Georgia wins thriller
Rallies past Oklahoma, will take on Alabama
Sony Michel burst through the line for a 27yard touchdown run in the second overtime to give No.3 Georgia a 54-48 victory last night against No. 2 Oklahoma, winning the first overtime Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., and sending the Bulldogs to the College Football Playoff championship game.
Michel, who had a fumble in the fourth quarter returned for a go-ahead Oklahoma touchdown, ran for 181 yards and three scores for the Bulldogs (13-1), but none bigger than the last.
“I made plays. I gave up plays. My team just had faith in me,” said Michel, who did all that damage on just 11 carries. “That’s what this team is all about. They showed true character today.”
In the final game of his great career, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns, and caught a touchdown pass that gave the Sooners a 17-point lead with 6 seconds left in the first half.
But the Heisman Trophy winner could not get the Sooners into the end zone in the first overtime when a touchdown would have ended the game.
The Bulldogs will play Alabama on Jan. 8 for the national championship in Atlanta, about 90 miles from their campus — with a chance to win their first national title since 1980.
“We got to get back to work. It’s not done,” Michel said. “Now we got to finish. Let’s just finish this season off right.”
The first overtime Rose Bowl was also the highest scoring, surpassing last year’s 52-49 USC victory against Penn State. There was a lot more on the line in this one, which will go down as one of the greatest Granddaddies of Them All.
After an offside penalty on Georgia gave Oklahoma a first down on third-and-five in the second OT possession, the Sooners stalled again and Austin Seibert came out for a 27-yard field goal. Leaping through the line, Lorenzo Carter got his outstretched hand on the kick and the ball fluttered down short of the uprights.
Any score would have ended it for Georgia, and on the second play Michel slipped one tackle and was home free. The Bulldogs sprinted off the sideline and toward the corner of the end zone to mob Michel. Meanwhile, Mayfield stood motionless on the sideline for several seconds, bent over with his hands on his knees and head down. Mayfield battled flu-like symptoms the week leading into the game, but he played just fine.
“I can’t believe it’s over. It’s been a wild ride,” said Mayfield with a hoarse voice before he started to cry.
Michel and his running mate Nick Chubb were awesome for Georgia. Chubb ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns, including a 2-yarder on a direct snap with 55 seconds left in regulation to tie it.
Both teams settled for field goals in the first overtime, and the Bulldogs and Sooners played on, but not for much longer.
Alabama 24, Clemson 6 — A pair of defensive players scored touchdowns 13 seconds apart in the third quarter, and the No. 4 Crimson Tide dominated the top-ranked Tigers in the Sugar Bowl semifinal game to give coach Nick Saban another shot at his record sixth national title.
The third straight playoff meeting between the college football powerhouses was a dud compared to their previous two meetings, both high-scoring classics with the national championship on the line.
Without Deshaun Watson, Clemson (12-2) simply has no answer for Saban’s latest group of defensive standouts, sending Alabama (12-1) to an all-Southeastern Conference showdown against Georgia.
Da’Ron Payne, a 308-pound defensive lineman, hauled in a 1-yard touchdown pass to put the Tide ahead 17-6. On Clemson’s next play, Kelly Bryant’s pass deflected off the hands of his receiver and was picked off by Mack Wilson, who returned it 18 yards for a clinching touchdown.