College Football Old School Game of the Week: Georgia Wins SEC East Title on 4th Down TD Miracle

Georgia wide receiver Michael Johnson makes the game-winning touchdown catch to give the Bulldogs the 2002 SEC East title.

There are many plays that are etched in the minds of Georgia Bulldogs fans: Herschel Walker running over Bill Bates for a touchdown against Tennessee in 1980, Lindsay Scott's 93-yard catch-and-run to beat Florida later that same season, and Vernon Haynes' "Hobnail Boot" touchdown against Tennessee in 2001.
Another one of these legendary Georgia plays occurred in the Bulldogs' 2002 contest with the Auburn Tigers that would go down as the most memorable play in a championship season.
The Dawgs entered the Auburn game ranked #7 in the country with a 9-1 record, needing a win against the #24 ranked Tigers to clinch the SEC Eastern Division title and earn Georgia a trip to the SEC Championship Game for the first time in school history.
But a loss coupled with a Florida win over South Carolina later that night would mean the Gators would be the SEC East Champions as they held the head-to-head tiebreaker over Georgia thanks to 20-13 win over the Dawgs.
While the team still had quarterback David Greene and All-American defensive end David Pollack for the game, the Dawgs were missing two of their leading receivers as Terrence Edwards was out  with a separated left shoulder and Damien Gray who was out with a leg injury.
To make matters worse, sophomore receiver Fred Gibson was playing with a cast on his left thumb, meaning that junior wide receiver Michael Johnson would start along Gibson, despite having caught only 11 passes during the season.
Before the day was over, every Georgia fan would know who Michael Johnson was.
 Auburn got the ball to start the game as they drove from their 20-yard-line to the Georgia 15-yard line thanks to a pair of catches by running back Ronnie Brown that accounted for 33 yards as well as 20 yards on three carries by the redshirt sophomore.
However, the Tigers would turn the ball over when quarterback Jason Campbell overthrew a pass intended for tight end Robert Johnson and was intercepted by Georgia safety Sean Jones, whose 58-yard return gave the Georgia offense the ball at the Auburn 33-yard-line.
But the Dawgs were unable to convert the turnover into points as Billy Bennett missed a 45-yard field goal, giving the Tigers the ball back at their 28-yard-line.
Auburn drove to their 47-yard-line until they faced a 3rd & 1 when Brown busted through the middle to go untouched for a 53-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 6:29 left in the first quarter.
It looked like that the Tigers were going to have a great chance to increase their lead after they forced the Dawgs to punt on their ensuing possession as Roderick Hood returned the Georgia punt 34 yards to the Dawgs' 38-yard-line, only to have Hood lose the football after a hit by Georgia defensive back Burt Jones which was picked up by Sean Jones, who returned the fumble 11 yards to the Georgia 49-yard-line.
An 19-yard pass from Greene to tight end Benjamin Watson would set up a 43-yard field goal by Bennett which cut the Auburn lead to 7-3 with 2:34 left in the opening quarter.
Auburn got the ball back at their 30-yard-line but on the first play from scrimmage, Sean Jones made another big play as he intercepted Campbell on a pass intended for Cooper Wallace to give the Dawgs the ball at the Georgia 42-yard-line.
But the Auburn defense would force the Dawgs to punt the ball back to Auburn who took over at their 20-yard-line as the first quarter came to an end with the Tigers leading 7-3.

Georgia safety Sean Jones would intercept two passes and recover a fumble in the first quarter alone.

