Georgia won the game 42-41
By Ryan Gaydos
Due to a missed field goal by the Buckeyes late in the game, Georgia avoided Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinal on Saturday.
The Bulldogs won the game 42-41 thanks to two touchdown passes from Stetson Bennett in the fourth quarter. In the end, he scored a total of four touchdowns. Kirby Smart, the quarterback’s coach, refrained from lavishing praise on the player simply because Georgia miraculously prevailed.
Smart said immediately after the game that Bennett has to buckle down.
“He showed great competitive character, but he’s got to play within our system and he’s got to do what he’s coached to do or you can’t win games,” Smart said as his players celebrated. “He didn’t get those opportunities until the defense stopped them and we got fortunate to stop them a couple times. He must play better if we expect to win the next one.”
Ohio State quickly took the lead, 21-7, and maintained it at the half, 28-24. The Buckeyes were in the lead 38-24 entering the fourth quarter when the frenzied fourth period turned the game around. Bennett was sacked four times and had an interception. Georgia only completed 2 of 10 third down attempts.
“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 added in the postgame press conference.
Georgia will now meet TCU for a shot at back-to-back national championships.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
