CAPITAL ONE BOWL

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Matthew Stafford gave the type of performance in the Capital One Bowl that would make a fitting finale to his excellent Georgia career.

Whether this was his last game with the Bulldogs, the junior quarterback hasn’t decided.

Stafford threw three touchdown passes in the final 18 minutes against No. 19 Michigan State, connecting with Knowshon Moreno for the clinching score in the 16th-ranked Bulldogs’ 24-12 victory Thursday.

“It’s going to be an extremely hard decision,” Stafford said of his decision regarding the NFL draft. “My time at Georgia has been great, and the allure of coming back is something I’m considering. I’m 50-50 right now and I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m going to take these next few days and figure it out.”

Ranked No. 1 to start the season, the Bulldogs (10-3) gave Coach Mark Richt his sixth bowl win in eight tries and put a happy ending on a season that didn’t live up to expectations.

The first half was ugly for Stafford, projected to be an early first-round draft pick, and Georgia. He was six for 14 with an interception and Michigan State (9-4) led, 6-3. In the second half, he looked more like the quarterback NFL teams covet. He completed 14 of his final 17 throws, including three touchdown passes.

Stafford started the comeback by directing a 10-play, 96-yard drive in the third quarter. He went six for six for 92 yards and capped it with a 35-yard touchdown toss to Michael Moore.

“The biggest thing was eliminating mistakes,” Stafford said. “The whole first half, first drive of the second half, we were making foolish mistakes -- me not hitting guys, us not picking up blitzes, not finishing off drives.”

Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio said Georgia made an effective adjustment in the second half.

“We blitzed well in the first half, got after them,” Dantonio said. “They went to a more controlled passing game against our blitz package.”

Stafford was picked as the game’s MVP, completing his performance by showing a nice touch in threading a 21-yard touchdown pass to Moreno late in the fourth quarter. Stafford set a single-season school record with 25 touchdown passes.

Georgia’s defense helped keep the Bulldogs in the game in the first half. The Bulldogs had four sacks and held an opponent to the fewest points since Sept. 30.

“We played with our hair on fire, great emotion,” tackle Corvey Irvin said. “When we play with emotion, you can’t stop it.”