Both teams would trade punts throughout the second quarter until the Tigers got the ball at the Georgia 45-yard-line following a 36-yard punt return by Hood, setting up a seven-play drive which had Campbell ran for 35 yards on two carries and throw a two-yard touchdown pass to fullback Brandon Johnson to extend the Auburn lead to 14-3 with exactly 100 seconds left in the first half.
Georgia could not mount a drive in the waning moments of the first half as they went into the locker room facing their largest 1st half deficit of the season at 14-3 after managing only 63 yards of total offense compared to the Tigers' 223 yards.
If Georgia was going to back in the game, they needed to score more points on their first drive of the second half as they were set to receive the second half kickoff.
The Dawgs got the ball at their 33-yard-line but were in Auburn territory after just two plays as Greene found Michael Johnson for 14 yards to put Georgia at the Auburn 39-yard-line.
Then on 3rd & 7 from the 36-yard-line, the Dawgs converted were able to pick up a 1st down on a 3rd down situation for the first time in the game as Greene ran for 10 yards to the Auburn 26-yard-line.
Two plays after Greene hit Gibson for 18 yards on 3rd & 6 from the 22-yard-line, the redshirt sophomore quarterback snuck it in for a one-yard touchdown to cut the Auburn lead to 14-10 with 10:46 left in the third quarter.
The Tigers would respond with a 10-play, 54-yard drive that culminated with a 21-yard touchdown run by Campbell to push the Auburn lead back to 11 points at 21-10 with 5:45 left in the third quarter.
It seemed like it wasn't going to be the Dawgs' day especially on the first play of their ensuing possession as Greene was sacked for a nine-yard loss by Tigers defensive end Reggie Torbor setting up a 2nd & 19 situation from the Georgia two-yard-line.
That is when Greene handed it off to Smith, who ran for 32 yards to give Georgia not only a 1st down at their 34-yard-line, but some much needed momentum.
The next two plays netted a loss of two yards setting up 3rd & 14 when Michael Johnson began to make his presence felt.
Johnson would give the Dawgs a 1st down as he made a 20-yard catch on 3rd & 14 to put Georgia at the 50-yard-line, which was followed by a 11-yard catch for another 1st down at the Auburn 39-yard-line.
Then on 2nd & 5 from the 34-yard-line, Johnson caught a 31-yard pass to give the Dawgs a 1st & goal at the Auburn three-yard-line.
Two plays later, the Dawgs averted disaster when Greene lost the football on a quarterback draw, only to have offensive tackle Jon Stinchcomb recover the fumble in the end zone for a Georgia touchdown which help cut the lead to 21-17 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.

Georgia quarterback David Greene would throw for 232 yards and account for two touchdowns, one through the air and the other on the ground.

Both teams would trade punts as the game went into the 4th quarter with Auburn still ahead 21-17 when the Dawgs fumbled the football when Johnson was hit by Auburn linebacker Mark Brown after an 11-yard reception which was recovered by the Tigers at their 42-yard-line with 9:17 left in the 4th quarter.
The Dawgs would force the Tigers to go three-and-out to get the ball back at their 49-yard-line after Sean Jones returned the ensuing punt 28 yards.
But for the second straight series, the Dawgs would turn the ball over as Greene was intercepted by Tigers free safety Travaris Robinson to give the Tigers the ball back at their 33-yard-line.
But once again, the Georgia defense would force a three-and-out and once again Sean Jones would give the Dawgs good field position as his 23-yard punt return gave Georgia the ball at the Auburn 43-yard-line with 3:16 left in the game.
The drive began with a 12-yard pass from Greene to Johnson but after two incomplete passes and a two-yard run by Smith, the Dawgs were faced with a 4th & 8 from the Auburn 29-yard-line.
That is when Greene threw a screen pass for Johnson, who was tackled for an one-yard-loss to give Auburn the ball back at their 30-yard-line with 2:33 left and a chance to run out the clock if they could pick up a 1st down.
However, the Tigers made a crucial mistake on 1st down as Brown was knocked out of bounds after a three-yard-run, stopping the clock and giving the Dawgs an extra timeout as they had two timeouts left in their pocket.
The Tigers ran the ball two more times but only picked up five yards, allowing the Dawgs to use their final two timeouts as the Tigers were faced with a 4th & 2 at their 38-yard-line with 2:11 to play.
Auburn would punt the ball back to Georgia, who took over at their 41-yard-line after a 16-yard return by Jones, giving their offense one last shot at getting the go-ahead touchdown as they took over with 1:58 left on the clock.
The drive started with a four-yard pass from Greene to Johnson, but on 2nd & 6 Greene fired a deep pass down the left side of the field that was caught by Gibson for 41 yards to give Georgia a 1st down at the Tigers' 14-yard-line.
But three straight incomplete passes and a false start lead to a do-or-die 4th & 15 from the Auburn 19-yard-line with 1:31 left in the game.
That is when Georgia head coach Mark Richt called "70 X Takeoff", a play that called for Gibson and Johnson to run straight toward the end zone and hope one of them could catch a jump ball from Greene.
Lined up in the shotgun, Greene took the snap, pump-faked to his right, and then fired a pass for Johnson in the left corner in the end zone, who outjumped Auburn defensive back Horace Willis to make the catch and then land both feet inbounds to complete the 19-yard touchdown to give the Dawgs their first lead of the game at 24-21 with 1:25 left in the game.
It was Johnson's 13th catch, two more than he had the entire season, for 141 yards.

