Stetson Bennett, Javon Bullard named MVPs of Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl
ATLANTA, Ga. — Another post-season game, another MVP honor for Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett. He earned it in a comeback 42-41 over Ohio State on Saturday. Sophomore STAR/nickel Javon Bullard was named defensive MVP.
Bennett completed 23 of 34 passes for 398 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Bennett added a rushing touchdown. Two of his three touchdown passes came in the fourth quarter as Georgia outscored the Buckeyes 18-3 in the final stanza.
One of those was a 76-yard shot to Arian Smith. Bennett hit him behind the defense for the score and then connected with Ladd McConkey for the two-point conversion. The Blackshear then brought Georgia down the field on a drive that started with two minutes and 36 seconds left. He found AD Mitchell for the game-tying score. Jack Podlesny put the Bulldogs on top with the PAT.
Bennett adds the hardware to a case that already includes MVP honors for the Orange Bowl, the National Championship game, and the SEC Championship game. He also won the Burlsworth Trophy in 2022 and was invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy Ceremony this season. He finished fourth.
Bullard had as good of a day as any UGA defender. The Bulldogs struggled on that side of the ball but the Milledgeville native had three total tackles, all solo, with a sack, a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup.
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How it happened…
Georgia trailed Ohio State by 14 points on two separate occasions in Saturday’s game. The Bulldogs came back from 21-7 to take a 24-21 lead in the second half. Ohio State immediately took the lead back.
The second 14-point Georgia deficit was with just over 10 minutes left. Kirby Smart chose to kick the field goal on 4th and goal from the 12-yard line. That cut it to an 11-point lead. Then Bennett found Smith for the touchdown. Ohio State answered back with three points on a 47-yard field goal to make it 41-35.
Georgia had just over two and a half minutes in the game and it roared down the field. The big play was Bennett to Kearis Jackson for a 35-yard gain. The touchdown to Mitchell ended the scoring as Ohio State missed a 50-yard field goal in the final seconds.
