All that is fun, right, weird, and wonderful about college football displayed itself between the hedges on a chilly Friday night as the Georgia Bulldogs defeated rival Georgia Tech, 44-42, in eight overtimes.
Imagine a bases-loaded, two-out situation in baseball. Bottom of the ninth. Score tied. Three-two count. And a playoff berth on the line.
Foul ball.
Now imagine this happening for 16 straight pitches. The same stakes are at hand each time, and the drama builds. The finish is hidden from view until the 16th pitch. This is what happened, in a football sense, on Friday night.
There may not be any eight-overtime games in the College Football Playoffs, but the first expanded field will hold a similar excitement. It will be a vast departure from a game that traditionally refused to decide things on the field.
What is fun
There is no current system where this year’s Georgia Tech team and the Bulldogs would both have the resume to qualify for the postseason. But this game shows what could happen if the door is opened for a bigger field.
If you think the four-team playoff system solved the bowl-bound issues, it did in a small way. But college football fans will see a vast difference in a 12-team playoff. And when the NCAA expands to 16 — and eventually 32; trust me, it will happen because $$ rule — it will become more evident.
The thrill ride provided by the Bulldogs— who needed a win to avoid a do-or-you’re-done situation in the SEC championship game — and Georgia Tech will play out several times in this first postseason.
What is right
Think about the performance of the players for Georgia Tech, especially quarterback Haynes King. Have you ever seen that much effort in a game? The agonizing missed opportunities, first in regulation and then overtime, never sapped the battle from the Yellow Jackets players.
Why did it take eight overtimes for the Bulldogs to win? Because neither team deserved to lose, played out in real time instead of a quaint cliche.
What is weird
Georgia has been this kind of team. There’s plenty of talent, but sometimes the Bulldogs can’t figure out how to use it. They’ve looked awful at times, like against Ole Miss and Alabama. And they’ve looked other worldly at times, like against Tennessee and that same Alabama team.
Against its biggest non-SEC rival, the Bulldogs couldn’t get anything done on offense in the first half. They trailed 17-0. But in the second half, they couldn’t be stopped. Even down by 14 points, they buzzed the length of the field in a couple of minutes for a touchdown.
More what is fun
College football’s overtime procedure is a thing of beauty. It needs only one tweak. The 25-yard process should be capped for one series only. Teams should have to go for two points after the first series. Overtime No. 2 and beyond should be the 3-yard-line shootout.
You could even make a case for going straight to the shootout. Starting at the opponent’s 25 isn’t any more “real football” than beginning at the 3-yard line. And if three hours of football can’t decide the issue, do teams need more standard chances?
Friday’s game produced one of the most entertaining stretches of football the game has ever seen. With something real on the line, every play turned into that bases-loaded, two-out situation.
What is wonderful
The postgame hug between Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart and Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key perfectly capped the incredible evening.
It would have made sense in today’s world for Key to gruffly push Smart aside with a rough handshake and a scowl. Instead, these mentally weary men hugged for a long time. They probably knew deep down inside they had been part of something that may never happen again for this rivalry. It must have been difficult to leave the field.
The respect they showed each other, despite the bitterness of the rivalry, provided what is wonderful about college football.
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