UGA squashes bowl record in 60-point rout of FSU
Dec 30, 2023, 08:03 PM ET MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.– Carson Beck passed for 203 yards and two goals, backup QB Gunner Stockton passed for 2 more ratings, and No. 6 Georgia routed previously undefeated and fifth-ranked Florida State 63-3 in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Saturday night in a match of teams losing out on the College Football Playoff.The Bulldogs
‘ 60-point win represents the biggest margin of victory ever in a bowl game, exceeding Georgia’s 65-7 win over TCU in the 2023 CFP national championship, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. It’s also the largest margin of triumph versus an AP top-five challenger in the AP poll age (considering that 1936).
Georgia scored on nine of 12 drives and gained 673 total backyards versus the short-handed Seminoles, who were without more than two dozen players because of opt-outs and transfers, consisting of 5 starters in their defensive front 7, their top two running backs and top 3 receivers.Editor’s Picks
1 Related The Bulldogs(13-1) were utilized to completing for champions this time of year, having actually won the previous 2 national titles. However Georgia lost to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game– the Bulldogs’ first loss because the 2021 season– and missed out on among the 4 spots in the CFP rankings. Rather, it opted for the seventh New Year’s Six bowl appearance in program history.Florida State(13-1)stopped working to make the CFP cut despite winning the Atlantic Coast Conference title. Since of transfers, opt-outs and injuries, the Seminoles lacked players who was accountable for 97 %of their passing lawns, 88% of their hurrying yards and 84 %of their receptions this season.The Orange Bowl supplied Georgia a chance to
make a statement. The Bulldogs charged out to a 39-point halftime lead, the biggest in the bowl’s 90-year history, beating West Virginia’s 29-point halftime lead over Clemson in 2012. The game likewise featured the biggest margin of defeat in Florida State’s history.Beck, who had touchdown passes of 12 and 2 backyards, did not play in the second half. Stockton, a freshman, started in the 3rd quarter and instantly managed another touchdown drive. He finished with 96 backyards passing and 46 yards hurrying, and the Bulldogs ended up being the first program to score a minimum of 55 points in back-to-back championship game(they beat TCU 65-7 in the Peach Bowl last season). The Bulldogs ‘Kendall Milton rushed for 104 yards on 9 carries and had two goals. Daijun Edwards included
two more hurrying scores and 62 yards. Both belonged to a senior class that picked up its school-record 50th win.In what could be his last game for the Bulldogs, receiver Ladd McConkey had 49 all-purpose backyards. He scored on a 27-yard enter which
he caught a pass from Beck behind the line of scrimmage, wanted to finish another pass but removed running instead, weaving through stumbling Florida State defenders and into completion zone to put Georgia up 38-3 in the 2nd quarter.Bulldogs players understood the story of the team on the other side of the field: The Seminoles went into the game having actually beaten all 13 groups on their schedule, including then-No.
15 Louisville in the ACC title game, but were excluded of the College Football Playoff partly due to a season-ending leg injury to starting quarterback Jordan Travis. Florida State became the first Power 5 conference champ to complete with an undefeated record and still be excluded of the playoff.In the week leading up to the bowl game, Georgia players revealed their understanding of the Seminoles’disappointments, while acknowledging that they, too, felt slighted.Georgia coach Kirby Smart had lobbied for the selection committee to think about the Bulldogs’full résumé in making its final decision: Georgia won 29 straight games before the SEC title match and completed the season with the eighth-best offense in the country and the No. 9 defense.It wasn’t enough. And the Bulldogs vented their aggravations in the Orange Bowl– possession by possession.The Associated Press added to this report.