College Football Old School Game of the Week: Dawgs Take a Bite Out of Auburn in 4OT Thriller

 

The Georgia Bulldogs mascot, UGA V, tries to bite Auburn wide receiver Robert Baker in the memorable 1996 Georgia-Auburn game.

Prior to the 1995 bowl season, Division I college football or FBS football as its called now, decided to install overtime rules to eliminate ties.

The powers that be decided that each team would get at least one possession from the opponent's 25-yard-line and the game would keep going as long as it took to decide a winner.

It took to almost to the end of the 1996 regular season for a SEC football game to go into overtime and it was one of the wildest and longest games in SEC history.

On November 16, 1996, the #20 Auburn Tigers hosted the Georgia Bulldogs in the 100th edition of the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry".

Auburn coached by Terry Bowden and led by quarterback Dameyune Craig entered the game with a 7-2 record, but needed a win to keep their hopes of a SEC West division title and a trip to the SEC Championship Game with a win over the Dawgs.

Meanwhile, Georgia entered the game with a 3-5 record, needing to win their remaining three games of the season to become bowl eligible under first-year head coach Jim Donnan.

The Dawgs went into the game with some different faces at quarterback and running back as senior Brian Smith would get the start over Mike Bobo, who had thrown 15 interceptions over the course of the regular season, while running back Patrick Pass would get the start in the backfield instead of Robert Edwards, who had fumbled the ball twice in Georgia's 47-7 loss to Florida two weeks earlier.

Georgia entered as a 10-yard underdog as it took a Herculean effort to beat the Tigers in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

 Auburn got the ball at their 35-yard-line after Georgia kicker Dax Langley kicked the opening kickoff out of bounds and quickly drove down the field in seven plays, culminating with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Craig to Robert Baker.

As Baker's momentum carried him to the sideline, he was met by the Georgia mascot, UGA V, who attempted to bite him as the Auburn receiver almost ran him over.

Fortunately for Baker, UGA V's attempt was futile and after the extra point Auburn had a 7-0 lead just 2:15 into the game.

The Dawgs would get the ball at their 35-yard-line for their opening possession of the game, following a 14-yard kickoff return by Chris Terry, as Smith only attempted one pass on the drive, a 18-yard completion to wide receiver Hines Ward, as Pass carried the ball seven times for 28 yards, with the last carry being a 11-yard touchdown to help tie the game at 7.

After both teams punted on their next possessions, the Tigers would get the ball at their 39-yard-line where they would drive to the Georgia 29-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 1.

Bowden opting against the field goal and went for the 1st down, which he got when Fred Beasley ran for two yards and a 1st down at the Dawgs' 27-yard-line.

Craig would hit Karsten Bailey for 23 yards on the very next play, eventually leading to a six-yard touchdown pass from Craig to Baker on the last play of the first quarter to give Auburn a 14-7 lead.

When the Georgia offense came onto the field for its next possession starting at their 20-yard-line, Edwards was in the backfield for the first time.

He carried the ball on the first play for one yard as the Dawgs would be forced to punt the ball back to Auburn who took over at their 29-yard-line.

After Rusty Williams picked up 21 yards, nine on a pass and 12 on a run, Craig connected with Tyrone Goodson on a 43-yard bomb that set up a seven-yard touchdown run by Williams to increase the Tigers' lead to 21-7 with 11:11 left in the second quarter.

Following a three-and-out by the Dawgs, Auburn drove 57 yards in nine plays, culminating with Craig's third touchdown pass of the half, a seven-yarder to Bailey to push the the Tigers' lead to 28-7 with 6:07 left in the first half.

Auburn quarterback Dameyune Craig completed 22 of 35 passes for 290 yards and ran for 72 yards on 17 carries as he accounted for five touchdowns(three passing, two running).

It was here that Donnan decided to replace Smith with Bobo in hopes of sparking the Georgia offense who had been stagnant since their opening drive touchdown.

Bobo would get the ball at his 30-yard-line and drive the Dawgs down to the Auburn 44-yard-line before throwing three straight incomplete passes to force another Georgia punt as Baker made a fair catch at his 13-yard-line.

