Georgia’s beloved purebred English bulldog mascot, Uga VII, died suddenly following a heart attack on Nov. 19.

But his half-brother Russ was ready for action in his debut on the sideline of a 30–24 upset win over ACC Coastal Division champion and in-state rival Georgia Tech.

Mark Richt’s Dawgs were running in rare form against triple option Paul Johnson’s Ramblin’ Wreck. True freshman Washaun Ealey had an eye-opening 20 carries for 183 yards while backfield mate Caleb King added 18 carries for 166 yards and two trips to the end zone — including a 75-yard sprint past a Yellow Jacket defense that allowed 339 yards on the ground.

“I never would have predicted that,” said Richt, who has an 8–1 record against GT, with only last year’s 45–42 loss between the hedges preventing Peach State perfection.

“I know we wanted to run the ball. I know we wanted to control the clock as mush as possible. We wanted to keep the ball away from Georgia Tech as much as we could. … I never would have dreamed we would have done quite that well.”

Heading into the Atlanta road trip, there was a black cloud hanging over the program from Athens. Along with Uga VII’s death, there were rumblings surrounding Richt and his coaching staff, following the worst season since the former Florida State offensive guru and Miami backup quarterback took over at Georgia in 2001.

But the Bulldogs were on a mission against the Yellow Jackets. From the all-run, 10-play touchdown drive to take a 7–0 lead on their opening possession, until Richt gathered the entire team together for an “all-four-one” speech with a 27–17 lead heading into the fourth quarter, unranked UGA handled itself more like a Top-10 team than GT. And the timing couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Considering how our season has gone, and playing one of the hottest teams in America, one of the best teams in America this season, in their house, to get the victory was a great tribute to the Georgia football program,” said Richt. “Glad we were able to get this victory for our fan base, four our players and for the coaches.”

Meanwhile, Georgia Tech must regroup before next week’s ACC Championship Game showdown with Atlantic Division title winner Clemson at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. With a win, the Yellow Jackets could still cash in on an automatic berth in the BCS and earn their first outright ACC title since 1990.

“We need to get over this fast,” said Georgia Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer. “We have a bigger game to worry about.”

As for Uga, the seventh officially sanctioned bulldog mascot died after the shortest tenure in Uga history, with a 16–7 record from 2008-09. But it was a big ice bag that Uga VII had to cover, following in the sunbathing footsteps of Uga VI’s incredible 65-pound run of 87–27 from 1999-2008 — the heaviest and winningest bulldog since the Uga tradition started in 1956.

PETA has requested that Georgia use a robot mascot on the sideline rather than a real dog as its next Uga, claiming “hot or humid weather can be deadly for a purebred bulldog.” But anyone who has seen the rock star lifestyle of Uga in-person — including his doting personal handlers and never-ending line of smiling fans with cameras — knows there isn’t a Dawg that is more beloved… except Matthew Stafford on a boat and maybe Richt if he ever brings a BCS national title to Georgia.