At the stroke of midnight
By George Somerville
The Georgia vs Ohio State match up lived up to all of the hype and more. But few, if any could have pictured the end to this colossal contest. Perfect in timing but glorious and painful for opposing teams and fans.
Just at the point we were debating whether TCU beating Michigan in the earlier College football play-off semi final was the greatest play off game we had seen, along came the Dawgs v the Buckeyes.
There is no question that the heavyweight slug-fest between Georgia and Ohio State was a game for the ages, but it was the ending – and the context in which the game ended – which was perfect in every way and will be remembered for generations to come.
The game played on New Year’s Eve (or Hogmanay in my part of the world) kicked off just after 8pm local time, meaning that the game in its final stages was nearing midnight in Atlanta.
By request, here is the multicam view of the feed from Times Square, All-22, and ESPN, Georgia, and Ohio State radio calls, as it happened onscreen live: pic.twitter.com/k775T4VNTo
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 1, 2023
"No Good, No Good - He's Hooked It"
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) January 1, 2023
The game was a classic with Ohio State taking an early lead which they maintained through half time, the whole of the third quarter and into the fourth.
However, two touchdowns in quick succession for Georgia, first from Arian Smith and then quickly followed by captain and quarterback Stetson Bennett gave the Bulldogs the all important lead for the first time with moments left in the game.
Ohio State trailed by one point but were short on time. Quarterback CJ Stroud, who had an extraordinary game, worked miracles once again to get his team into field goal distance. And this isn’t an exaggeration. With Georgia taking the lead for the first time in this game to lead 42-41 and under a minute remaining, the Buckeyes could and should have folded. But Stroud had one more burst of energy in him to get the Buckeyes into field goal range. Buckeyes dead eye kicker Noah Ruggles was left with a kick of around 50 yards to win the game and propel the Buckeyes into the National Championship game.
The teams lined up with only 8 seconds left on the clock.
As befits a game of this magnitude, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart used his third and final time out to ice the kicker.
Furthest from Kirby’s mind would have been the time. The actual time on his watch, not the game clock. However, the timeout meant that the clock had turned 23:59 inside the Mercedes Benz stadium.
2023 was beckoning. Times Square was waiting on that ball dropping.
The timing was perfect as the snap happened with 2 seconds to midnight and the ball sailed wide left of the posts on the stroke of midnight. Disney could not have scripted it better. The stadium erupted into a scene of celebration, despair and complete chaos.
Heartbreak for Ruggles and the Buckeyes. Ecstasy for Smart, Bennett and the Georgia Bulldogs.
Calling the game for ESPN/ABC Chris Fowler’s immortal words will ring for years to come……
“From the fifty and for a spot in the National Championship game….It’s on the way, no good! He hooked it! Georgia is going to survive…at the stroke of midnight, the first few moments of 2023……”
A Win For The Ages
If you are reading this it’s because you already know that college football is full of chaos, controversy and unpredictability. But the Peach Bowl win took all this to a new level, mostly because the chances of a Georgia comeback so late in the final quarter were so slim. In fact less than slim.
Per ESPN stats teams leading by 14 or more points at any point of the 4th quarter were 19-0 in College Football Playoff games, meaning Georgia becomes the first team to win a CFP game after trailing by 14+ in the 4th.
However this is a great Georgia football team. How great? Well, the next week will tell us much about the legacy that Kirby Smart is building.
Next up is TCU who were worthy winners over the bookies favourites Michigan. TCU clearly caught Michigan by surprise, but the good news for Georgia is that they now have the Horned Frogs on tape from the Fiesta Bowl game. But TCU are no pushovers. Their victory over the Wolverines endorsed the Play off committees view that they should have been on the final four.
The National Championship game in Los Angeles in 10 days time is shaping up to be a thrilling contest.
Stetson in Hollywood? You couldn’t script this. Or maybe they already did.
george somerville
College football writer
A GLASWEGIAN LIVING IN LONDON, GEORGE IS A COLLEGE FOOTBALL FAN WHO FOLLOWS THE ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE. HE PROVIDES CFB CONTENT FOR THE TOUCHDOWN AND IS ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST.