Sunday, September 22, 1996

Georgia comes back to beat Tech
By PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press

ATHENS, Ga. - For a guy who was booed most of the game, Mike Bobo sure turned out to be the hero for Georgia.

Bobo drove the Bulldogs 97 yards in the final minutes Saturday night for a 15-12 victory over Texas Tech. Bobo's 22-yard touchdown pass to Juan Daniels with 1:45 remaining gave Jim Donnan his first win as Georgia coach.

"No one in the stands or watching on television thought we could do it," said Bobo, who passed for a career-high 292 yards. "But we knew we could. We believed in ourselves, the coaches believed in us, and we did it."

Georgia faced its first 0-3 start since 1979 when it got the ball at its 3 with three minutes remaining, trailing 12-7. But the Bulldogs drove the length of the field in 10 plays, getting a fourth-down, 30-yard completion from Bobo to Daniels to keep the drive alive.

Then, on third-and-10, Bobo got the ball off just ahead of a vicious hit by Anthony Armour, and Juan Daniels, despite interference by Jody Brown, caught the ball for only the fifth TD of the season by Georgia (1-2).

"We've taken a lot of knocks, but we went 97 yards when it counted," Daniels said.

While the Bulldogs celebrated in the end zone, Bobo staggered around near the center of the field, trying to shake off the hit. After the game, though, he managed to run off the field and pump his helmet to the now-cheering fans.

"We made some adjustments in our protection that allowed us to throw the ball," said Donnan, who spent the last six seasons at Division I-AA Marshall. "This (win) might help us get over the hump a little quicker."

Texas Tech (1-2) lost despite a 214-yard effort by Byron Hanspard, the fourth time in five games he has rushed for at least 200 yards and the ninth straight game he has broken 100 yards. Hanspard scored both Texas Tech touchdowns, but the Red Raiders missed the conversion each time.

"It's tough to lose a game like that," Tech coach Spike Dykes said. "It really takes the wind out of your sails. Hopefully we can rebound, but you don't know how they will react."

After Bobo's touchdown pass, Hines Ward made a 2-point conversion with a spectacular, somersaulting leap into the end zone. Texas Tech had a final chance to tie, but Jaret Greaser's 54-yard field goal attempt was wide left by about a foot as time ran out.

"We did a lot of good things," Dykes said. "But when a team takes the ball 97 yards with less than two minutes to go, they deserve to win."

Bobo, who took much of the heat when the Bulldogs lost their first two games, had completed only 9-of-18 passes for 151 yards through three quarters and squandered two scoring chances with a fumble and an interception deep in Texas Tech territory.

But Donnan, under fire himself, stuck with his junior quarterback, who came through in the final period. Bobo put Georgia ahead 7-6 on a 1-yard sneak with 13:04 remaining, setting up the score with a 28-yard pass to Daniels and a 13-yarder to Hines Ward.

Texas Tech went back ahead less than a minute later when Hanspard, who entered the game as the country's No. 3 rusher, broke loose for a 47-yard touchdown. Tech went for two but was stopped just short of the goal line.

Hanspard had scored the Red Raiders' first touchdown on a 4-yard run, but the conversion failed when holder Field Scovell couldn't hang onto the snap. Much of the game was played in a driving rainstorm that stymied both offenses.

"Coming into the game, we wanted to throw the ball a little bit," said Tech quarterback Zebbie Lethridge, who completed only 8-of-23 for 71 yards and was intercepted twice. "The weather pretty much prevented us from doing that."

The Bulldogs were backed up on their 3 with 2:57 remaining after a 49-yard punt by Jeremy Hernandez. Bobo connected with Ward on a 28-yard pass to get Georgia out of the hole and hit Daniels for 30 yards on fourth-and-10 at the Bulldogs 48.

Georgia managed only 66 yards on the ground and lost its best runner, Robert Edwards, to an injured left foot in the first half.

Hanspard had 37 carries on the heels of a 272-yard effort against Oklahoma State. He has rushed for 601 yards in three games, numbers that might be enough to boost his Heisman Trophy candidacy despite the lack of publicity he gets playing at Texas Tech.