2023 came in with a whimper if you are an Ohio State fan. As the ball dropped in New York, another ball was taking off in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. With the score at 42-41 in the Peach Bowl (the College Football Playoff semi-final game between Ohio State and Georgia), Noah Ruggles, the Buckeyes’ kicker had a chance to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired. Ruggles’ kick left the ground in 2022 and was in the air going wide left as we entered 2023. In what was a wild weekend of college football action, it was only fitting that the CFP end in such dramatic fashion.
Happy New Year UGA
It is certainly a happy new year if you are Georgia Bulldogs fan. But fans of Ohio State may take a while before they dust off this Peach Bowl defeat and start smiling again. Georgia ultimately defeated the Buckeyes in an absolutely thrilling Peach Bowl. A missed kick that spanned two years was shanked wide left by Ohio State kicker, Noah Ruggles in the final seconds. The kick left the ground in 2022, and landed wide left in 2023.
By request, here is the multicam view of the feed from Times Square, All-22, and ESPN, Georgia, and Ohio State radio calls, as it happened onscreen live: pic.twitter.com/k775T4VNTo
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 1, 2023
It was a back and forth affair all evening and Georgia scored with just under two minutes left on the clock. This gave them a scary one-point lead at 42-41. The feeling was they had left Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud too much time, and that was sort of true. Stroud had been magnificent all evening. He had thrown for four touchdowns already and seemed to have normally daunting Georgia defense in trouble.
Stroud took the field and led the drive expertly into Bulldogs territory which would have left UGA fans fearing the worst. Ultimately, the drive stalled out at the Georgia 32 yard-line which left a 50-yard field goal for the win. A place in the CFP Championship game awaited, but Noah Ruggles mishit the kick and Georgia’s new year was off to a great start.
Georgia will play TCU in the Championship Game on January 9. They will be looking to win back-to-back championships. The Bulldogs would be the first team to complete that feat in the CFP era.
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