Georgia Tops LSU In Top-10 Shootout, 44-41
ATHENS, Ga. -- In its
third game against a top-10 team, the No. 9 Georgia football team won a
44-41 shootout with No. 6 LSU in front of a sellout crowd of 92,746 and
a nationally televised CBS audience at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga.,
on Saturday, Sept. 28. Georgia improves to 3-1 on the year and 2-0 in
the Southeastern Conference, while LSU falls to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in
the SEC.
Aaron Murray went 20-for-34 for 298 yards and four
touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to the win. Chris Conley was his top
target, picking up 112 yards and a touchdown on five catches. Justin
Scott-Wesley added 55 yards and a touchdown on four catches. Michael
Bennett finished with 38 yards and two touchdowns. Keith Marshall led
Georgia's ground game, rushing for 96 yards on 20 carries. Todd Gurley
finished with eight carries for 73 yards, while J.J. Green added 18
yards and a touchdown on the ground. Marshall Morgan connected on four
extra points and was 2-for-2 in field goals, including a career-best
55-yarder.
Georgia defense was stout, sacking LSU quarterback
Zach Mettenberger four times. Josh Harvey-Clemons led the team with 16
tackles, including five solo stops, while Leonard Floyd finished with
eight tackles and a sack. Chris Mayes, Jordan Jenkins and Ray Drew each
recorded a sack.
Georgia wasted little time, driving 75 yards
on eight plays in just over three minutes for a touchdown on the
opening drive that gave the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead. It was the
first time that LSU has trailed this season. During the drive, Murray
found Lynch for 21 yards that set the Bulldogs up with 1st-and-10 in
the red zone. After a seven-yard rush, Murray connected with Bennett
for five yards and the touchdown.
LSU answered on the next
drive, going 66 yards on six plays before Kadron Boone scored on a
48-yard touchdown pass from Zach Mettenberger that tied the game at 7-7
following the point after. The Tigers intercepted Murray on Georgia's
next drive and scored on a four-yard pass to Boone to take a 14-7 lead.
The lead didn't last long, as Georgia marched 79 yards on five
plays in just under two minutes to tie the game at 14. Gurley took the
ball 23 yards on the first play of the drive to put Georgia near
midfield. Murray founded Conley in the back of the end zone three plays
later for 25-yards and a touchdown that tied the game at 14 after the
Marshall Morgan extra point.
Morgan broke the tie with 8:16
left in the first half with a 24-yard field goal that capped off a
66-yard scoring drive that resulted in Georgia taking a 17-14 lead. A
trio of rushes by Gurley that totaled 31 yards that put Georgia in the
red zone highlighted the drive.
The defenses took over on the
next two possessions, as both teams were forced to punt. An LSU drive
stalled at the Georgia 31-yard line, but the Tigers elected to try a
49-yard field goal, which tied the game at 17-17 with 3:51 left in the
half.
Georgia answered with a nine-play, 82-yard touchdown
drive. Murray found Conley and Davis for a total of 64 yards that put
the Bulldogs in the red zone at the LSU 17. A pass interference call
made it 1st-and-Goal at the LSU 2. Two plays later Murray found the end
zone on a one-yard keeper that allowed Georgia to retake the lead at
24-17 with 20 seconds left in the half.
Georgia and LSU traded
field goals on the first two possessions of the second half. LSU made
it a 24-20 game with a 39-yard field goal before Morgan answered with a
career-long 55-yarder that extended Georgia's lead to 27-20 with 6:35
left in the third quarter.
LSU tied the game on its next
possessions, driving 80 yards in just under three minutes. Jarvis
Landry was on the receiving end of the 39-yard touchdown pass by
Mettenberger.
After a three-and-out, Georgia was forced to
punt but the catch was bobbled, allowing Connor Norman to recover the
fumble at the LSU 20-yard line. Two plays later, Murray found Bennett
wide open in the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown grab, Bennett's
second touchdown catch of the game, that gave Georgia a 34-27 lead.
The
lead didn't last long, as the Tigers went 70 yards on 11 plays in just
over four minutes. Kenny Hilliard punched the ball in from two yards
out for the score that tied the game at 34-34.
With 12:17 left
on the clock, Murray orchestrated an 11-play, 55-yard drive that
included a fourth down conversion that set Morgan up for a 38-yard
field goal that gave Georgia a 37-34 lead.
LSU answered with a
75-yard touchdown drive that gave it a 41-37 lead when Jeremy Hill ran
eight yards into the end zone with four minutes left on the clock.
On
the ensuing drive, Murray went 3-for-3 to lead the Bulldogs into LSU
territory. He completed an 11-yard pass to Scott-Wesely before finding
Artie Lynch over the idle for a gain of nine yards. Murray and Lynch
hooked up again for a gain of 10 yards that gave Georgia 1st-and-10 at
the LSU 43 yard line. Green picked up 18 yards on the ground before
Murray found Scott-Wesley in the end zone for 25 yards and a touchdown
that allowed Georgia to retake the lead at 44-41.
LSU had just
under two minutes to drive the length of the field. On the first play
of the final drive, Mettenberger was sacked for a loss of seven yards
before a first-down pass to Odell Beckham gave the Tigers a first down.
Mettenberger was unable to complete his last four passes, allowing the
Bulldogs to take over on downs and run out the clock, sealing the 44-41
win.
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