proved the Jackets' final charge into UGA territory until the final possession of the game (enabled by a Georgia fumble caused by Tech linebacker Quez Jackson of UGA running back D'Andre Swift) reached the Bulldogs' 10, where they faced a fourth-and-2 with the score 17-7. Collins sent out the kicking team, and kicker Brenton King missed from 27 yards.
Tech's depleted and outmanned defense had its moments, forcing a pair of turnovers on fumbles, but gave up an even 500 yards, its most since allowing 632 against Clemson in the season opener.
Fromm, who had come into the game with three consecutive games completing fewer than half of his passes, continued the streak, at 14 for 29 for 254 yards. He did, though, throw four touchdown passes, tying his career high set against Tech last year.
Tech punter Pressley Harvin set a school record with 13 punts.
