Georgia's decision to pass the ball instead of running out the clock proved costly in their Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame. The Bulldogs' controversial play call allowed Notre Dame to score just before halftime, ultimately leading to their defeat.
From Georgia's very first offensive possession against Notre Dame in Thursday's Sugar Bowl, it was clear that the Bulldogs were in trouble. The Irish defense was all over Gunner Stockton, who was making his first career start replacing an injured Carson Beck. Still, Georgia's defense kept them in the game for almost 30 minutes until Kirby Smart's team got the ball at their own 25-yard line down 6–3 with 39 ticks left until halftime.
The choice was to run the clock out and regroup at intermission or try to push the ball down the field for a game-tying field goal. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo dialed up a pass, as Stockton was strip-sacked and Notre Dame recovered the ball 13 yards away from paydirt. One play later Riley Leonard found Beaux Collins in the end zone for a 13–3 lead, which Georgia was never able to overcome. It was a strange choice at the time and indefensible in retrospect. Paul Finebaum reliably ripped the toxic aggressiveness during a'It was just a terrible call in every respect,' Finebaum said. 'Don't put the game in hands when you're only three points behind.' 'It was just a terrible call in every respect. ... don't put the game in hands when you're only 3 points behind.'Kirby Smart will have a full offseason to ruminate on the choice. If it's any consolation it didn't seem like a victory was in the cards for Georgia even if they'd taken a knee in that situation. Probably not.Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital
COLLEGE FOOTBALL UGAR BOWL GEORGIA BULLDOGS NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH COACHING DECISIONS
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