ATLANTA — The Georgia Bulldogs were struggling to get anything going against Texas, and there was little reason to be hopeful of a turnaround with their quarterback crumpled on the turf. Enter a guy who had barely played in his college career.
Little-used backup Gunner Stockton came off the bench in the second half after an injury to Carson Beck and led No. 5 Georgia to an improbable 22-19 overtime victory over the No. 2 Longhorns in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday.
The Bulldogs (11-2) won their third SEC title under coach Kirby Smart, but the trophy comes with an even bigger prize — a first-round bye in the new 12-team College Football Playoff.
Georgia came into the game ranked fifth by the CFP, but now it is assured of playing in the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal game on New Year’s Day in pursuit of its third national title in four seasons.
“This team never, ever says no,” a jubilant Smart said amid the falling confetti at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Texas (11-2, No. 2 CFP ) was denied an SEC title capper to its first season in the league and will host a first-round game on either Dec. 20 or 21. Both of its losses have been to the Bulldogs, who prevailed 30-15 when the powerhouse programs met in Austin during the regular season.
“This stings,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “But we get a chance to regroup in a couple weeks and get into the College Football Playoff and go compete for a national championship. I think we’re plenty good enough to go win that.”
The big question for Georgia amid the celebration was the health of Beck, the two-year starter who went down on the final play of the first half with an injured throwing arm.
Smart would only call it an “upper extremity” injury and said an MRI would determine the extent of the damage.
Stockton, a third-year sophomore, had played only six games in his college career — all of them mere mop-ups of blowout wins. He guided the Bulldogs to a touchdown and two field goals before taking a hard hit on a run in overtime that sent his helmet flying.
“This kid is a winner,” Smart said about his backup. “This kid is special.”
Beck, who could barely lift his arm, came back in the game for first-and-goal at the 4. All he had to do — and could do — was hand off to Trevor Etienne, who powered into the end zone to end the first overtime game in the SEC championship’s 33-year history.
Georgia went beyond regulation to win for the second week in a row, following up an eight-overtime, 44-42 victory over Georgia Tech in the regular-season finale.
This one was even sweeter, especially after losing its offensive leader.
“We’re beat up, we’re tired, we’re mentally fatigued,” Smart said. “But I don’t if I’ve ever had a more mentally tough team. They just keep coming, keep coming. They never say die.”
Beck went down on a wild final play of the first half while trying to heave one into the end zone.
Trey Moore knocked the ball away with a blow to the right arm, setting off a wild scramble that ended with a couple of laterals and a Georgia lineman winding up with the ball.
More concerning for Georgia, Beck remained on the turf holding his throwing arm while teammates hovered over him. He finally trotted slowly off the field, but Smart said his day was done.
Not quite.
After holding Texas to a field goal on the opening possession of overtime, Stockton had to leave the game after a first-down run ended with a hit that knocked off his helmet.
“When we got the play and everybody saw it was Carson, we were pretty juiced up,” offensive lineman Tate Rutledge said.
Etienne took the handoff from Beck and powered up the middle. The ailing quarterback threw up his left arm in celebration, his right arm hanging by his side.
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers threw for 358 yards, but was sacked six times and threw a pair of interceptions.
The Longhorns had a 260-54 edge in total yards in the first half, but continually hurt themselves with penalties and led only 6-3. They finished with 11 flags for 94 yards, including a false start that wiped out a field goal.
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Faked out
In one of the biggest calls of the game, Georgia drove for a go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter with a bit of chicanery and plenty of good fortune.
With punter Brett Thorson sidelined with an injury, the Bulldogs called a gutsy fake on fourth-and-5 at their own 30.
The short snap went to protector Drew Bobo — son of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo — who flipped it to Arian Smith coming around end for a 9-yard gain on what was technically a pass.
“He will go down with a higher passing percentage than his father,” Smart quipped, referring to Mike Bobo’s quarterback days for Georgia in the 1990s.
The Bulldogs fumbled twice after the fake but managed to recover it both times before settling for Peyton Woodring’s third field goal that made it 16-13 with 4 1/2 minutes left.
