Georgia Crushes Virginia

Georgia’s players backed up their lobbying to have fired Coach Jim Donnan lead them into a bowl game.

Terrence Edwards ran five times for 97 yards and caught eight passes for 79 yards and the Bulldog defense scored two touchdowns to give No. 24 Georgia a 37-14 victory over Virginia on Sunday in the Oahu Bowl.

It was a school-record fourth consecutive bowl victory for the Bulldogs (8-4) in Donnan’s final game.

“We went out and played well for Coach D, for ourselves, to prove all the doubters wrong,” said Edwards, who also scored a touchdown and was the most valuable player of the game. “This game meant a lot to a lot of people. Winning four straight bowl games, four straight eight-win seasons [is] at least a building stone for next year.”

Donnan, who went 40-19 in five seasons at Georgia, was fired after the Bulldogs finished the regular season with three losses in their last four games. But his players asked the school to let Donnan coach the bowl game.

“This team has always done a good job of answering the call,” he said. “They didn’t do this for me tonight. They did it for pride and for the University of Georgia. I am very proud of my team.”

It was also the final game for Virginia Coach George Welsh, who retired as the Atlantic Coast Conference’s winningest coach. Welsh, 67, compiled a 134-86-3 record during 19 years at Virginia.

“You’d like to go out with a win,” Welsh said. “It just didn’t work out.”

The Cavaliers (6-6) took a blow early when quarterback Dan Ellis was sidelined on their opening drive after a jarring hit from cornerback Jamie Henderson. Ellis sat out the rest of the game because of an ankle sprain, making the Cavaliers a one-dimensional team with the run.

Freshman Bryson Spinner took over and completed 13 of 21 passes for 145 yards and two interceptions.

Georgia’s Cory Phillips completed 22 of 35 passes for 213 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

“We played great,” Phillips said. “It’s a great coaching staff. It’s been a tough situation for everybody but this win puts some positive light to it.”

Georgia scored two touchdowns off fumble recoveries for the first time since 1992.

The game was the third bowl matchup between the teams in six seasons. The Cavaliers won, 34-27, in the 1995 Peach Bowl, but the Bulldogs prevailed, 35-33, in the same bowl in 1998.

Before a crowd of 24,187, the Bulldogs took a 17-0 lead in the first quarter.

“We wanted to end with a win,” Bulldog defensive tackle Richard Seymour said. “With everything going on, it was real emotional and this win takes a lot of this pain away.”