The Georgia defense forced Auburn into a 3rd & 8 from their 15-yard-line when they forced the first turnover of the game as Craig fumbled the football after a 19-yard run, which was recovered by Georgia freshman defensive back Champ Bailey 

Seven plays later, the Dawgs were back in the end zone as Torin Kirtsey ran it in from two yards out to cut the Auburn lead to 28-14 with 37 seconds left before halftime.

When Auburn got the ball back, they simply run out the clock and went into the locker room with their 28-14 lead but set to give the ball back to Georgia who would receive the opening kickoff of the second half.

The Dawgs would get the ball at their 20-yard-line and drive down to the Auburn 40-yard-line where they would face a 4th & 2 situation.

Donnan decided to go for it but the gamble backfired as Ward was dropped for an eight-yard-loss by Auburn defensive back Martavius Houston to give Auburn the ball at their 48-yard-line.

Auburn would drive to the Georgia 11-yard-line, even converting a 4th & 1, until Williams dropped a pitchout from Craig, leading to a fumble which was recovered by Dawgs defensive lineman Jermaine Smith at the Georgia 13-yard-line.

After the Dawgs went three-and-out, the Tigers got the ball at their 35-yard-line where they drove 44 yards in 12 plays, primarily on the ground as Auburn ran the ball on all but one of the plays on the drive to set up a 38-yard field goal attempt by Jaret Holmes.

But Holmes missed the field goal to keep it a 28-14 game as the Dawgs took over at their 21-yard-line with just seven seconds to go in the third quarter.

A nine-yard run by Ward on the final play of the third quarter and a three-yard-run by Edwards on the first play of the fourth quarter gave Georgia  a 1st down at their 33-yard-line when Bobo threw a pass across the middle and hit Ward on a slant pattern, who then outran the Auburn defense for a 67-yard touchdown to bring the Dawgs to within a touchdown at 28-21.

After an exchange of punts, the Dawgs got the ball back at their 23-yard-line when Bobo hit back-to-back passes, one for 20 yards to tight end Larry Brown, and another to Ward for 38 yards, to give Georgia a 1st down at the Auburn 19-yard-line.

But a sack of Bobo stalled the drive and forced the Dawgs to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Hap Hines, which he missed, keeping the score 28-21 in favor of Auburn with 6:58 left in the fourth quarter.

Georgia would force a three-and-out to get the ball back at their 20-yard-line with 4:53 left as Bobo completed three of his next five passes for 36 yards plus ran for three yards on one play to drive Georgia to the Auburn 41-yard-line.

Despite not starting the game, Georgia quarterback Mike Bobo completed 21 of 37 passes for 360 yards and threw two touchdowns.

But an illegal procedure penalty and four straight incomplete passes forced a turnover on downs and gave the ball back to Auburn with 2:23 left with a chance to pick up a couple of 1st downs to run out the clock and come away with the win.

The drive got off to a good start as Williams ran for 10 yards and a 1st down on the first play of the drive, but the Georgia defense would not allow another 1st down as Markeith Cooper ran the ball three straight times for seven yards to force a punt.

The Dawgs would get the ball at their 17-yard-line with 1:07 on the clock and no timeouts remaining as Georgia had 67 seconds to try and drive for a touchdown.

After Bobo's first pass fell incomplete, he would complete five passes in a row to drive the Dawgs to the Auburn 22-yard-line when Tigers linebacker Marcus Washington sacked Bobo for an eight-yard loss sending the Dawgs into a scramble as they needed to spike the ball before the clock ran out.

But Auburn nose guard Charles Dorsey picked up the football and tried to run it with it, only to have officials stop him and the clock temporarily so they could set the ball up for play.

Once the ball was placed at the Auburn 30-yard-line, Bobo took the snap and spiked the ball leaving the Dawgs one second and one last play to get into the end zone.

That is when Bobo, lined up in the shotgun formation, took the snap, dropped back 10 yards and fired a pass down the right side of the field for Corey Allen, who was being hounded by Auburn cornerback Jayson Bray.

Allen made the catch at the goal line, then stretched out as far as he can to get the ball across the plane for a touchdown.

