UGA's quest for second straight national title continues after comeback win vs. Ohio State
ATLANTA — The College Football Playoff matchup putting Ohio State on the field with Georgia in a semifinal matchup was viewed in some circles as a possible landmine that could blow up the Bulldogs’ unbeaten season.
It nearly did.
Stetson Bennett and the Bulldogs didn’t let it.
They pulled out a victory from the jaws of defeat and the defense played its part at the end in a 42-41 thrilling victory Saturday night in the Peach Bowl before a Mercedes-Benz Stadium record crowd of 79,330.
Freshman Marvin Jones Jr. ran off the field in jubilation and the sideline erupted for Georgia when Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggles was wide left on a 50-yard field goal try with 3 ticks left on the clock.
"Once I saw the ball go left, I started running," Jones said. "I was just looking into the crowd. It was an unbelievable feeling for sure."
Hollywood, here comes, No. 1 Georgia.
Well, the Bulldogs are headed to be more precise to Inglewood, Calif., to face No. 3 TCU in the national championship game on Monday Jan. 9.
It already is a great 2023 for Georgia fans as the Bulldogs celebrated with Bennett running around the field with his hands raised at the end and hugging his brother Luke. Bennett took a knee after the stroke of midnight at 12:01 a.m. officially.
The Buckeyes had formidable weapons at quarterback and wide receiver but the Bulldogs had 25-year old, sixth-year senior and former walk-on Bennett.
He delivered a 10-yard touchdown pass to AD Mitchell in the left corner of the end zone with 54 seconds left and the Bulldog edged ahead.
Here are five takeaways as Georgia improved to 14-0, the nation's lone remaining unbeaten:
Legend of Stetson Bennett continues
Georgia coach Kirby Smart pulled Bennett aside at the end of the first half and told him to settle down after he threw the ball high over the middle before the half and risked an interception.
Things didn’t start any better in the second half as the Bulldogs punted on their first two possessions and Bennett started the half 0-for-3 and showed indecision on third down on one third down incompletion.
Yet there was Bennett afterwards being presented the Peach Bowl MVP Offensive Player of the Game.
All Bennett did was throw for a career-high 398 yards on 23 of 34 passing with 3 touchdowns and an interception and rallied Georgia from down 38-24 to pull out the victory.
ESPN’s Rece Davis told Smart during the trophy ceremony that no team in the playoff had ever come back by more than 14 points in a playoff game.
Bennett, the Heisman Trophy finalist who led Georgia to the national title last year, and Georgia trailed 41-35 with 2:36 to go and the ball at the Georgia 28.
They got it back after Jamon Dumas-Johnson went up the middle for a sack. Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud was off target on third-and-17 and Ruggles 48-yard field goal had enough distance and was good.
"Where else would you rather be?," Bennett said. "Having the ball with two minutes left, and if you score a touchdown, you win the game. I looked around, and there was just a whole bunch of just determined, strong stares from all the dudes. It gave me confidence, and everybody else had confidence when we went down the field."
Bennett hit Brock Bowers over the middle for 15. The ball was at the 50 after an offsides. He hit Kearis Jackson to the for 35 yards to the 15 and then found Kenny McIntosh over the middle for 5 yards.
That set up the go-ahead touchdown to Mitchell in the left corner with 54 seconds to go and Jack Podlesny’s point after was the deciding point.
“With a lot on the line, we knew this could be our last shot," Jackson said. "I just thought of myself as a leader, I didn’t want this to be my last game and go out the way we were going to have to go out.”
It's Georgia-TCU in California for the natty
For those that thought Georgia got a raw deal having to face Ohio State instead of TCU in the semifinals, the Horned Frogs showed they belonged in the playoff.
The 7½ point underdogs bounced back from a Big 12 championship game loss to Kansas State and dealt No. 2 Michigan it’s first loss of the season in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale in a 51-45 shootout.
Georgia will quickly turn the page to TCU.
"We've got to start tomorrow," Smart said. "We've got a short window. Can't start when we get back home. We've got to sleep.
Georgia-TCU is a rematch of the Liberty Bowl which Georgia won 31-23 to end the 2016 season, Smart’s first at Georgia. Georgia has won all four games the teams have played. The others were in 1988, 1980 and 1941.
Sonny Dykes jumped from SMU to TCU and has won national coach of the year honors after taking the Horned Frogs to an unbeaten regular season after they went 5-7 last season.
Georgia outside linebackers coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe worked with Dykes at SMU and went with him to TCU before Smart hired him.
Former Georgia defensive lineman Tymon Mitchell transferred to TCU.
The Horned Frogs Saturday played in their first bowl game since a 10-7 win over Stanford in the Cheez-It Bowl on Dec. 26, 2018.
