Throwback Thursday Turnaround: Cincinnati vs. Georgia in the 2021 Peach Bowl

Normally when we do a Throwback Thursday piece, it's usually to tell the historical side to Alabama football, or the venue, in relation to an upcoming game.

For the 2021-22 College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl Classic, we're doing something different: reminding Crimson Tide fans of what happened in last year's Peach Bowl, a game that helped launch both Cincinnati and Georgia into this years playoff.

A year ago, Cincinnati was 9-0 and ranked eighth when the playoff pairings were drawn up, pitting Alabama against Notre Dame in the relocated Rose Bowl, and then Ohio State for the national championship.

No. 8 Cincinnati drew No. 9 Georgia in the Peach Bowl. The Bulldogs had lost at Alabama and to Florida, and no one quite knew what to expect after they missed out on numerous team goals like the SEC Championship Game.

Moreover, 11 scholarship players, including five defensive starters, wouldn't play in the bowl game due to opt-outs to transfers and injuries.

The Bearcats, though, came ready to go.

Quarterback Desmond Ridder completed 24 of 37 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns, to wide receiver Alec Pierce and tight end Josh Whyle. Running back Jerome Ford had a career-long 79-yard touchdown run early in the second half.

Cincinnati led for most of game, including 21-10 in the fourth quarter, but ended up losing 24-21 on a Jack Podlesny’s career-long 53-yard field goal with three seconds left.

JT Daniels, the high-profile transfer from USC, helped rally the Bulldogs with his arm and finished with 392 passing yards. He also had an interception and lost fumble.

But Georgia got the spark it needed early in the fourth quarter from the defense, when linebacker Azeez Ojulari sacked Ridder, resulting in a fumble that the Bulldogs recovered at the 25. Two plays later, running back Zamir White scored around the left end for a 9-yard touchdown.

Georgia subsequently got within 21-19 with a 32-yard field goal from Podlesny on its next possession.

"We've been ready to play this game for a long time," Ridder said. "It's just, you know, disappointing, obviously, the way it ended."

Some important things to note from the game:

• The more the game went on the more the Georgia defense took control.

• Ojulari, who had a sack for a safety on the final play, was named the Defensive Player of the Game. He three sacks and two forced fumbles, as Georgia tied the school record for team sacks in a bowl with eight, matching the total set against Hawaii in the 2008 Sugar Bowl.

• Bearcats cornerback Ahmad Gardner did not play in the game. Cornerback Coby Bryant had an interception, while interior linebackers Darrian Beavers and Joel Dublanko both forced a fumble. Georgia wide receiver George Pickens had seven catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. The receivers found space to get open as evidenced by their 27 total receptions for 404 yards.

• Georgia converted just one third-down opportunity out of 11 chances. Cincinnati was 3 of 14.

• There were just 15,301 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium due to COVID restrictions.

Cincinnati used the game to show it could compete with Power 5 programs and gain some national respect.

"We're not there yet," Coach Luke Fickell said. "That's what keeps motivating you, and I think that, you know, there's a lot of things we're going to take from this that we know we can do."

Instead of having a potentially flat offseason, Georgia appeared to be re-energized by the comeback. It didn't suffer a loss until running into Alabama in the 2021 SEC Championship Game.

"I would feel much better if we just played our best game," Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said. "I don't think we played our best game. I want to give Cincinnati credit for that. They created some of that."

Cincinnati hasn't lost since the Peach Bowl, brining a 13-0 record into its semifinal game with the Crimson Tide.