WATCH: Georgia Bulldog Fans Light up the Orange Bowl in Miami
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MIAMI - Georgia Bulldog fans show their passion heading into the fourth quarter of the 2021 Orange Bowl.
Halftime Notes:
Defensive Review: At the half, UM had tallied just three points with 101 yards of total offense on 25 plays. Coming in tonight, Georgia was the national leader in scoring defense at 9.5 ppg while UM was averaging 37.7 ppg. Georgia’s leading tackler at the half was junior Nakobe Dean with five tackles, 2 TFL and a sack. UM had a 42-yard passing play to the UGA 19 for a chunk of their yards and then were held to a field goal.
Dean and senior Robert Beal collected sacks in the first half as they lead the team with 6 and 5.5 this year respectively. Georgia did not have a sack in the SEC Championship game and now have 43 this year.
UM turned it over on downs at the 41 on its first possession after seven plays and 34 yards. Senior Derion Kendrick notched an interception, which was his team-leading third with 1:28 left in the first half at the UGA 36.
*Offensive Review: At the half, Georgia had built a 27-3 lead. They had 330 yards of total offense on 36 plays, gaining 252 through the air. Coming in tonight, the Bulldogs were averaging 39.4 points per game.
Senior QB Stetson Bennett made the start and went 16-for-21 for 234 yards and 2 TDs to nine different receivers. He completed his first nine passes for 92 yards before his first incompletion. With 1:38 left in the first half, he connected for a 57-yard TD pass to Jermaine Burton that finished a 37-second drive in three plays covering 69 yards and made it 27-3.
The leading receiver was freshman TE Brock Bowers (5 rec., 55 yards, 1 TD), and the leading rusher was senior Zamir White with 30 yards on eight carries Senior James Cook had 24 yards on three attempts, and he also had two catches for 60 yards.
Georgia took a 7-0 lead, driving 80 yards on seven plays in 4:11 to start the game. The drive was capped by a nine-yard TD pass from Bennett to Bowers. For Bowers, it was his school record 12th TD reception and his 50th overall catch, which also is a record for tight ends in a season.
Georgia went up 14-0 after a halfback pass from Kenny McIntosh to AD Mitchell for 18 yards. It went six plays for 59 yards in 3:18. It was the first by a running back since Thomas Brown to Joe Tereshinski (QB) for nine yards against Florida in 2005.
The Bulldogs were 3-for-3 in the Red Zone, scoring two TD and one field goal.
*Summary of Specialists: Junior Jack Podlesny went 2-for-2 on field goals (28 and 43 yards) and 3-for-3 on PATs. For the year, he is 20-for-24 in FGs and 67-for-68 on PATs. Senior Jake Camarda did not attempt a punt, and he handled the kickoffs.
*Game Captains/Coin Toss: The captains were Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Jamaree Salyer and Zamir White. Michigan won the toss and deferred until the 2nd half.
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