Ad Disclosure
Georgia extends 4th-quarter drive in SEC Championship with fake punt
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Georgia pulled off a successful fake punt early in the 4th quarter of the SEC Championship Game against Texas, with the two teams tied at 13.
The fake punt was probably partially out of necessity for the Bulldogs: primary punter Brett Thorson was injured in the third quarter and ruled out for the remainder of the game, meaning Charlie Ham would step on in relief.
But with 4 minutes played in the 4th quarter and the Dawgs facing a 4th and 5 at their own 30 — with Ham set to punt — the snap instead went to Drew Bobo, who pitched it to Arian Smith, with Smith taking it 9 yards for the first down.
Here’s video of the play:
https://twitter.com/GeorgiaFootball/status/1865547561907482719
Georgia fans no doubt thought back to another notable fake punt on 4th down at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the 2018 SEC Championship Game against Alabama. That one didn’t come close to working out: with the Dawgs facing 4th and 11 at midfield and tied 28-28 with 3 minutes left, Justin Fields stopped well short of the first down marker.
Fortunately for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs, they picked this one up to move the chains and keep the drive rolling as Peyton Woodring’s chip-shot field goal made it 16-13 with 4-and-a-half minutes remaining. Things are getting tense in Atlanta with time running out.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
