Georgia rallies from 17 down, tops Georgia Tech in 8OT shootout

ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia freshman Nate Frazier ran 3 yards for a two-point conversion in the eighth overtime period, leading No. 7 Bulldogs to a wild 44-42 victory over rival Georgia Tech in the longest game in SEC history at Sanford Stadium on Friday night.

The Yellow Jackets had the ball first in the eighth overtime. Quarterback Haynes King threw a pass that sailed into the back of the end zone after he was pressured by linebacker CJ Allen.

Georgia wasted no time in finally putting away Georgia Tech, with Frazier taking a pass and running up the middle, sending the red and black crowd into a frenzy.

Frazier’s touchdown run capped one of the more memorable comebacks in Georgia history and one of the most exciting finishes in the intrastate rivalry known as “Clean Old-Fashioned Hate.” It was the Bulldogs’ 31st straight win at home and seventh straight over Georgia Tech.

None were as hard to get as Friday night.

It was the first time the Bulldogs — who closed as 17.5-point favorites.per ESPN BET — overcame a deficit of 17 points or more since 2006. It was just the second time in the past 20 seasons they rallied from a 14 – point deficit in the fourth quarter.

After failing to score a point in the first half for the first time since 2019, Georgia’s offense finally got things going in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs scored 21 points in the final 8:18, including twice in the final 3:39, to hand the Yellow Jackets one of their most painful losses of the series.

After both teams failed to convert 2-point conversion attempts in the third and fourth overtimes, quarterback Carson Beck finally found Dillon Bell on a slant pattern to give the Bulldogs a 42-40 lead in the fifth. But Tech answered back, with King finding Malik Rutherford to tie the game and send the game into a sixth overtime.

In the sixth OT period, Georgia safety Dan Jackson hit and sacked King. But then Georgia also failed to convert; receiver Arian Smith failed to catch a pass in the back of the end zone that was tipped by Bell.

Beck threw for five touchdowns with 297 yards on 28-for-43 passing.

King was even better, completing 26 of 36 passes for 303 yards with two scores. He also ran for 110 yards and three touchdowns on 24 attempts. According to ESPN Research, King is the first player with at least 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns against an AP top-10 team.

The Yellow Jackets led 17-0 at the half and took a 27-13 lead with just over 5½ minutes left.

Down by 14 in the fourth quarter, Georgia’s odds to win the game were as long as 10-1 at ESPN BET.

But Georgia’s offense, which had struggled with dropped passes and missed assignments for most of the game, scored two touchdowns in the final 3:39 of regulation to tie the game.

King, who made countless big plays with his right arm and leg, made a critical mistake when he lost a fumble on third-and-1 at the Tech 31 with 2:02 left. Jackson caused the fumble and defensive end Chaz Chambliss recovered the ball at the Tech 32.

On third-and-9 from the Tech 13, Beck scrambled for 10 yards and a first down. On the next play, he fired a 3-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Lovett with 1:01 left. Peyton Woodring’s extra point kick tied the game at 27-27.

Eight overtime periods later, the finish came just minutes after midnight.

Only one overtime was short of the record for any FBS game — Illinois’ 20-18 win over Penn State in 2021 that went to nine extra periods.

ESPN’s David Purdum contributed to this report.