Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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30 JANUARY 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED QUARTERFINAL PREVIEW: GEORGIA C O L L E G E F O O T B A L L P L A Y O F F BY JACK SOBLE W ith so many constants from its dynasty run gone, it was the new faces who put Geor- gia over the top in overtime of the SEC Championship Game. In overtime, Texas started with the ball and faced a third-and-long. Red- shirt junior quarterback Quinn Ewers found sophomore running back Quin- trevion Wisner in the flat, hoping for a catch-and-run and a first down. How- ever, Georgia freshman safety KJ Bolden said, "No chance." Bolden brought down Wisner with a textbook tackle, holding the Longhorns to a field goal and giving the Bulldogs a chance to win right then and there. On Georgia's ensuing possession, ju- nior running back Trevor Etienne — a transfer from rival Florida — plunged in for a 22-19 Dawgs win. Etienne had missed the past three games with a rib injury, but he told UGA head coach Kirby Smart that there was no way he'd miss the SEC Champion- ship. The game MVP went to junior de- fensive back Daylen Everette for his 2 interceptions, but Smart said it should have gone to Etienne. "He stood up in front of the team and told the team, like, 'I don't know how y'all feel about this game because I haven't been here. But y'all have played in it a lot, and I haven't. And I want to play in this game,'" Smart said. "I knew right then, I said, 'This dude is going to play if he can.'" That's who Georgia has been this season. The Bulldogs have lost as many games in 2024 as they lost in 2021-23 combined, and they faced statistically the toughest schedule in America. But they kept reloading, just like they re- loaded their roster this offseason, and kept bouncing back. It's why they earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, where they'll await the winner of No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 10 Indiana in the Sugar Bowl at 8:45 p.m. ET on Jan. 1 in New Orleans. Head coach Kirby Smart's Bulldogs have lost just four games over the past four seasons, with two of the defeats occurring this year. PHOTO COURTESY GEORGIA DAWG DAY If Notre Dame gets past Indiana, the Irish will face SEC champion Georgia in the quarterfinals