It was the Big 12’s first win in the CFP.
Buckeyes roll up passing yards, but can't get win
Kamari Lassiter ran into the Ohio State sideline as he tried in vain to chase down Emeka Egbuka after a play-action pass from CJ Stroud that resulted in a 10-yard touchdown, Stroud’s fourth of the night.
Brutus, the Ohio State mascot, pumped a fist in celebration after the play that gave the Buckeyes a 35-24 lead.
Later in the quarter Stroud, who finished 23-of-34 for 348 yards, hit Ebuka on the Georgia sideline. Hairy Dawg put his hands on his hips after the play.
It was that kind of night for the Georgia defense for much of the game.
After giving up 502 passing yards to LSU, Stroud and the Buckeyes’ vaunted receiving corps continued to victimize the Georgia defense.
" A lot of credit goes to them," Smart said. "We tried man. We tried zone. We mixed it up."
Stroud was sacked twice in the first half, but too often had plenty of time to make plays either in the pocket or on the move.
He connected with Harrison Jr 5 times for 106 yards and Egbuka had 4 catches for 47 yards.
It wasn’t just one matchup the Buckeyes were taking advantage of. Lasister, safety Malaki Starks and cornerback Kelee Ringo all had a hard time keeping up with the 6-foot-4, 205-pound sophomore and son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison Sr.
On the first pass of the second half, Stroud hit Fleming beating Ringo for a 25-yard completion and then hit Fleming for 19 more.
"Adjustments against a good offense is definitely something you're going to need to be able to do throughout the entire game," Ringo said. "Or else they're going to be able to play 7-on-7 out there."
Ringo got called for a pass interference in the third quarter after he was getting beat on a deep ball. Smart shook his head on the sideline.
The Bulldogs, with the game on the line, made their share of plays. Javon Bullard made a punishing hit on Harrison Jr. in the back of the end zone on an incompletion. It knocked Harrison, who did not have a catch in the second half, out of the game with a concussion.
"You come into a game like this, college playoff, we know you are going to give up some plays, they are going to make some plays, we're going to make some plays," Bullard said. "You can't get too high up and can't get too low."
Big plays all around
Phew. Plenty of first-half action.
Georgia overcame a 21-7 first-half deficit with 17 straight points in the first half, but that lead was short-lived.
Both teams hit for big plays throughout the half as the Bulldogs rolled up 313 yards of total offense and Ohio State 248.
Stroud hit Harrison Jr. on three completions of 24 or more yards including a 31-yard touchdown for the game’s first score. They also hooked up for a 16-yard touchdown with 10:56 to go in the first half for a 21-7 lead.
Bennett had five pass completions for 20 or more yards including key third-down conversions to Dom Blaylock for 25 and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint for 28.
A slip screen to running back Kenny McIntosh turned into a 25-yard touchdown for the Bulldogs’ first score.
McIntosh also went a season-long 52 yards, leaving safety Ronnie Hickman in his tracks at the 30, but stumbled at the 10-yard line. Bennett’s 3-yard quarterback sweep tied the game and a Jack Podlesny 32-yard field goal with 1:44 to go in the half tied the game.
Tight end Darnell Washington in a boot on his left foot and on crutches watching on sideline after going down with an ankle injury in the first half. Smart was asked about the Las Vegas native's availability for TCU.
"Hard to tell right now," he said. "It's an ankle sprain. I don't know if it's high or low. He tried to go back and couldn't go back on it. We'll have to evaluate and see. The good news is he's got more than a normal week. I know he'll do everything he can to get back. He's headed out west towards where he's from. It will be important to him to try to get back."
Arian Smith comes up big in passing game
Arian Smith, whose career has been marked by injuries and long catches, entered Saturday with just 3 catches for 66 yards this season.
He reminded why he shouldn’t be forgotten when talking of the Bulldogs’ wide receiver corps for 2023.
The redshirt sophomore had Georgia’s two biggest catches of the day—47 yards in the first half and the 76-yard touchdown catch on a deep ball in the fourth quarter.
Receiver Ladd McConkey was asked what he saw as the turning point for Georgia.
“Shoot, I felt like Arian’s deep touchdown, he stepped up and was huge tonight," he said. "I couldn’t be more proud of him and what he did. I feel like that was a huge turning point and then our defense getting a stop.”
Ohio State safety Lathan Ransom stumbled and fell over midfield and Smith raced in for the score on the left side.
"I gave him a hard jab inside," Smith said. "Coach (Todd) Monken always tells me to hit. That's what I did. I hit him inside and made sure I stacked him."
The sometime Georgia track sprinter averaged 31.8 yards per catch on his 8 career receptions entering the day. He averaged 43 yards a catch Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football beats Ohio State to advance to national title game
