No. 2 Texas and No. 5 Georgia took the thrilling (and sometimes sloppy) SEC championship game on Saturday into overtime — a first for the conference’s title matchup — and the Bulldogs rallied to come out on top, 22-19.
With the victory, Georgia will get a first-round bye in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, and while the CFP selection committee will reveal the whole field Sunday, Texas is almost certainly in the playoff as well.
Georgia won the overtime coin toss, and Texas started with the ball but had to settle for a field goal and a 19-16 overtime lead with the Bulldogs getting the ball next.
After Georgia quarterback Carson Beck was injured on the last play of the first half, backup Gunner Stockton replaced him for the majority of the second half. But after a hard hit in overtime, Stockton lost his helmet and was forced to sit out the next play.
Enter Beck, who handed the ball off to running back Trevor Etienne for a four-yard touchdown run and the victory. And ESPN’s Chris Fowler delivered an electric call of the championship-winning moment:
GEORGIA WINS THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP!
Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit with the SEC on ABC call. pic.twitter.com/Kqx1suZyeu
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 8, 2024
“Etienne in the I-formation. They hand it to him. TOUCHDOWN! GEORGIA SEC CHAMPIONS! As ever dawg digs really deep.”
And then Fowler played it perfectly by letting the moment land.
The Georgia radio call was pretty fantastic too:
The Georgia radio call of the SEC Championship walk-off TD with Scott Howard on the play-by-play.
Followed by Kirk Herbstreit: "I love hearing those local calls. There's just nothing better than that…" https://t.co/yvVSW3vDwR pic.twitter.com/9lWaw5MhCG
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 8, 2024
“Beck under center, hand it to Etienne, straight ahead! TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN! Dawgs are SEC champions!”
In Beck’s absence, Etienne stepped up and led the Bulldogs’ offense. He finished 94 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, along with five catches and 28 receiving yards.
