ATHENS – The vibes seemed bad for Carson Beck. Georgia’s quarterback couldn’t lead his team to a score in the first half. Now the Bulldogs ran three plays and punted to open the second. Beck appeared despondent when he came off the field. Teammate Tate Ratledge tried to console him, but Beck brushed past him.
The seventh-ranked Bulldogs were down 17-0 against rival and heavy-underdog Georgia Tech, and their quarterback seemingly was out of sorts.
“Obviously, I’m frustrated,” Beck said of the moment. “Everybody else is frustrated. I just had to get it out. There’s no reason to just hold it in and stay frustrated. Like, get it out and then move on next play.”
So, that’s what Beck did. There would be many, many more plays to come in this epic game at Sanford Stadium. Beck made lots of good ones as the Bulldogs rallied to tie the score with a minute left in regulation and beat Tech 44-42 in eight overtimes.
After that three-and-out, Beck ended Georgia’s scoring drought with a touchdown pass to Oscar Delp. His second TD throw trimmed Georgia’s deficit to a touchdown. Beck tossed another TD pass to tie the score in regulation and one in each of the first two overtime periods before the rules turned the game into attrition by two-point attempts.
“I’ll have to look at the tape to really see how he played,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of Beck. “But I know how he leads.”
Smart said Beck doesn’t usually show much emotion during games. That’s what was notable when he showed open irritation on the sideline early in the third quarter. Beck said the message from Ratledge was simple: “Just keep going.”
“I should have emotions,” Beck said. “Obviously I’m gonna be frustrated when we haven’t scored at all. We got to go put points up on the board. Our defense needs us. They’re doing their job. We got to do ours.
“I was just frustrated, and (teammates) were just coming over to pick me up.”
Beck picked up the Bulldogs from there. Through the three-and-out on the first drive after halftime, he was 11-of-20 passing for 115 yards. From that point on he was 17-of-23 for 182 yards and five touchdowns.
The Yellow Jackets outplayed the Bulldogs for most of the game. They had a chance to put Georgia away when they started a drive with 3:33 left in regulation and a 27-20 lead. Georgia’s defense gave Beck another chance. Dan Jackson forced a fumble that teammate Chaz Chambliss recovered at Tech’s 32-yard line with 2:02 left.
The Bulldogs had a chance to tie or win a game that seemed to be a lost cause not long before. What was Beck’s mindset at that point?
“We’re going to go win the game, 100%,” he said. “I feel confident in those situations. We practiced it. I’ve been through it. We’ve done it. If the ball is in my hands, we’re going to go win.”
That’s what happened, eventually. The teams played so many overtime periods that, in the immediate aftermath, Beck couldn’t recall how many there were.
Starting with the third OT, the teams alternated two-point tries. Both failed to convert in the third and fourth overtimes. They traded scores in the fifth OT before both teams failed to convert in the sixth and seventh overtimes.
“I think it’s definitely the craziest game I’ve ever been a part of,” Beck said. “But our group showed that we were resilient tonight. And we’ve shown that over and over this season, that regardless of the circumstances, we’re never going to give up.”
The eighth overtime set the record for longest SEC game. Tech went first and couldn’t score. Georgia won the game on Nate Frazier’s run for two points. Smart said the Bulldogs had two options for the play, and Beck picked the right one.
It turns out that Beck’s sideline frustration was a temporary condition.
“Carson’s fine,” Smart said. “I’m sure he got frustrated. We all get frustrated. Carson composes himself and goes and plays the next play. That’s all he can do. He’s seen it all and been around it. It’s not something that stresses me out with him.”
Beck didn’t save Georgia’s season. The Bulldogs could have lost this game and still made the College Football Playoff by winning the SEC Championship game Dec. 7. But, thanks to Beck, Georgia extended its home win streak to 31 games and beat Tech for the seventh consecutive time.
Beck said it could be his final home game for Georgia. If the Bulldogs win the SEC title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, they almost surely will get a bye into the second round of the playoff. Beck is expected to declare for next year’s NFL draft though he stopped short of saying so after this game.
Beck lingered on the field after the emotional victory.
“I just took a second and looked around and tried to take it all in and just enjoy it,” Beck said.
