Mr. CFB: After Season With Little Drama, Georgia Rallies to Beat Ohio State 42-41
ATLANTA--If there is one thing that holds true for Georgia's 2022 college football season it is that for the most part it has been devoid of drama.
Oh, there was that night in Columbia, Mo. when a flat Georgia team trailed Missouri by double digits in the first half was still behind 22-12 with 14:09 left.
But Georgia regrouped and put up a couple of touchdowns in the remaining time to win 26-22. It would be the only time all season that Georgia won by single digits. Georgia even controlled its win with No. 1 Tennessee, winning 27-13.
Beyond that things have pretty much been smooth saling for the defending national champions.
Well all of that changed Saturday night in the CFP semifinals against No. 4 Ohio State at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
With seemingly no answers for Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, who was slicing and dicing the Georgia secondary at will, it appeared the Bulldogs and quarterback Stetson Bennett IV had come to the end of their magical road. The Bulldogs trailed by two touchdowns, 38-24, after an Ohio State field goal with 31 seconds left in the third quarter.
Bennett, who had struggled up to his point, had some words for his teammates.
"I looked at the guys in the huddle and just said "hey, we haven't played our best," he said "Where else would you want to be?"
But then Georgia, as it has found a way to do so many times in the past two seasons, put on a furious rally to take a 42-41 lead on an 10-yard touchdown pass from Bennett to A.D. Mitchell with only 54 seconds left.
But, ladies and gentlemen, the drama was far from over. Stroud, one of four Heisman finalists this season, drove his team down the field and put Ohio State's Noah Ruggles in position to kick a 50-yard field goal that would given given the Buckeyes the victory.
But Ruggles hooked the kick left with three-seconds left. The Georgia bench erupted. Bennett was again in tears, and most of the crowd of 79,330, the largest in Peach Bowl history since it moved to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, could not believe what they had seen.
Now Georgia (14-0) gets a chance to win 15 games for the first time in school history and win back-to-back national championships for the first time ever.
Georgia won despite 348 yards passingand four touchdowns by Stroud. At times he looked unstoppable. Ohio State had 478 total yards. Georgia had 533.
Ohio State controlled most of the game.
"Theyare the defending national champions and they are undefeated," said Ohio State Coach Ryan Day. "But there is not a guy in the lockerroom who does not believe we should have won this game. That will stick in our craw for a while."
"We defintely should have won the game," said Stroud.
Bennett was clearly off his game in the first half but finally got it going in the fourth quarter, as he did in the CFP national championship game last January. he finished completing 23 of 34 passes for 398 yards and three touchdowns.
"It was just a matter of everybody doing his job," said Bennett.
It was yet another brilliant, clutch performance for the 25-year-old Bennett, who began his career as a walk-on. And now he has a chance for immortality.
It could also be a historic game for Coach Kirby Smart as he'll be one of handfull of coaches to win back-to-back nationall championship
When this season began few gave Georgia a chance to repeat as champions. The Bulldogs lost eight players on defense--five in the first round--to the NFL Draft.
All totall Georgia lost 15 players from the national championship team.
But here they are.
And on Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium inInglewood, Calif. they will play TCU in what could be a game for the ages.
Stay tuned.