Exactly one week ago, Texas A&M didn’t just remind everyone of the legitimacy of the name “March Madness.” It took Division I basketball somewhere it had never been.
The Aggies were down by 12 points with 44.3 seconds left against Northern Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. That was before Texas A&M staged the largest comeback in the final minute of a game in Division I history.
On Thursday, the Aggies’ season came to an end in the Sweet 16 against Oklahoma.
Their incredible comeback, though, got me wondering about the largest comebacks in SEC bowl history.
I figured Texas A&M would also be on that list. And they are. However, nothing tops this one.
2000 Outback Bowl: Georgia 28, Purdue 25 (F/OT)
The Bulldogs were blitzed by Drew Brees’ Boilermakers.
Coach Jim Donnan’s club got run off the field almost as soon as the game started. Brees completed 11 of 15 for 157 yards and 3 TDs, tossing scores on each of Purdue’s first three possessions of the game. The future NFL Hall of Famer then connected with Chris James for a 32-yard touchdown to put Purdue up 25-0 early in the second quarter.
Brees finished the game with 378 passing yards, which broke Kentucky QB Tim Couch’s Outback Bowl record. However, there was one downside that would come back to haunt the Boilermakers: Their kicker wasn’t ready for this game. Travis Dorsch missed all three of his field goal attempts in addition to a costly extra point in that first quarter.
Had he made those kicks, it would’ve made it that much harder for Georgia to pull off the biggest bowl comeback in SEC history.
Georgia got rolling behind freshman receiver Terrence Edwards, who took an end-round 74 yards to the house to energize the lifeless Bulldogs. Georgia kicker Hap Hines added a 32-yard field goal to bring the halftime deficit to 25-10.
An 8-yard TD run by UGA QB Quincy Carter and a successful 2-point conversion brought the Bulldogs within a touchdown. Then, Carter hooked up with TE Randy McMichael, a score that eventually forced the game to become the second bowl ever decided in overtime.
(Coincidentally, Georgia had gone to overtime in its previous game against rival Georgia Tech, losing 51-48.)
Dorsch once again let Purdue down by missing a 43-yarder. Then, Hines easily drilled a 21-yarder to lift Georgia to the win.
2013 Chick-Fil-A Bowl: Texas A&M 52, Duke 48
The Aggies’ rally against the Blue Devils was Johnny Manziel’s last collegiate game, and it was a masterpiece.
Texas A&M was trailing 38-17 at halftime before scoring 21 of the first 24 points in the second half to cut the deficit to 41-38. In that span, Manziel managed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Travis Labhart and a 3-yard TD run of his own, while Tra Carson scampered 21 yards for a score.
After going down by 10 points with a little less than 7 minutes left, a 44-yard TD pass to Derel Walker made it 48-45.
However, the go-ahead score came from the Aggies’ defense.
Toney Hurd Jr. intercepted Duke QB Anthony Boone, then returned it 55 yards for a touchdown to provide the winning 52-48 margin.
Manziel finished 30-for-38 passing for 382 yards, 4 TDs and no interceptions while rushing 11 times for 73 yards and another score. The performance led to a comeback that’s tied for the second-biggest in SEC bowl history.
“I was in a zone I haven’t been in before,” Manziel said after the game. “Ever. I just wanted this game.”
2005 Independence Bowl: Missouri 38, South Carolina 31
The Gamecocks couldn’t contain Brad Smith forever.
South Carolina went up 21-0 in the first quarter, getting in the end zone on each of its first three possessions. A 99-yard interception return for a TD from Marcus King seemed like it would jumpstart the Tigers, but the Gamecocks responded by putting together a 7-play, 64-yard drive capped by a Mike Davis 2-yard TD run.
Missouri’s dual-threat QB put on a show after that.
Smith accounted for 431 yards of Missouri’s 504 total yards. His 5-yard TD toss to Chase Coffman was preceded by touchdown runs of 32, 4 and 1 yard. The last one followed South Carolina’s 30-yard field goal to tie it 31-31 and lifted Missouri to the 38-31 victory.
It was a bitter end to Steve Spurrier’s first season in Columbia, which featured a five-game winning streak that included wins over ranked Tennessee and Florida teams.
1984 Sun Bowl: Maryland 28, Tennessee 27
Finishing up the trio of 21-point comebacks, we’ve reached back to find an SEC team that came out on the wrong side.
No. 12 Maryland trailed unranked Tennessee 21-0 at halftime.
Johnny Majors’ squad surely did not expect the Terrapins to wave the white flag. The previous month, Maryland shocked everyone by erasing a 31-0 halftime lead by scoring 42 second-half points in a 42-40 win at defending national champion Miami. Terps backup QB Frank Reich led that miraculous victory, and he was back at it against Tennessee.
Maryland only needed the third quarter to regain the lead, 22-21. However, the Vols’ Pete Penuska returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to put UT back up 27-22.
Maryland fullback Rick Badanjek, who was named the game’s MVP, ran it in from 1 yard out to clim the only score of the fourth quarter and secure a 1-point win.
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
