updated 1:22 a.m. ET Nov. 27, 2005

ATLANTA - Georgia Tech was thinking overtime. Tim Jennings had something else in mind.

After D.J. Shockley teamed up with Bryan McClendon to put No. 13 Georgia ahead, Jennings intercepted a pass with just over a minute remaining to preserve the Bulldogs’ fifth straight victory over No. 20 Georgia Tech, a 14-7 defensive struggle Saturday night.

“I didn’t want to just break it up,” Jennings said. “I wanted to jump in front of him and make a play.”

He did just that. Reggie Ball took a quick drop and fired a pass toward Damarius Bilbo, lurking right at the goal line. Jennings timed his break perfectly, picking off the pass at the 5 and returning it almost 30 yards before he was shoved out of bounds with 1:11 remaining.

“I just read it to the T,” Jennings said. “I saw Reggie Ball take three quick steps. I knew he had to get rid of the ball quick because we had a blitz coming.”

Both teams scored in the first quarter, then slogged it out much of the night in a field-position battle. Finally, Georgia (9-2) broke through.

Thomas Flowers, who had two big punt returns in the second half, broke off a 33-yarder that gave the Bulldogs possession on the Georgia Tech 39. Shockley converted a key third down with an 8-yard pass to Mario Raley, then went all the way to the end zone.

On second-and-5 from the 19, Georgia called a play known as “Colt Patriot” and Shockley laid the ball out perfectly for McClendon, who hauled in the pass despite tight coverage by Dennis Davis with 3:18 remaining.

“It was just a great field position game, a great defensive battle,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “We had to stay patient, as much as we hated it, and let our special teams do their job — then knock it in when we needed to.”

Georgia Tech (7-4) quickly moved into position to force overtime. Ball threw a 16-yard pass to George Cooper and ran for 30 yards into Georgia territory. The Yellow Jackets caught a huge break when Ball threw into quadruple-coverage, but drew a pass interference penalty when Greg Blue clothes-lined star receiver Calvin Johnson a split-second before the ball arrived.

Slide show   The Week in Sports Pictures Fireworks, crash landings, Wimbledon theatrics and more. more photos

“I was getting ready to go into overtime and win the game,” said P.J. Daniels, who led Georgia Tech with 77 yards rushing. “I’m always trying to think positive.”

The Yellow Jackets had first down at the 11. They would get no closer.

“It was just a great play by a great player,” Ball said. “He guessed right. There was really nothing we could do about it.”

Georgia Tech must be feeling the same way about this series. The Bulldogs have won every year since Richt took over as coach in 2001, and this makes it 12 wins in 15 years over their state rival.

“We talked all week about the senior class going out undefeated against Georgia Tech and being state champs,” said Jennings, a major part of that class.

Georgia will return to Atlanta next Saturday to face LSU in the Southeastern Conference title game, trying to earn a third straight trip to the state capital. The SEC champion will play in the Jan. 2 Sugar Bowl, being held at the Georgia Dome this year while New Orleans recovers from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

MORE FROM COLLEGE FOOTBALL

College football Section Front

Mountain West reluctantly agrees to BCS deal WCarolina football player dies following workout Researcher: Cut back two-a-day football practices CFT: Cutler gets Georgia in trouble with NCAA CFT: Handful of schools recruiting McNair’s son CFT: Meyer-to-Irish pot stirs up again Notebook: Star’s hoops success lifts football prospects CollegeFootballTalk on NBCSports.com Who is team of the decade? Which is the best rivalry in college football? College football Section Front   Add College football headlines to your news reader: