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ATLANTA — For the bulk of the second half of its College Football Playoff semifinal game against Ohio State, it appeared Georgia was not going to get the chance to defend its national championship.
Then Stetson Bennett delivered yet another play for the ages. Bennett threw a 10-yard pass to Adonai Mitchell with 54 seconds left, leading the Bulldogs to an improbable 42-41 comeback victory over Ohio State on Saturday in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl and a spot in the national title game against TCU on Jan. 9.
The Buckeyes had one final shot to win, but Noah Ruggles’ 50-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left with 3 seconds left — setting off a wild celebration on the Georgia sideline, with Bennett running onto the field with his arms stretched out in victory.
Georgia, which entered the fourth quarter trailing 38-24, completed the largest fourth-quarter comeback in a CFP game.
“Our guys are extremely resilient,” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said. “We talked at halftime about some games that we have been in this year that we’ve been behind in. I had no doubt that our team would come out fighting. We didn’t play our best football game. A lot of that had to do with Ohio State.”
Georgia opened as a 13-point favorite over TCU at Caesars Sportsbook, the largest point spread for any College Football Playoff or BCS Championship Game. Miami (Florida) was a 12-point favorite over Ohio State in the 2002 BCS Championship Game.
The Buckeyes appeared to be in full control in the fourth behind C.J. Stroud and a defense that had dominated up front for the bulk of the game.
But Bennett showed the poise that led the Bulldogs to the national title a year ago. Despite trailing by 14 points headed into the fourth quarter, Georgia never wavered in its belief it would win the game. In fact, players remembered back to the Missouri game earlier in the season, when the Bulldogs entered the fourth quarter trailing by 10 points and won 26-22.
“We had been through something very similar at…
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