Georgia Shocks Ohio State In Wild 42-41 Peach Bowl Victory
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ATLANTA - Georgia Bulldogs and coach Kirby Smart are going to play for a second-consecutive national championship after shocking the Ohio State Buckeyes at the end of regulation in a wild 42-41 win in the Peach Bowl.
No. 1 Bulldogs Outlast Buckeyes In Shootout: Top-ranked Georgia (14-0) posted a 42-41 win over No. 4 Ohio State to advance to its second straight CFP National Championship Game (and 3rd overall) in the biggest fourth quarter comeback in the Kirby Smart era as well as the CFP era by any team. The previous high second half comeback was 11 points against Cincinnati right here in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to end the 2020 season, winning 24-21.
*Georgia came in ranked 11th nationally in Scoring (39.2 ppg) and finished with 42 points with 533 yards of offense on 60 plays.
*Senior QB and Offensive MVP Stetson Bennett finished 23-for-34, 398 yards, 3 TDs in directing the comeback. In the first half, he was 12-for-19 for 191 yards and 1 TD, 1 INT plus one rushing TD. Bennett set the single season record for completions this season with 292.
*Georgia took a 42-41 lead with 54 seconds left following a 10-yard TD pass from Bennett to AD Mitchell and a PAT.
*He connected for a 25-yard TD pass to Kenny McIntosh (3 rec., 49 yards, 1 TD and 5 rushes for 70 yards) to cap a 75-yard drive on eight plays in 5:01 to make it a 7-all with 3:15 left in the first quarter. It was the 2nd of the year for McIntosh. Following his INT, Bennett and the Bulldogs answered with a 75-yard drive in four plays to cut it to 21-14 with 9:16 left in the half. The drive was capped by Kendall Milton 11-yard run for his seventh TD of the year. *McIntosh had a season-long 52-yard rush. Bennett’s three-yard rushing TD tied the game with 6:07 left in the half.
*Georgia trailed by 14 in the fourth quarter and eventually cut it to 38-35 with 8:41 left following a 76-yard TD from Bennett to Arian Smith (career-high 129 yards on three catches) and a two-point play to Ladd McConkey. Georgia trailed 41-35 with 2:43 left.
*Georgia improved to 12-for-14 on 4th down this year, converting a 4th-and-6 at the 13 on a pass to TE Brock Bowers (4 rec., 64 yards) in the 4th.
The Georgia Bulldogs WIN the 2021 NATIONAL TITLE!
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Up Next: No.1 Georgia (14-0) will face No. 3 TCU (13-1) in the CFP National Championship Game in Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan. 9, 2023. Georgia is 4-0 all-time versus TCU including a 31-23 Liberty Bowl win in Smart's first season in 2016.
*The Bulldogs are 1-1 in the CFP National Championship Game. Georgia is now 5-2 all-time in the Chick-fil-A/Peach Bowl.
*Georgia is making its third appearance in the CFP and extended the nation’s longest active bowl streak to 26 straight years.
*The Bulldogs are 36-21-3 all-time in bowls, and the appearances and victories rank second nationally.
*The 2022 senior class added to its school record for wins as it now stands at 48-5.
*The Bulldogs have won 16 straight going back to last season’s CFP semifinal/Capital One Orange Bowl win over No. 2 Michigan.
*With today’s win, Georgia improves to 10-2 all-time as the No. 1 ranked CFP team including 4-0 in 2022.
Defense Survives Another Aerial Attack: Georgia came in ranked second nationally in Scoring Defense, allowing just 12.8 points a game while OSU came in ranked 2nd nationally in scoring (44.5). OSU posted 28 points in the 1st half on 248 yards of total offense including 238 through the air. The 28 points was the most allowed in 1st half this year and the Buckeyes finished with 467 yards on 66 plays including 348 in the air.
*Georgia trailed 7-0 in the first following a 31-yard TD pass from C.J. Stroud to Marvin Harrison. It marked just the fourth time this year that the opponent scored first (@ Missouri-FG, Tennessee-FG and Ga. Tech-TD). Georgia trailed 21-7 with 10:56 left in the first half, the largest deficit of the year (14).
*Georgia trailed 28-24 at the half, and it was just the second time this year the Bulldogs were behind at the half (Missouri led 16-6 on Oct. 1 in Columbia). In the 2nd half, OSU built a 38-24 advantage with :31 left in the 3rd quarter.
*Sophomore Javon Bullard was named the Defensive MVP tonight with three tackles, one TFL and a sack. Chris Smith had a team-high eight stops.
Special Teams Summary: Senior PK Jack Podlesny registered 11 points, going 2-for-4 in FGs (missed 47- and 52-yarder, made 31- & 32-yarder) with five PATs. He is 25-for-30 in FGs this year and finished tonight with a school record 141 points. He handled kickoffs too. His 32-yard field goal gave Georgia its first lead 24-21 with 1:44 left. Georgia’s first punt came in the 3rd quarter and freshman Brett Thorson finished with a 44.5 average on two.
Red Zone Review: Georgia finished 6-for-6 in the Red Zone with 4 TDs & 2FG while OSU finished 4-for-4 with three TDs and a FG.
*Georgia came in tonight ranked 1st nationally in the Red Zone at 97 percent. They have now scored 75-for-77 times including 52 TDs, 23 FGs and twice coming up empty. The Bulldogs came in No. 1 in Red Zone Defense and now opponents are 21-of-32 on the year with 12 TDs and 9 FGs with 11 times no points.
Points Off Turnovers: Georgia is now minus one in Turnover Margin on the year after a first half INT gave OSU the ball at the UGA30. It led to a TD and a 21-7 OSU lead with 10:56 left in the first half. Opponents have 57 points off 17 turnovers.
Captains, Coin Toss and For Starters: Seniors Nolan Smith (OLB), Chris Smith (FS) and Stetson Bennett (QB) along with redshirt sophomore Sedrick Van Pran (C) served as the captains. Georgia won the toss and elected to defer the ball until the second half. Sophomore Amarius Mims (RT) made his first career start in place of junior Warren McClendon who had started 37 consectuve games, the longest streak on the team.
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