First quarter blog

2:34 left in first quarter, Georgia leads 14-0

The point spread for this game was two touchdowns. You see why now.

Georgia's Aaron Murray just hit Orson Charles for a 32-yard touchdown pass, in a nifty play by each: Murray scrambled away from an edge rusher and threw downfield off the wrong foot; Charles stepped in front of the pass at about the 5, then made a nice grab and finished off the play.

The Bulldogs were expected to be able to pass all over the Yellow Jackets, and that's holding up.

By the way, an intriguing tidbit from the AJC's Chip Towers: Former Georgia QB Zach Mettenberger is here, hanging on the sidelines with Bulldog recruits. No idea what's up with that.

Also, former UGA tennis player John Isner is also here, and was introduced to the crowd during a recent timeout. Isner is famous for winning the longest Wimbledon match in history earlier this year, with a fifth set that spanned 138 games and three days.

I really hope that doesn't portend anything for this here football match. The way it's going right now, probably not.

7:00 left in first quarter, Georgia leads 7-0

That's why they call Kris Durham "White Lightning."

The Georgia senior receiver catches a short slant pass on third down, then cuts upfield and outruns the Georgia Tech secondary for a 66-yard touchdown play. It's the longest of Durham's career.

What a great early turnaround for the Bulldogs. They still haven't started a play outside their own 30, while the Yellow Jackets have been inside the red zone twice.

Georgia Tech can't afford to let opportunities pass up. And so far it has.

8:16 left in first quarter, no score

So the game hasn't quite started the way Georgia would want. A muffed kickoff, a three-and-out, a couple red zone trips for the Tech offense. But it hasn't cost Georgia yet.

After recovering a muff on the opening kickoff, Tech was stopped on fourth down by Darryl Gamble, so it remained scoreless. After a Georgia punt, the Yellow Jackets drove inside the 5 - and fumbled it over.

Georgia Tech kicked off short and to the left sideline, where Shaun Chapas for some reason let it bounce. He tried to pick it up on the first bounce, but it was too late to avoid a scrum, where the Yellow Jackets recovered.

But Gamble came up big, bursting through the line on fourth-and-2 to bring down the ball-carrier with two hands. That's a senior moment. The good kind.

Georgia Tech's decision to go for it, rather than kick the field goal, wasn't really an indication that it will go for broke this game. The Jackets just tend to always go for it when they have that short to go.