ATLANTA — So it seems convention championships between two playoff-bound groups nonetheless have an entire lot of significance … particularly if a kind of groups appears to be like very totally different after the sport than it did earlier than.
A yr in the past virtually to the day, the school soccer world realized that typically, undefeated isn’t adequate to make the playoffs, when you lose your beginning quarterback alongside the best way. Georgia isn’t undefeated, not even shut, and the Bulldogs additionally misplaced Carson Beck, their beginning quarterback, within the SEC championship. How will Beck’s harm have an effect on Georgia’s playoff prospects going ahead?
Georgia eradicated any want for a CFP choice committee judgment name by successful the SEC championship 22-19 in OT over a mistake-prone Texas. While it is unlikely Georgia will fall out of a No. 2 seed, because of its power of schedule, it is potential. And it is nonetheless an open query as to only how injured Beck is.
“He’s acquired an higher extremity harm,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart stated of Beck after the sport. “We do not know to what extent. Basically we checked out it in there. It appeared OK. But he could not have grip power and throw the ball within the locker room. It was a bit of bit painful for that. We must on the finish of the day (discover) out precisely what is going on on, have an MRI, look into it.”
Beck was injured on the ultimate play of the primary half, a chaotic sack and fumble that very practically ended up as a Texas landing. Beck remained inclined on the sphere for a number of seconds after taking the sack.
At the conclusion of halftime, three Georgia quarterbacks started warming up on the sideline, and none of them had been Beck. Backup Gunner Stockton acquired the nod, and he instantly led a motivated Georgia offense to the primary landing scored by both crew on the afternoon. Later within the third quarter, Stockton drove Georgia deep into Texas territory and got here away with a discipline objective.
“Of course it is by no means an excellent factor when your beginning quarterback goes out,” Georgia offensive guard Tate Ratledge stated after the sport. “I feel it was massive for everyone within the locker room to let Gunner know that we believed in him and had full confidence in him to get the job performed.”
Texas, for its half, confronted two foes on Saturday: Georgia, and its personal repeated errors and penalties. Texas penalties stored Georgia within the recreation the primary half, negating two interceptions and a made discipline objective. Texas errors, together with two missed discipline targets, gave hope to the Georgia sideline and motivation to the overwhelmingly pro-Georgia crowd in Atlanta.
“The problem in video games like that is to maximise the alternatives once you get them,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian stated. “In the primary half we had some nice alternatives, and we simply could not capitalize the best way we’d have favored.”
And then got here the fourth quarter, and these two groups remembered that they had been enjoying for the championship of the mighty Southeastern Conference. Texas struck first, night the rating at 13 on a Quinn Ewers dart to DeAndre Moore for 41 yards and a landing.
On its very subsequent drive, Georgia executed a flawless, gutsy pretend punt on fourth-and-5, catching the Longhorn protection napping with an end-around run for 9 yards. Twice on the drive, Georgia fumbled the ball, and twice recovered its personal fumble. Georgia managed the ball for 9:22 of the fourth quarter, protecting 72 yards in 16 performs, however could not fairly punch within the ball and needed to accept a go-ahead discipline objective to place the rating at 16-13.
So that put the ball in Ewers’ arms with 4:32 remaining and the SEC championship on the road … and Ewers promptly threw the ball straight into the arms of Georgia’s Daylen Everette. That marked Everette’s second interception of Ewers on the afternoon and gave Stockton the chance to bleed clock.
But then Stockton’s inexperience confirmed, to devastating impact. On a damaged play, he heaved up a move towards the Texas sideline that ended up within the arms of Texas’ Jahdae Barron. That gave Ewers one other likelihood to show himself. He got here by with a clutch fourth-and-4 conversion with simply over a minute left within the recreation, and his end-zone move to Ryan Wingo drew a vital pass-interference name on Georgia that put the ball on the Georgia 14 with 35 seconds remaining.
Ewers could not put the ball into the tip zone, and that meant Texas’ destiny would depend on the foot of kicker Bert Auburn, who had missed twice already. His 36-yard try flew true, tying the sport at 16 with 18 seconds remaining.
In extra time, Texas took the ball first. Ewers misfired on move after end-zone move, and once more the Longhorns needed to accept a discipline objective try. Again, Auburn transformed, this time from 27 yards out, to provide the Longhorns a 19-16 lead.
That put the ball in Stockton’s arms once more. After guiding the Bulldogs right down to the Texas 12, he took off and ran the ball himself, taking a vicious, helmet-loosening hit from Texas’ Andrew Mukuba on the 4-yard line. One play later, Trevor Etienne pressured his manner into the tip zone for a 22-19 Georgia victory. (Beck, nonetheless in pads, subbed onto the sphere handy the ball off on the game-winning play, however he was noticeably uncomfortable.)
The query now going through Georgia is how injured Beck is, and what impact which may have on the notion of the Bulldogs. Injuries and speculative results shouldn’t affect a college’s seeding … however as 2023 confirmed, accidents can negate a complete season’s work within the eyes of the CFP choice committee.
Last yr, Florida State completed the common season undefeated and gained the ACC championship even if it misplaced quarterback Jordan Travis to season-ending harm alongside the best way. When deciding on the members of the four-team bracket, the College Football Playoff choice committee determined that Travis’ absence made Florida State a materially worse crew and chosen Alabama because the fourth seed as an alternative.
Georgia didn’t undergo a direct high quality drop-off after Beck left the sport; certainly, the Bulldogs appeared far sharper within the third quarter round Stockton than they’d all first half round Beck. But the late fourth-quarter interception was a brutal blow that allowed Texas to tie the sport and drive extra time. Fortunately for Georgia and Stockton — and in contrast to final week’s eight-overtime victory in opposition to Georgia Tech — the Bulldogs solely wanted one extra time interval to erase that mistake and declare the SEC title.
