With 40 days to go, we’d be remiss if we didn’t insert the Bennett to Mitchell play as your daily Dawg P*rn. The “changed everything” part might be up for debate, but this play felt like the shift to “being the hunter” in the 2022 National Championship game.
There was a fire in that play where it suddenly felt like the elephant was finally ready for the fall. One thing I’ve pointed out in times since, the block by Cook was huge. While it was a free play, the quick read to neutralize Harris, Bennett’s smooth side step to adjust, and an absolute dime to Mitchell became the haymaker we needed in what was looking like another “what could’ve been” moment against the Tide.
Bennett’s “fumble” had occurred a few minutes prior to this, with Georgia leading 13-12. Alabama would punch it in moments later on a short pass to Latu, which put the Tide at a 71.6% probability of winning the game with just ten minutes left in regulation. Georgia would score on the play above raising our win probability to 56.7%, and five minutes later, the Business Man took it in on a beautifully executed play.
The score moved our win probability to 94.8%, but years of bad and dumb luck left me wondering where the devastating and crippling moment was coming. 2nd and 26. Murray to Conley off the quick snap. Edwards dropping a ball he’s caught a million times before. Dobbs to Jennings. Tyler Simmons was onsides. So it went, in the past.
A few moments later, we had our answer. I cried, you cried, the Mailman cried…we all finally felt the curse and the Tide fall off our shoulders. The rest, as they say, is history. You already know how it ends, but here it is again because who doesn’t love this…
Go Dawgs!
“2nd” and 26….
I give 13 all the credit in the world for recognizing he had a free play,
finding his best dude and chucking it up there.
But Mitchell makes that play. The ability to subtlety give himself just enough room without either drawing a flag or confirming to the corner that the ball was coming and then securing it, was damn impressive. Lots of qbs can make that throw. Few wr’s are coming down with that ball in well played man coverage. The best catch in a big moment in Georgia Football history, by a lot. Truly sublime.
If you want to see 13 throw some dimes, turn on his last drive vs. OSU. Holifuk.
That OSU 2 minute drill was a a damn pigskin DaVinchi
The gap between perfection and grossly reckless there is one I am unqualified to assess. I would love to have a great qb look at that throw to Bowers followed by the one to Jackson and answer this for me:
“is that greatness or just sheer luck like drawing two lottery tickets in a row?”
Who throws a back shoulder down the fucking hashmark??!?!
Either way, everything from ten minutes to play in Indy all the way to L.A. was simply miraculous. I don’t know how that stretch of games can ever be improved upon.
Fixed the “3rd” part. My head was telling me that but my fat fingers on my device said otherwise. Apologies! JP
Its a pretty trivial distinction….. BUT I can’t let it go because I think Kirby should have called a TO there. I think the kids needed to get their focus back. I think they were celebrating early. Second down was bama’s “go” play. On third you have to get some yards to try and give your kicker a shot at a tie. On second, you chuck it up and try and end it. In fact, IF they were in Cover 2 as everyone tells me they were, a TO may have led to a reconsideration. (I see cover 3 because Baker bails so hard on it but everyone I talk to about it says I am wrong. Either way 24 is not DYJ-ing and whatever the fuck Parrish was doing, who knows? All I can think is that if Parrish bails out like Baker did on the other side that ain’t a TD.) A soft zone coverage possibly with a blitzer probably makes more sense there. Make him hold it, worry about a mistake and probably pull it down and try and run. The only way you lose is giving up a big play on second down. An 8 to 12 yard gain there and you’re still in great shape. I’m making sure I have at least three guys thinking “nothing gets behind me.” Cutting someone loose deep there is unforgivable by somebody. Maybe there was a miscommunication. We’ll never know.
A lot of people are thinking that I should get over it and quit rehashing that over and over and over…. While undeniably true, if it were going to happen, it already would have…
Bennett can never be charged with having a weak arm. He flipped that 40-yard TD about 60 yards with just one step and a flip of the wrist. Mr. Derek, Bennett was just not going to let OSU win that game. He took the last 15 min. of that great win on his shoulders and won that game for UGA. What a great year.
