ATHENS — Dominick Sanders wanted to be able to look back fondly on Saturday’s game.

He picked off Georgia Tech’s Justin Thomas in the second quarter.

He grabbed a third-quarter fumble and returned it 13 yards to set up a field goal.

He had four tackles and broke up another pass.

But none of that mattered after the Yellow Jackets pulled out a 28-27 victory at Sanford Stadium. Georgia’s starting safety was left with giving them the credit.

“Those guys made plays,” he said. “As a whole, we made some mistakes. They executed and the results came from them.”

Sanders keyed Georgia’s strong defensive effort that lasted from midway through the second quarter until about 10 minutes left in the game.

He stopped a Georgia Tech drive by intercepting Thomas’ pass for Qua Searcy at the Bulldogs’ 13 with 56 seconds left in the first half.

That was Sanders’ second interception against Georgia Tech in as many seasons after he also picked off Thomas in the second quarter of last year’s game. That one stopped a drive that had reached Georgia’s 13-yard line.

“You have to have your eyes on the right keys and your body in the right position to make plays,” Sanders said. “I had my body in the right position and read my keys and those plays came.”

Sanders’ interception gave him the team lead with three this season. Six teammates have two each and Georgia is tied with Missouri for first in the SEC with 15 interceptions.

Sanders, a junior who has 12 career interceptions, helped stop Georgia Tech’s first drive of the second half when Isiah Willis fumbled after gain of 10 yards.

Sanders picked up the ball and returned it 13 to the Yellow Jackets’ 28-yard line. That led to a 27-yard field goal and a 17-14 lead.

But those were the only points Georgia scored after Sanders’ two takeaways.

“This is the game you want to remember, and the fact that they made more plays than us and the results didn’t come out (in our favor), it hurts.”