Georgia prevails in two overtimes against Oklahoma to win Rose Bowl, advance to CFP final

PASADENA, CALIF. – After ending the first Rose Bowl ever to go into overtime, one of the greatest Granddaddies of Them All, Sony Michel was swarmed by Georgia teammates as he broke down in tears.

The senior tailback had gone from goat to hero and sent the Bulldogs to the national championship game.

Michel burst through the line for a 27-yard touchdown run to give No. 3 Georgia a 54-48 victory over No. 2 Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinal Monday night.

Michel, who had a fumble in the fourth quarter returned for a go-ahead Oklahoma touchdown, ran for 181 yards and three scores for the Bulldogs (13-1), but none bigger than the last one in the second overtime.

"I made plays. I gave up plays. My team just had faith in me," said Michel, who did all that damage on just 11 carries. "That's what this team is all about. They showed true character today."

In the final game of his great career, Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns, and caught a touchdown pass that gave the Sooners a 17-point lead with 6 seconds left in the first half.

But the Heisman Trophy winner could not get the Sooners (12-2) into the end zone in the first overtime when a TD would have ended the game.

The Bulldogs will play SEC rival Alabama on Jan. 8 for the national championship in Atlanta, about 90 miles from their campus. After Georgia made its first trip to the Rose Bowl since 1943 a rousing success, the Bulldogs will play for their first national title since 1980.

"We got to get back to work. It's not done," Michel said. "Now we got to finish. Let's just finish this season off right."

The first overtime Rose Bowl was also the highest-scoring, surpassing last year's 52-49 Southern California victory over Penn State. There was a lot more on the line in this one, which will go down as an all-time great.

Both teams settled for field goals in the first overtime. In the second, after an offside penalty on Georgia gave Oklahoma a first down on third-and-5, the Sooners stalled again and Austin Seibert came out for a 27-yard field goal. Leaping through the line, Lorenzo Carter got his outstretched hand on the kick and the ball fluttered down short of the uprights.

Any score would have ended it for the Bulldogs, and on the second play Michel slipped one tackle and was home free. The Bulldogs sprinted off the sideline and toward the corner of the end zone to mob Michel. Confetti rained down. Meanwhile, Mayfield stood motionless on the sideline for several seconds, bent over with his hands on his knees and head down. The Heisman Trophy winner battled flu-like symptoms the week leading into the game, but he played just fine.

Michel and his running mate Nick Chubb were awesome for Georgia. Chubb ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns, including a 2-yarder on a direct snap with 55 seconds left in regulation to tie it.

"What a game," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "What an atmosphere. My heart goes out to the Oklahoma team, because they played their tail off. And so did ours."