As Allen and Bray hit the grass, the referees dropped a flag and signaled touchdown as Bray was called for pass interference.

While the touchdown sent the Dawgs into a frenzy, it was still 28-27 with no time on the clock.

Donnan could have gone for the two-point conversion but with overtime now an option he went for the extra point which Hines made to tie the game at 28 to send the game into overtime.

Auburn got the ball to start overtime, but instead of starting at the Georgia 25-yard-line, they would be starting at the Georgia 40-yard-line because of the pass interference penalty on the last play of regulation.

The Tigers would unable to pick up a yard on the next three plays, setting up a 4th & 10 from the 40-yard-line where they could try a 57-yard field goal or go for it.

Figuring his team was out of field goal range, Bowden decided to go for the 1st down as Craig dropped back a pass and fired a pass to the end zone intended for Baker.

The pass fell incomplete but Baker drew a pass interference penalty to give Auburn a 1st down at the Dawgs' 25-yard-line.

Following an incomplete pass on 1st down, Craig scrambled and ran in for a 13-yard touchdown to give Auburn a 35-28 lead, meaning that Georgia had to score a touchdown to extend the game.

That is when Edwards, who ran for only five yards on six carries, made his presence felt as he caught a 16-yards pass from Bobo on 1st down, then ran in for the nine-yard touchdown which tied the game at 35 and sent it to a second overtime where Georgia would get the ball first.

Following an one-yard run by Ward on 1st down, Edwards caught a 17-yard pass to set up 1st & goal from the seven-yard-line.

Edwards would run for two yards on 1st down, then for five yards and the touchdown on 2nd down to give the Dawgs their first lead of the game at 42-35.

It only took the Tigers to get back into the end zone as Craig hit Willie Gosha for 22 yards on 1st down to set up Fred Beasley's three-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 42 and extend the game to a third overtime.

The Tigers got the ball to start the third overtime where Craig accounted of all but one of the 25 yards on the five-play drive as he completed a 14-yard pass to Karsten Bailey, and ran it twice for 10 yards, with the last carry being an one-yard sneak for Craig's second rushing touchdown to give Auburn a 49-42 lead(Two-point conversions were not mandatory in the third overtime until 1997).

Once again, the Dawgs would need a touchdown to extend the game and once again Edwards as the main man as he accounted for all 25 yards, as he caught a four-yard pass from Bobo to start the drive, then ran for 12 yards on the next play, and finished it up with his third straight touchdown, a nine-yard run that tied the game at 49.

Georgia got the ball to start the fourth overtime period and continued to go to Edwards, who would carry the ball five times for 23 yards on the seven-play drive which ended when Kirtsey ran around the left side for an one-yard touchdown to give the Dawgs a 56-49 lead.

In the four overtime periods alone, Georgia running back Robert Edwards carried the ball 10 times for 67 yards, caught three passes for 37 yards, and scored three touchdowns.

Auburn got the ball as Craig ran for seven yards on one play, but threw two incomplete passes to set up a 4th & 3 from the 18-yard-line.

If the Georgia defense could hold and not allow a 1st down, the game would be over.

Craig, lined up in the shotgun, took the snap and ran to his right only to be met by Georgia defensive lineman Jason Ferguson and linebacker Brandon Tolbert, one yard shy of the 1st down, forcing a turnover on downs and ending the game with the Dawgs on top 56-49 after four overtime periods, ending what the longest game in SEC history at that time.

The loss ended Auburn's chances for the SEC West title as the Tigers would go on to lose the Iron Bowl the following week to end the regular season with a 7-4 record.

Auburn would earn a trip to the Independence Bowl where they defeated Army 32-29 to finish the season with a 8-4 record and final ranking in both the AP and coaches polls(#24 and #25 respectively).

As for Georgia, their chances at a bowl game evaporated the following week as they lost to Ole Miss 31-27 as they would end the season with a 5-6 record.

But the following season, the Dawgs finished with a 10-2 record and #10 ranking in both polls to start off a run where Georgia has finished with a winning record in 22 of the last 23 seasons and played in a bowl every year since 1997.