No. 1 Georgia overcame two double-digit deficits to defeat No. 4 Ohio State 42-41 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The win sends Georgia to play for its second-straight national title on Jan. 9, against Texas Christian University (TCU) at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
The Bulldogs trailed by 14 points in the second quarter and at the conclusion of the third. They were able to rally both times, though, and overcome adversity to defeat the Buckeyes.
The contest came down to the last play when the Buckeyes lined up for a game-winning field goal. Noah Ruggles made the 50-yard attempt, but the ball sailed wide left.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was understandably proud of his team after the victory.
“Our guys are extremely resilient. We talked at halftime about some games that we have been in this year that we’ve been behind in, including the Missouri game,” Smart said. “I had no doubt that our team would come out fighting. We didn’t play our best football game.
"A lot of that had to do with Ohio State. I have a lot of respect for them and a lot of these players that are on this podium with me and the guys in the locker room. If we want any chance at winning a national title, we have to play a lot better football than we played tonight. We’ve got to keep the resiliency and composure along with us.”
Ohio State led 38-24 entering the fourth quarter with all the momentum, but the Bulldogs outscored the Buckeyes 18-3 in the final 15 minutes of regulation.
Georgia placekicker Jack Podlesny, who had already missed two field goals, capped off a scoring drive at the 10:14 mark with a 31-yarder, which cut Ohio State’s lead to 38-27.
The Bulldog defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession and the offense scored quickly as quarterback Stetson Bennett connected with Arian Smith for a 76-yard TD. They attempted a 2-point conversion, with Bennett finding Ladd McConkey in the end zone.
Ohio State’s high-powered offense, led by quarterback C.J. Stroud, wasn’t done, though. The Buckeyes’ passing game went back to work and got the offense deep inside Georgia territory, but a Jamon Dumas-Johnson sack on Stroud led to a 12-yard loss. Ruggles hit an attempt from 48 yards out to push Ohio State’s lead back to six points (41-35).
Bennett then came in clutch again for Georgia when it mattered most. He started out the next drive by tossing a 15-yard pass to Brock Bowers before a 35-yarder went to Kearis Jackson. Two plays later, Bennett threw the go-ahead TD pass to AD Mitchell in the end zone. Podlesny tacked on the extra point, and the Bulldogs took a 42-41 lead with 51 seconds to go.
Georgia’s score came with just under a minute to go, giving Stroud and the Buckeyes just enough time to put together a drive that ended up deep inside Bulldog territory. But the missed 50-yard field goal attempt negated all that effort in Georgia’s favor at the end.
Bennett later highlighted that the Bulldogs’ offense scored way too fast at the end of the contest.
“When we scored I was scared to death because they played a hell of a game on offense,” Bennett said. “I was like, ‘Dang, we scored too quick,’ and then our dudes stepped up.”
Smart acknowledged how every drive was important for his team in the final quarter.
“Coming off the field in the second half, it was really simple,” Smart said. “We had to make a decision whether we wanted to go after it and go try to score. We didn’t have much time left, but we did have timeouts. At the time, I felt like every possession was valuable and I wanted to be aggressive.
“We called a play. They batted a ball. We called another play. He (Bennett) was in the pocket for a while and threw the ball a little high over the middle and put us at risk. I told him, if we’re going to trust you to do this in two minutes, you’ve got to make good decisions. If it’s not there, then take off and run.”
Bennett completed 23-of-34 pass attempts for 398 yards, three TDs and an INT in the win.
The super senior signal-caller hooked up with 10 different pass-catchers. Arian Smith totaled a career-high 129 yards on three receptions and a score. Running back Kenny McIntosh also had a productive game by hauling in five receptions for 56 yards and a TD.
McIntosh also led Georgia in rushing with a total of 70 yards. Daijun Edwards added 58 yards on eight carries while Kendall Milton had 26 yards and a score. The offense totaled 135 yards on the ground and averaged 5.2 yards per rush attempt against the Buckeyes.
The Bulldogs were led defensively by STAR Javon Bullard. The sophomore totaled three tackles (all solo), one sack, one tackle for loss and a pass breakup in the victory over Ohio State.
Bullard also had a few heads-up plays, including the sack on Stroud, which came in the middle of the third quarter. His hit on the Buckeyes’ signal-caller knocked them back five yards. It also stunted their momentum while they held an 11-point lead over Georgia.
Ohio State was called for an illegal substitution before the next snap, causing them to face a 3rd-and-16. Stroud missed Marvin Harrison Jr. on the next play, resulting in a punt. Bullard’s sack set in motion that dramatic chain of events for the Buckeyes.
Bullard gave credit to Stroud and Ohio State for executing its game plan for most of the game.
“Those guys made plays when they needed to make plays. We knew coming into the game it wouldn’t be perfect,” Bullard said. “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. You can’t get too high up and can’t get too low. As I said, we had to rely on the connection we built through the off-season and the resiliency.”
Bennett said the Bulldogs understand they need to play better when they get to Los Angeles.
“Now we’ve got to take care of business; we’ve got to prepare. We’ve got nine days or whatever to play a really good TCU team. So, we’ve got to prepare our butts off,” Bennett said. “We didn’t play our best game (against Ohio), starting with me. Coach Smart said in the locker room, we had two three-and-outs to start the second half … that falls on me, and that falls on our offense. We’ve got to fix that. So, we’re going to go to work.”