Ohio State Falls Agonizingly Short Against Georgia In Playoff Semifinal
Ohio State held a 38-24 lead with 31 seconds left in the third quarter, but the No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs came roaring back to extinguish the Buckeyes' hopes of winning a national championship.
The Bulldogs scored a touchdown with 54 seconds left to beat Ohio State 42-41 and end the Buckeyes' season in gut-wrenching fashion. Noah Ruggles had a chance to win the game with 8 seconds left, but his 50-yard field goal attempt missed wide left.
The Buckeyes' toughness was tested in the second half. Losing Stover in the first quarter and Marvin Harrison Jr. late in the third quarter was a brutal blow for an offense that was absolutely cruising. But the Buckeyes still had a chance late and needed to make a stop late, and they couldn't get it done.
C.J. Stroud's final game as a Buckeye was extremely memorable - perhaps the most gutsy performance of his career.
He became just the fourth quarterback to throw for 300+ yards and four touchdowns against a Kirby Smart-coached Georgia defense (Joe Burrow in 2019, Mac Jones and Kyle Trask in 2020). But ultimately they couldn't come up with a play to put away the game.
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The first half was a terrific back-and-forth affair. Stroud found Harrison on two touchdowns and threw a go-ahead score with less than a minute to play in the first half, lobbing a perfectly thrown ball to Xavier Johnson, who spun away from a tackler and scored. Miyan Williams added a rushing score.
Defensively, the Buckeyes gave up a few big chunk plays that were certainly irritating. But they also came up with a critical interception that quickly turned into another score. Unfortunately, they also gave up a couple of tough, long plays in the second half - including a 76-yard TD pass that gave the Bulldogs life when it needed it most.
Much more to come after the postgame press conference.
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