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HONOLULU, Hawaii (Ticker) -- Georgia coach Jim Donnan may have had trouble beating traditional rivals, but he never had trouble winning bowl games. Donnan became the first coach in school history to lead Georgia to four straight postseason victories as the 24th-ranked Bulldogs clobbered Virginia, 37-14, in the Oahu Bowl. Fired three weeks ago, Donnan was allowed to accompany his team to Hawaii. He went out a winner as defensive backs Kentrell Curry and Cap Burnett returned fumbles for touchdowns and versatile receiver Terrence Edwards scored on a 40-yard run. "I'm just happy, happy to get this win tonight," Donnan said. "That was crucial for our staff and our team. ... It's good for everybody. I was real happy for our program. Four straight years with bowl games, being in the top 20, that's pretty good." George Welsh ended his 19-year career at Virginia with another lopsided postseason loss. A year ago, the Cavaliers (6-6) were embarrassed in the Micron PC Bowl by Illinois, 63-21. Curry completed a 17-point first quarter by falling on a loose ball in the end zone after Virginia tailback Tyree Foreman was hit by cornerback Dantra Clements and fumbled inside his own 5-yard line. Just 16 seconds after Cory Phillips threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Damien Gary, Burnett capped the scoring early in the fourth quarter when he scooped up tailback Antwoine Womack's fumble and ran four yards for a TD. The game started sluggishly as Billy Bennett kicked a field goal to give Georgia a 3-0 lead. But the teams combined for four touchdowns in a span of just over three minutes bridging the first two quarters. Brett Millican threw a 23-yard pass to Jermaine Phillips on a fake punt to set up the game's first touchdown as Edwards took a direct snap, avoided defensive end Merrill Robertson behind the line and dashed 40 yards for a 10-0 cushion. Curry scored 21 seconds later for a 17-point bulge. Edwards carried five times for 97 yards, caught eight passes for 79 and completed 1-of-2 passes. "Terrence really did a good job for us tonight," Donnan said. "We felt like we had some things that would work with him at both receiver and quarterback, so we used them. We needed everything he did for us tonight." Quarterback Dan Ellis suffered a sprained right ankle early in the first quarter, but freshman backup Bryson Spinner threw a 78-yard bomb to Tavon Mason on the final play of the period to put Virginia in position for its first score. Receiver Demterius Dotson took a pitch and sprinted 14 yards down the right sideline to cut the Cavaliers' deficit to 17-7. Spinner was 14-of-22 for 153 yards with a pair of interceptions. The Bulldogs (8-4) needed only 67 seconds to answer as Edwards broke three tackles during a 56-yard run and Verron Haynes went in from the 3-yard line to make it 24-7, a lead Georgia took into halftime. Virginia linebacker Byron Thweatt scored the only touchdown of the third quarter on a 58-yard fumble return, but the Bulldogs put it away with two TDs in a 16-second span early in the final period. Cory Phillips completed 22-of-35 passes for 213 yards with a touchdown and an interception. "It's a great coaching staff. It's been a tough situation for everybody, but this win puts some positive light to it," Phillips said. "We had a good week of preparation, we were focused and we had fun. There was a lot of things we could've gotten caught up in, but we just had to go out and execute." Donnan went 40-19 in five seasons at Georgia, while the 67-year-old Welsh retired with a 134-86-3 record at Virginia. Before he took over in 1982, the Cavaliers had two winning seasons in three decades. This was their 12th bowl appearance since 1990. |
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