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O’Gara: Trevor Etienne came to Georgia to do exactly what he did to Texas in the SEC Championship
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ATLANTA — You couldn’t wipe the smile off of Trevor Etienne’s face.
He was roughly a half hour removed from getting swarmed by his teammates after his walk-off touchdown in overtime to give Georgia an SEC Championship victory against Texas. Etienne, in full pads and an SEC Championship hat, soaked in every bit of that moment with good reason.
Etienne was nearly a month removed from the last time he saw the field. A rib injury that he suffered against Florida limited him against Ole Miss the following week, and ultimately, it sidelined him in UGA’s final 3 games of the regular season.
Perhaps most important, Etienne was nearly a year removed from his polarizing move to cross enemy lines by transferring from Florida to Georgia for his junior season. That move became even more polarizing after Etienne went on new teammate Tate Ratledge’s podcast, “Real Talk,” and spoke about why he left “a losing team” for Georgia.
“I can either be Running Back 2 on a losing team, or go somewhere – I wanted to play in December, too. That also played a big part in me transferring,” Etienne said in March (H/T On3). “So I said, I can stay Running Back 2 on a losing team or go somewhere and possibly be Running Back 1 and win a natty.”
Playing in December? Check. Playing well enough to lead Georgia to the first overtime win in SEC Championship history? Check that one, too. Win a natty?
First things first. Be present.
“I can’t say there’s many feelings that are better,” Etienne said. “This is why you come to Georgia.”
It’s true. Etienne was part of a pair of losing teams at Florida, and the only postseason game he ever played in was a 30-3 loss to Oregon State in the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl. His UGA teammates admittedly weren’t locked into that one.
“I told them about the bowl game we went to in Vegas and they was lookin’ at me crazy,” Etienne said. “So I was just like, yeah, ‘I want this one bad.’ Words can’t explain how much I wanted to win this game.”
Georgia needed Etienne bad after Carson Beck was sidelined for the second half after taking a hit on a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the second quarter. Well, Beck returned in overtime for Etienne’s walk-off touchdown because Gunner Stockton suffered a vicious hit that knocked off his helmet and forced him to the sideline.
The good news? Beck was able to get the ball into the belly of Etienne, who saw a Texas linebacker over-pursue and squeezed across the goal line.
“Perfect handoff,” Etienne said. “Best handoff of my life.”
The absolute scenes from Georgia’s OT win in the SEC Championship pic.twitter.com/0yD45WlW48
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 8, 2024
The bad news? Beck’s status is uncertain moving forward. As much as Etienne put the offense on his back Saturday — he finished with 122 scrimmage yards (94 rushing, 28 receiving) and 2 touchdowns — the health of Beck will be a hot topic moving forward. Kirby Smart said that Beck has an “upper extremity injury” and that UGA doesn’t know the extent of it yet. Georgia does know that it’ll get some much-needed extra rest having earned a first-round bye in the Playoff.
Etienne might not feel like he needs a break after a month of letting his rib injury heal. It was an unfamiliar feeling for him having not missed any significant time since suffering a broken leg during his freshman year of high school.
“With a rib injury, there’s nothing you could really do for it, but time,” Etienne said. “How am I supposed to just sit around and do nothing?”
Georgia opted not to rush Etienne back and to play it conservatively. Even though that meant watching the 8-overtime struggle against Georgia Tech huddled up next to the heaters on the sideline instead of taking overtime handoffs, Saturday’s return made it worth it.
“This is the biggest game of my life,” Etienne said. “I went to a state championship in high school. I’m not happy with the outcome of the game. I won’t say the score. But just to be able to win something like this is huge.”
(Etienne later realized that someone would probably look up the score, so he admitted it was 50-something to 14 … 51-14 was the final.)
Etienne was huge Saturday, just as he was the first time Georgia played Texas. Back when those teams met in October, Etienne tied a career-high 3 touchdowns in the 30-15 victory. When Etienne reached the end zone for the first time Saturday — it was a play in which he dragged Texas defenders across the goal line and looked like the best version of himself — it marked his first touchdown since that night in Austin. In those 2 wins against Texas, UGA scored 5 touchdowns … all on Etienne runs.
But let the record show, according to Etienne, it was tough sledding early against that sound Texas defense.
“I looked at the scoreboard one time and I had -6 rushing yards,” Etienne said. “You can’t just say I run over Texas because they did a great job.”
Fair. After all, Texas had a 260-54 yards advantage at halftime, and 90 of Etienne’s rushing yards came after the break.
It’s also fair to say that Texas probably wouldn’t want to see Etienne and Georgia again in the Playoff if it can avoid it. Selection Sunday will determine the likelihood of that. UGA seems like a lock to earn the No. 2 seed.
As for what to expect from Georgia, well, that’s anyone’s guess. The Dawgs were the first 2-loss team to win an SEC title since 2007 LSU. It was a year that featured more variance than perhaps any variance under Smart. Between the roller-coaster loss to Alabama, the nail-biter against Kentucky and the blowout loss at Ole Miss, there were plenty of moments that made it fair to question UGA’s stranglehold on the sport. Shoot, even the 17-0 halftime deficit to Georgia Tech that Etienne watched from the sidelines felt like a microcosm of this UGA season.
“After the Bama game, I was like, ‘We never panic. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,’ Etienne said. “It turns out it’s been good for us because no matter the situation, no matter what happens, I believe I have complete confidence in this team.”
And Georgia should have complete confidence in Etienne being a focal part of this stretch run. It’s safe to say he’s fully on board with that.
As Etienne smiled from ear to ear, surrounded by reporters, he referenced something he saw earlier on Saturday during the College GameDay piece on Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel. “We’re chasing memories,” Gabriel said.
“When he said that, man, I felt it,” Etienne said. “I’ll remember this forever. No matter what happens, no matter how many more games I win, I’ll remember my first SEC Championship.”
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
