Ohio State’s hopes way off
Ruggles’ 50-yard fieldgoal attempt sails wide left, sending the Bulldogs to SoFi.
NO. 1 GEORGIA 42 NO. 4 OHIO STATE 41
ATLANTA — Kirby Smart will ask his Georgia players to execute better when the Bulldogs play for second straight national championship next week, but the coach knows he can’t ask his players to be more resilient.
Georgia remains undefeated because the Bulldogs never gave up while rallying from two-touchdown deficits in each half for a thrilling College Football Playoff semifinal 42-41 victory over Ohio State that ended early Sunday.
Stetson Bennett capped No. 1 Georgia’s final comeback with a 10-yard, lastminute scoring pass to Adonai Mitchell for the Peach Bowl victory over No. 4 Ohio State.
“Our guys are extremely resilient,” Smart said. “I had no doubt our team would come out fighting.”
Georgia (14-0) will play No. 3 Texas Christian, which beat No. 2 Michigan 51-45 in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal, on Jan. 9 for the national championship.
The Bulldogs, who won their first national title since 1980 last season, will play for the first back-to-back championships in school history.
Ohio State led 21-7 in the first half and 38-24 in the fourth quarter.
“If we want any chance of winning the national championship, we’ve got to play a lot better football than we played tonight, but we’ve got to keep our resilience,” Smart said.
The final comeback held just after midnight Sunday when Noah Ruggles’ 50-yard field goal attempt for Ohio State with three seconds remaining sailed wide left, setting off a celebration on the Georgia sideline.
“That probably was the most fun game I’ve ever played in my life,” said Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, who threw four touchdown passes. “It just sucks it comes down like that.“
Ohio State (11-2) bemoaned its inability to protect the two-touchdown lead in the final quarter.
“If we’re going to win these games we can’t give up those big, explosive plays,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said.
Bennett’s 76-yard scoring pass to Arian Smith, followed by Bennett’s pass to Ladd McConkey on the twopoint play, cut it to 38-35.
Ruggles’ 48-yard field goal gave the Buckeyes a 4135 lead, leaving only 2:36 for Bennett and Georgia’s offense.
“I looked around and there were just a bunch of determined strong stares from all the dudes,” Bennett said of the huddle before the drive. “It gave me confidence.”
Bennett’s go-ahead scoring pass to Mitchell with 54 seconds remaining, Stroud led the Buckeyes back with a 27-yard run to the Georgia 31. The missed field goal set off the Georgia celebration that left Bennett in tears.
“That was a good game,” Bennett said. “These stats are pretty much dead even across the board. Yeah, that one was special.”
Ohio State shut out Georgia in the third quarter while the Buckeyes pulled away with 10 points.
Bennett, who joined Stroud as one of four Heisman Trophy finalists, finished the game strong, completing 23 of 34 passes for 398 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He had a three-yard scoring run.
Stroud’s second scoring pass, a 16-yarder to Harrison, gave the Buckeyes a 21-7 lead. Stroud, who graduated from Rancho Cucamonga High, escaped pressure on the play before passing to a diving Harrison in the end zone.
Georgia scored the next 17 points for a 24-21 lead.