ATHENS, Ga. — Freshman Nate Frazier ran for a 2-point conversion within the eighth extra time of a marathon for the ages after No. 6 Georgia pulled off an inconceivable fourth-quarter comeback, giving the Bulldogs a 44-42 victory over Georgia Tech.
After falling behind 17-0 at halftime Friday and being dominated a lot of the sport, the Bulldogs (10-2, No. 7 CFP) might have locked up a spot within the College Football Playoff — regardless of how they fare in subsequent weekend’s Southeastern Conference championship sport.
Carson Beck threw 5 landing passes, two of them in extra time, in a sport the Bulldogs by no means led till after regulation ended 27-all.
Georgia Tech (7-5) was led by Haynes King, who ran for for 3 touchdowns and threw for 2 extra. But the Yellow Jackets took their seventh straight loss to the Bulldogs, the top coming just some minutes after midnight on a frigid night time between the hedges.
Frazier took a handoff from Beck and burst up the center, sending fireworks into the sky above Sanford Stadium.
It was the longest sport in SEC historical past and only one extra time shy of the file for any FBS sport — Illinois’ 20-18 victory over Penn State in 2021 that went to 9 additional durations.
King scored on an 11-yard run to offer Georgia Tech a seemingly snug 27-13 lead with 5:37 remaining, however the Bulldogs drove 75 yards in eight performs to offer themselves an opportunity. Beck linked with Dominic Lovett on a 17-yard landing cross with 3:39 to go.
Then, the Bulldogs’ protection compelled an enormous turnover by King after struggling to comprise the slithery quarterback a lot of the sport. He stored it himself on third-and-1 — solely to cough up the ball on a giant hit by Dan Jackson.
Chaz Chambliss recovered the fumble on the Yellow Jackets 32, and Beck shortly guided the Bulldogs to a tying landing on a 3-yard cross to Lovett with 1:01 left in regulation.
Then, it was on to extra time — and a sport that simply stored going and going.
Beck and King threw matching landing passes adopted by typical additional factors. Then it was King scoring on a 1-yard run, solely to have Beck reply with a 25-yard scoring cross to Cash Jones. Both groups did not convert their 2-point tries, so it got here right down to nothing however 2-point tries.
Both groups transformed within the fifth OT, however Frazier lastly ended it by working it in from the three within the eighth additional interval.