University of Houston
Georgia
Cougars Fall To No. 16 Georgia, 35-7
12/1/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec 1, 2001
By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
ATHENS, Ga. - David Greene threw three touchdown passes, Verron Haynes rushed for 122 yards and No. 16 Georgia overcame a sloppy start to beat winless Houston 35-7 Saturday.
Georgia (8-3) wrapped up its fifth straight eight-win season - a first for the Bulldogs. They'll have to wait another week to learn the destination for their fifth consecutive bowl appearance.
Houston (0-11) is done, saddled with the first winless season in school history. The Cougars have lost 15 in a row overall, their last victory coming Oct. 21, 2000, when they beat Memphis 33-30 in overtime.
The Bulldogs led only 14-0 at halftime, wasting two other scoring chances. Greene threw an interception from the Houston 21 and Terrence Edwards fumbled at the 1, the ball rolling through the Cougars' end zone for a touchback.
Georgia finally got rolling in the third quarter, scoring three touchdowns to blow it open.
Edwards caught a 49-yard TD pass, tying Brice Hunter's school record with the 19th scoring reception of his career. Backup tight end Ben Watson scored on another 49-yard pass, though he did most of the work after hauling in a short screen.
Watson's catch was the final play for Greene, who spent the rest of the day on the sideline. Cory Phillips and Brent Rickman finished up, with Phillips throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jarrett Berry.
The only bad news for Georgia: cornerback Tim Wansley hurt his left ankle on a 52-yard punt return in the first quarter and didn't return.
First-year coach Mark Richt emptied the bench after Georgia built a 28-0 lead. Berry, a sophomore who's not even listed in the school's media guide, made the first catch of his career a touchdown.
Houston broke through for a meaningless TD against the Georgia reserves. Nick Eddy threw a 16-yard pass to Orlando Iglesias with three seconds left in the third quarter.
The game was scoreless until Haynes scored on a 2-yard run with 6:30 left in the first half. The late-blooming senior, making his third straight start at tailback, had another 100-yard performance on 24 carries.
Haynes has rushed for 521 yards in the last three games. He spent most of his career as a blocking fullback, gaining 216 yards in 30 regular-season games before the position change.
Greene's first TD was a 12-yarder to Fred Gibson with just over a minute left in the first half. The freshman finished 9-of-17 for 210 yards.
The game, originally scheduled for Sept. 15, was pushed to the end of the regular season after the terrorist attacks. The Bulldogs closed with a team other than Georgia Tech for the first time since 1952.
The makeup game drew the smallest crowd of the season at 86,520-seat Sanford Stadium, despite a sunny, 66-degree day. There appeared to be at least 20,000 no-shows.
Representatives of the Citrus, Outback and Peach bowls scouted the Bulldogs. If the Southeastern Conference lands two teams in the Bowl Championship Series, Georgia could make its third trip to the Outback Bowl in the last five years.
