NEW ORLEANS — Locked in a defensive struggle in which neither team gained 300 yards, Georgia coach Kirby Smart made an aggressive but ill-fated decision late in the first half of the Sugar Bowl.
Right after Notre Dame took a 6-3 lead on a 48-yard field goal, Smart had untested sophomore quarterback Gunner Stockton drop back to pass from his 25-yard line with 38 seconds left instead of running out the clock. Defensive end RJ Oben broke through for a strip-sack, and the Fighting Irish’s Junior Tuihalamaka fell on the ball at the Bulldogs 13.
One play later, Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard hit Beaux Collins for a 13-yard touchdown.
Just like that, No. 2 Georgia (11-3, CFP No. 2) trailed 13-3 in a game in which every point was precious. The No. 3 Fighting Irish (13-1, CFP No. 5) went on to , ending Smart’s bid for his third national title with the Bulldogs.
“Typically when you’re down, you need every possession you can have, and we made a decision that we were going to be aggressive and we were going to try to go two-minute, and that’s what everything says you should do,” Smart said. “You can’t give up possessions when you’re trailing. We felt like we had a little quick-game pass. Certainly not counting on getting beat that quick at left tackle, and got a sack-fumble, which gave them some momentum.”
Actually, the Bulldogs already had lost momentum. Their previous possession lasted all of 31 seconds — counting the punt.
Taking over at his 14 with 3:40 left in the half, Stockton threw three consecutive incomplete passes — the last two while scrambling away from pressure — giving Notre Dame time to move into field goal range.
But Smart continued to trust his struggling offense, even though Stockton had thrown only 35 career passes before replacing injured starter Carson Beck for the second half of the Bulldogs’ 22-19 overtime victory against Texas in the SEC championship game.
While the move backfired, Smart defended his thought process.
“We got an opportunity to go score,” he said. “We worked two-minute every week. I don’t question that call, because I really agree with the decision to be aggressive.”
Stockton went 20 of 32 for 234 yards, including a perfect strike to Arian Smith for a 67-yard gain that set up a go-ahead field goal in the second quarter and a 32-yard touchdown pass to wide-open running back Cash Jones that closed the deficit to 20-10 in the third.
The Bulldogs did very little outside of those plays, though, producing 62 yards rushing while Stockton was sacked four times.
“It just hurts,” guard Tate Ratledge said. “This team’s got one goal, and that was to win a national championship.”
Georgia outgained Notre Dame 296-244 but went 0 of 3 on fourth downs, 2 of 12 on third downs and allowed a 98-yard kickoff return to open the second half.
Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman frequently outmaneuvered Smart. The last time came when Notre Dame rushed its punt team off the field and its offense back on while facing a fourth-and-1 at its own 18 with 7:17 left.
In the commotion, Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker jumped offside, and the Fighting Irish did not punt until the two-minute mark.
“I’ve been told by our head of officials in the SEC that you can’t do that, you can’t run 11 on, 11 off,” Smart said. “We got our defense out there. We were fine. They were going to hard-count us. We prepare for that, but we jumped offsides.”
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