GO DAWGS
Take away the two starts vs alabama: one at bama and the one vs. bama in the seccg and he never finished a game in a loss. I think he finished 30-2 as a starter (I can’t give him the L vs. UF since he left up 14-0 and injured.) Plus, he had a save against Arky. I wish he would have had one more shot at bama in 2022 to even up the record. Because he hadn’t been given the reins before 2022, I try to look past a lot of the issues we saw in 2020 and 2021. When he got the team and was the guy in 2022, no one has been more perfect at qb than Stetson Bennett. Ck this stat: Jake Fromm was 0-6 as a starter when he threw it over 30 times. Stetson was 7-0 in such contests in 2022. Legend.
It never, never, never gets old … just like Belue to Scott.
The 5 postseason games SBIV put together in a row from Michigan to TCU is pretty darn incredible.
Hell. I still cry every time I see that Ringo 6
You beat me to it. I just choked up watching that myself. What an amazing feeling to exorcise those demons after all those years. Go Dawgs and let’s do it again in 2024!
What I really enjoy about that moment (the pick 6) is Kirby telling, yelling, signaling at Ringo to get down. Technically, Kirby may have bee correct: #11 from Bama was trying to catch Ringo and closing, Ringo had the ball in his left hand (the right hand would have been safer) so avoiding an unfortunate thing like a fumble was important – the clock was going to be run out as long as we don’t lose the ball. But if I am Ringo I am running at least until I can’t see green grass and Kirby would have run, too as a player.
(Read in Larry Munson’s voice): When 5 intercepted that ball Kirby was yelling at him to get down.
I did.
You did too. We all did.
But by God’s Grace and some Good Dawg luck Ringo just kept going. I don’t know why or how but he decided he was going to score and the whole team was going to make sure he did.
And he did.
For all of us. For Kirby. For Vince, and Erk, and Zeier and Fromm and Greenie, and Murray and Conley, and Terrance Edwards and Tyler Simmons. And for the folks in St. Simon’s and Hahira. In Athens and Atlanta. Kelee put them all on his back, hunkered down one last time and ran to the endzone – a miracle if I ever saw one.
Loran, whaddyagot?
well Larry, I was hollering “run mother fucker run!”
back to you Larry.
“We hit ‘em in the fucking face with a gd tire iron with Mitchell!! Then Zeus and Cook and Bowers and that BIG OL went full prison shower mode on them and then Ringo dances with all of their dates while they sit there and watch while all of their dreams evaporate. Its over Nick! You’re done. Quit now before you really have all of your self respect stolen by someone like Harbaugh!!!
Now get me out this fucking place and back to Georgia. I left fucking Minnesota for a reason! Ncaa pricks. Who chose this place for anything other than a car race in July ya idiots! If any of you out there have a problem with any of this I can be reached at 706-FUC-KYOU. Now where’s that 40 year old scotch I’ve been saving!”
If Stetson doesn’t get a statute at UGA then there is something very very wrong. He had the guys around him but it was the Mail Man that delivered the ball.
everything changed after the fumble. as has been said before, Bennett went into a phone booth after the fumble and came out wearing a cape.
Something that is not talked about much is Monken’s playcalling after Bennett emerged from the phone booth. Straight heat
Coach Monken is the best OC I have ever seen, and I have been around this game a long time.
Your “Monken playcalling” was kinda’ like, he had some plays to call and this is whut we are gonna’ do here, giddy up 1 call after another, after another, after another, once he could, not only see, he could feel the opposition d back peddling, he just did whut coaches do, stick it to the opposition…GO DAWGS!!
I mean, you could post this every day, and I’m loving it. Go Dawgs!!
Damn that was fun to re-live. Thanks
The best damn ending of any game I’ve ever watched. There have been more consequential ones in terms of final score, but none of them ever felt so good or meant so much. And the lead-up to the pick set the stage perfectly. I’ve enjoyed plenty of games before and since and hope to enjoy plenty more in the future, but I don’t see how anything could match – much less surpass – the catharsis of Ringo snagging that ball.
Dammit, I just cried again. At 4:18pm on a workday.
I watched that with my twins and wife in my sports cave. They had just graduated UGA and, while they loved the dogs, they had endured a lot of disappointment (as had I as a graduate in 1990).
It was our favorite moment as Dawg fans. You can bet your ass we cried!