ATLANTA – With just over three minutes left to play at Bobby Dodd Stadium Saturday, Georgia coach Mark Richt gave a two-fold vote of confidence – he went for the field goal.

With his Bulldogs up 30-24, it would be a 55-yard attempt for kicker Blair Walsh. If he made it, it would make it a two-score lead for Georgia.

If he missed, it would mean a short field for Georgia Tech, with a touchdown to win.

“That was a tough call,” Richt said. “I know that Blair’s very capable of making the kick. I knew if he made it, it would be very tough for them to come back . If you punt them down in deep, it would have been tough for any offense to go 80, 90 yards in just a matter of three minutes. It was a tough call.”

Walsh, the Lou Groza Award finalist, had plenty of distance on the kick but pushed it to the left. His defense had his back, allowing the Yellow Jackets to get no closer than the Georgia 46.

“I knew I could have had it, which sucks, but it is what it is,” said Walsh, who hit from 28, 38 and 43 prior to his second miss of the season. “There was a little bit of win and I didn’t play it the way I wanted to play it. I hit it well, but I didn’t aim it the way I wanted to.”

Walsh had been 4-for-4 on the season from 50-plus yards.

“It came down to Blair having the season that he’s had, making every single kick past 50 yards,” Richt said. “In pre-game warm-ups I saw what he did, I knew what his range was, and it was within his range.”

With punter Drew Butler, another national award finalist, sitting on the sidelines during a game where neither team punted, Walsh couldn’t quite make this one. But his three earlier field goals helped Georgia top Tech.

“We just beat the seventh-ranked team in the nation, and this is what our team’s been capable of all year,” said Walsh, a sophomore. “It’s frustrating we couldn’t put it together for the entire season, but hey, never too late right?”

A swan song for Willie?: Much has been made about the future of Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez.

It was the Georgia Tech game where much of the criticism directed at him really came to a head last season, and though the defense played better Saturday, it may not be enough.

After the Bulldogs’ regular-season finale Saturday, Richt stopped short of saying there would be specific changes on the coaching staff.

“Here’s the thing, I’ve been focusing so hard on the season, that’s really the only thing I’ve been focusing on,” Richt said after the game. “I know there are some areas to improve in, but right now I’m just going to enjoy this victory.”