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Crazy Eights: Georgia’s Dancing to the CFP

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dkjfsjfoiajfkad. Whatever that translates to is the best way to describe Friday night’s clean, old-fashioned hate in Athens. The storylines went as follows. Georgia’s toast (we’ll keep it PG for you young readers)! Why the hell did we go for two? We have life! What formation was that? How does overtime work? Does anyone have a cigarette? OMG, WE WON! Georgia came back from a 17-0 halftime deficit to defeat Georgia Tech 44-42 in 8 OTs. The win means that Georgia is dancing its way into the College Football Playoff. It wasn’t easy, nor was it pretty, but the game epitomized the rivalry: clean, old-fashioned hate. Rather than try to recap all of the action, we’re not sure we could even if we tried. Let’s take a look at three key storylines before we look ahead to what this game means in the big picture.

Almost a King

‘King Wrecks Georgia’. That was the headline for most of the night. Haynes King the Georgia Tech quarterback epitomized the Ramblin’ Wreck spirit for the Yellow Jackets and damn-near-willed Tech to victory Saturday night. King had 50 touches on the night and made one mistake that opened the door for the Dawgs to walk their way back into the game. King finished the game, by completing 26 of 36 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns.

That was good, but his legs almost put Georgia’s dancing shoes on the shelf. King rushed the ball 24 times for 110 yards and three touchdowns on the night. Yellow Jacket offensive coordinator did a masterful job of using run-pass-option concepts to slow the Georgia defense and put King and the Tech offense in advantageous positions. That was maybe the most puzzling part of the Yellow Jacket’s call sheet in overtime. Faulker tried to attack Georgia using King’s arm rather than his legs. King had his opportunity in the 7th overtime to put Tech up but was stuffed by CJ Allen, one of the Georiga heroes Saturday night.

CJ Allen and Dan Jackson Lead Georgia’s Dancing

CJ Allen and Dan Jackson were the MVPs on Saturday night. Their selfless play and tenacity fueled Georgia’s comeback and victory. Georgia has a strong history with walk-on players. Stetson Bennett, you may have heard of him, delivered the Dawgs back-to-back national championships a few years ago. Jackson is a sixth-year safety and former walk-on. While many Dawg fans yearned for Caleb Downs to come to Athens in the offseason, Jackson continued putting in the work. He has shown out this season and is one of the leaders of the Georgia defense. He made one of the biggest plays of the season. Jackson forced a King fumble on 3rd and 1 with just over two minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Chaz Chambliss recovered the fumble to set the Dawgs up at Georgia Tech’s 32-yard line. Georgia would score five plays later to tie the game for the first time with just 1:01 left in the game. King seemed unstoppable until that point. That was the spark that ignited the Georgia defense.

Jackson wasn’t the only hero. Allen, Georiga’s linebacker and another leader, seemed to come alive in the 4th quarter and overtime. Glenn Schumann blitzed Allen twice at the end of the game causing two tipped passes (the last one that was almost intercepted). It was Allen too that would make the final stop on King. He blitzed forcing King to throw off his back foot incomplete on the Yellow Jacket’s final possession, giving Georiga one more chance to finish the game.

Goonies (Carson Beck) Never Say Die

Carson Beck doesn’t quit. Beck struggled most of the night against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets like to seemingly play keep away on offense, having long drives and amping up the pressure of opposing offense to make a play. Beck helped Georgia climb out of their 17-0 halftime hole by leading the Dawgs to four touchdown drives on all four second-half possessions. The Georgia quarterback threw for almost 300 yards and five touchdowns on the night with no interceptions. Beck also used his legs to pick up a key first down late in the fourth quarter that helped set up Georgia’s game-tying score. In overtime, Beck was on target with at least two or three throws that could have ended the game sooner. Drops and lack of a consistent running game have plagued Georiga all season, but Beck’s grit and determination ensured that Georiga’s dancing would continue a bit longer.

Crazy Eight’s: Georgia’s Dancing to the CFP

With the win, Georiga punched its ticket to the College Football Playoff. ESPN put the Bulldog’s chances of making the playoffs at 97% with their win against Tech. Let’s take a quick look at what’s on Georgia’s dance card coming up.

First Stop: Atlanta

Georgia will return to Mercedes Benz Stadium next week to play for the SEC Championship. This marks the 12th time in the last 23 years and the 7th trip in Kirby Smart’s eight years that the Dawgs will have a chance to play for the title. Who they will play is yet to be determined. They will play the winner of Texas and Texas A&M. The two teams play in College Station on Saturday night at 7:30 pm EST. Georgia defeated the Longhorns earlier this year in Austin. This would mark only the third time they would play the Aggies since they joined the conference in 2014.

CFP Scenarios

If Georiga wins the SEC Championship, they will likely secure some much-needed rest and a first-round bye. The four highest-rated conference champions earn byes in the College Football Playoff. Georiga would likely slot behind the Big Ten winner (Oregon or Ohio State) and rank ahead of any other conferences. Should Georgia lose, they would likely secure an at-large spot.  Depending on how the rest of the weekend plays out and next week’s conference championships, the Bulldogs would likely be able to host a home playoff game in Sanford.

Photo Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The post Crazy Eights: Georgia’s Dancing to the CFP appeared first on Last Word on College Football.