Georgia Tech’s P.J. Davis has scoop and score in TaxSlayer Bowl (Video)
By John Buhler
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets linebacker P.J. Davis has a powerful 41-yard scoop and score on a Stephen Johnson fumble for the Kentucky Wildcats.
New Year’s Eve is getting off to a great start in the college football world. We already have a defensive touchdown before noon on the East Coast. Here is how the first touchdown of the last day of the year went down.
In the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive lineman Patrick Gamble forced a strip sack on Kentucky Wildcats scrambling quarterback Steven Johnson. Gamble’s teammate, linebacker P.J. Davis, would pick up the Johnson fumble and then proceed to take it to the house for a 41-yard touchdown.
You can watch a video of the scoop and score from Georgia Tech courtesy of ESPN below.
The made Harrison Butker PAT would give the Yellow Jackets an early 7-0 lead on the Wildcats in the TaxSlayer Bowl. Going to and winning bowl games is nothing new for Paul Johnson’s Yellow Jacket program. They might have failed to reach a bowl last year, but have responded with a strong eight-win season in 2016 that included an upset win over the Georgia Bulldogs to end the year.
For Kentucky, the TaxSlayer Bowl is a totally different beast. This is the first time that any Wildcat has played in a bowl game. Keep in mind that Big Blue Nation has not made it to a bowl game since the 2010 NCAA season.
Maybe Johnson had the bowl game jitters? It didn’t come as a surprise to see Georgia Tech come out and make a big play early in the first quarter on Kentucky. With both teams being predominantly run-first on offense, to have it be a fumble recovery isn’t shocking at all.
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For a bowl game that was largely going to be played on the ground, it was interesting to see the first touchdown of the game be a defensive one. Do expect Georgia Tech’s triple option and Kentucky spread attack to get into the end zone multiple times on Saturday afternoon.