ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia Bulldogs were struggling to get anything going against Texas, and there was little reason to be hopeful of a turnaround with their quarterback crumpled on the turf. Enter a guy who had barely played in his college career.
Little-used backup Gunner Stockton came off the bench in the second half after an injury to Carson Beck and led No. 5 Georgia to an improbable 22-19 overtime victory over the No. 2 Longhorns in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday.
The Bulldogs (11-2) won their third SEC title under coach Kirby Smart, but the trophy comes with an even bigger prize — a first-round bye in the new 12-team College Football Playoff. Georgia came into the game ranked fifth by the CFP, but now it is assured of playing in the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal game on New Year’s Day as the No. 2 seed in pursuit of its third national title in four seasons.
“This team never, ever says no,” a jubilant Smart said amid the falling confetti at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Texas (11-2, No. 2 CFP) was denied an SEC title capper to its first season in the league and will host a first-round game on either Dec. 20 or 21. Both of its losses have been to the Bulldogs, who prevailed 30-15 when the powerhouse programs met in Austin during the regular season.
“This stings,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “But we get a chance to regroup in a couple weeks and get into the College Football Playoff and go compete for a national championship. I think we’re plenty good enough to go win that.”
The big question for Georgia amid the celebration was the health of Beck, the two-year starter who went down on the final play of the first half with an injured throwing arm. Smart would only call it an “upper extremity” injury and said an MRI would determine the extent of the damage.
Stockton, a third-year sophomore, had played only six games in his college career — all of them mere mop-ups of blowout wins. He guided the Bulldogs to a touchdown and two field goals before taking a hard hit on a run in overtime that sent his helmet flying.
“This kid is a winner,” Smart said. “This kid is special.”
Beck, who could barely lift his arm, came back in the game for first-and-goal at the 4. All he had to do — and could do — was hand off to Trevor Etienne, who powered into the end zone to end the first overtime game in the SEC championship’s 33-year history.
Georgia went beyond regulation to win for the second week in a row, following up an eight-overtime, 44-42 victory over Georgia Tech in the regular-season finale.
This one was even sweeter, especially after losing its offensive leader.
“We’re beat up, we’re tired, we’re mentally fatigued,” Smart said. “But I don’t know if I’ve ever had a more mentally tough team. They just keep coming, keep coming. They never say die.”
Beck went down on a wild final play of the first half while trying to heave one into the end zone. Trey Moore knocked the ball away with a blow to the right arm, setting off a scramble that ended with a couple of laterals and a Georgia lineman being tackled with the ball.
More concerning for the Bulldogs, Beck remained on the turf holding his throwing arm while teammates hovered over him. He finally trotted slowly to the locker room, but Smart said his day was done.
Not quite.
After holding Texas to a field goal on the opening possession of overtime, Stockton had to leave the game for at least one play after his first-down run ended with the blow that knocked off his helmet.
One play was all the Bulldogs needed from Beck.
“When we got the play and everybody saw it was Carson, we were pretty juiced up,” offensive lineman Tate Rutledge said.
Etienne took the handoff from Beck and powered up the middle. The ailing quarterback threw up his left arm in celebration, his right arm dangling by his side.
Quinn Ewers threw for 358 yards and Texas’ lone touchdown, but he was sacked six times and had a pair of interceptions — both by Daylen Everette, who was picked as the game’s MVP.
The Longhorns had a 260-54 edge in total yards in the first half, but continually hurt themselves with penalties and led only 6-3. They finished with 11 flags for 94 yards, including a false start that wiped out a field goal.
Faked out
In one of the biggest calls of the game, Georgia drove for a go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter set up by gutsy fake after punter Brett Thorson was sidelined with an injury.
On fourth-and-5 at their own 30, the Bulldogs snapped the ball to protector Drew Bobo — son of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo — who flipped it to Arian Smith coming around end for a 9-yard gain that was technically a pass.
“He will go down with a higher passing percentage than his father,” Smart quipped, referring to Mike Bobo’s quarterback days for Georgia in the 1990s.
The Bulldogs were also quite fortunate. They fumbled twice after the fake but managed to recover both times before settling for Peyton Woodring’s third field goal, which made it 16-13 with 4 1/2 minutes left.
Takeaway
Texas: This one really has to sting for the Longhorns, who squandered a prime chance to finish off their SEC debut season with a championship. The running game struggled to get anything going, finishing with just 31 yards on 28 carries. And there are plenty of questions about an offensive line that gave up a total of 13 sacks in the two losses to the Bulldogs.
Georgia: The best thing for the Bulldogs is earning extra rest for the playoff, especially with Beck ailing. But give plenty of kudos to Stockton, who completed 12 of 16 passes for 71 yards and shook off an interception that gave Texas a chance to drive for Bert Auburn’s 27-yard field goal with 18 seconds left that sent the game to OT.
Up next
Texas: The Longhorns will host a first-round game, but now they have to win four games to capture a national championship.
Georgia: Smart says he plans to celebrate for maybe 48 hours — instead of his customary 24-hour rule — because the Bulldogs don’t play again for nearly four weeks.