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Stafford leads Georgia past Virginia Tech in second half

Dec 31, 2006 - 6:29 AM ATLANTA (Ticker) -- When Georgia looked for a second-half spark, all they had to do was find the man under center.

Matthew Stafford threw a touchdown and led Georgia to 28 second-half points as the Bulldogs posted a 31-24 victory over Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Stafford, who was named the game's Offensive Most Valuable Player, completed 9-of-21 passes for 129 yards and an interception for Georgia (9-4), which rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to win its third straight game.

"I made some poor passes early but I really didn't have to make a lot of adjustments," Stafford said. "I just tried to stay focused and execute."

"After being down at the half, I just told the guys that it's not as bad as it looks," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "We were a couple of plays away from being right there in it. We just needed to be aggressive."

Linebacker Tony Taylor made nine tackles and had two interceptions to earn Defensive MVP honors for the Bulldogs, who picked off three passes, including two in their 18-point fourth quarter.

"We made a lot of mistakes early," Taylor said. "We responded in the second half and that made all the difference."

"It's pretty simple, if you turn the ball over to a good team, you won't do well," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "We just threw it to them."

Sean Glennon was 13-of-26 for just 94 yards and was sacked three times for the Hokies (10-3), who lost for the first time in seven games.

"I can't describe it but I take responsibility for what happened out there," Glennon said. "I don't think it was that I didn't know what the Bulldog defense was doing, but I made some bad throws and wrong decisions."

Both teams combined for just 389 yards - 200 for Georgia and only 189 for Virginia Tech.