Now it was up to the Georgia defense to make one more stop to secure the Dawgs' first trip to the SEC Championship Game.
Auburn would take over at their 28-yard-line where it took them one play to get into Georgia territory as Campbell found Robert Johnson for 25 yards and a 1st down at the Dawgs' 47-yard-line.
But a pair of penalties and an incomplete pass lead to a 2nd & 20 when Campbell was sacked by Georgia linebacker Boss Bailey for a seven-yard loss to set up 3rd & 27 from the Tigers' 36-yard-line.
Campbell would run for seven yards on 3rd down to set up 4th & 20 where Campbell connected with Tre Smith for 14 yards, but six yards short of the 1st down, giving the Dawgs the ball at their 43-yard-line with 19 seconds left.
Greene took a knee and the Dawgs not only had a 24-21 win, but their first SEC East title in school history.
The Tigers would recover from the Georgia loss to beat Alabama 17-7 in the Iron Bowl, earning them a trip to the Citrus Bowl where they knocked off the Penn State Nittany Lions 13-9 thanks to a 184-yard and two-touchdown performance by Brown, to give Auburn a 9-4 season and #14 ranking in the final AP Poll.
Two years later, Campbell and Brown, along with a healthy Cadillac Williams would lead Auburn to a 13-0 season.
As for the Dawgs, they would play Arkansas in the SEC Championship Game, which they won easily 30-3 for Georgia's first SEC championship in 20 years.
This earned the Dawgs a trip to the Sugar Bowl, where they knocked off the Florida State Seminoles 26-13 to finish the season with a 13-1 record and #3 ranking in both the AP and coaches poll.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Dawgs Knock off Vols With "Hobnail Boot"

Georgia running back Verron Haynes catches the game-winning touchdown pass in the final seconds of the Dawgs' upset win over Tennessee in 2001.

An hobnail boot is a boot with a hobnail, which is a short nail with a thicker head than most nails, located at the sole of the foot, and is primarily used for when you went to have traction on rocky ground or when snow is on the ground.
Most college football fans were unaware of a hobnail boot until the aftermath of the Georgia-Tennessee game on October 6,2001, thanks to Georgia play-by-play man Larry Munson.
Georgia entered the game unranked with a 2-1 record under first-year head coach Mark Richt and redshirt freshman quarterback David Greene as the Dawgs were making their first road trip of the 2001 season as they traveled to Knoxville to face with the #6 ranked Volunteers and over 100,000 screaming Tennessee fans at Neyland Stadium.
The Vols were undefeated at 3-0 and were hoping to bounce back from a disappointing 8-4 season in 2000, the worst season since Philip Fulmer became the Vols' head coach in 1993(Though he was the interim head coach for the first three games of the 1992 season while Johnny Majors recovered from quadruple bypass heart surgery and then become the permanent head coach before their bowl game).
With sophomore quarterback Casey Clausen at quarterback and redshirt senior Travis Stephens at running back, the Vols were expected to beat the Dawgs as Georgia had not won a game in Neyland Stadium since 1980.

Georgia quarterback David Greene(14) would finish with 303 yards on 21-of-34 passing and two touchdowns in his first career road start.

After Georiga went three-and-out to start the game, Tennessee got the ball at their 40-yard-line and immediately drove to inside the red zone as Stephens ran the ball four straight times, picking up 41 yards to put the Vols at the Dawgs' 19-yard-line.

From there Clausen and wide receiver Kelly Washington took over as the sophomore quarterback hit Washington for 12 yards to give the Vols a 1st & goal at the seven-yard line, then connect with Washington again for a seven-yard touchdown to give Tennessee a 7-0 lead just 4:20 into the game.
Georgia would respond with a nine-play, 45-yard drive that culimnated with a 29-yard field goal by Billy Bennett which cut the Tennessee lead to 7-3 with just over eight minutes left in the opening quarter.
Following a Tennessee punt, the Dawgs got the ball back at their 20-yard-line, only to give it right back to the Vols as a Greene pass was intercepted by Tennessee defensive back Rashad Baker, whose 41-yard return gave Tennessee a 1st down at the Georgia 17-yard-line.
The Vols immediately cashed in on the turnover as Clausen found Leonard Scott for a 17-yard touchdown to push Tennessee's lead to 14-3 with 5:10 left in the first quarter.
The Dawgs began their next drive at their 31-yard-line but were in Tennessee territory after just one play as Greene connected with fullback Verron Haynes for a 29-yard pass that put Georgia at the Vols' 40-yard-line.
Georgia was able to drive to the Tennessee seven-yard-line when they faced a 4th & 1 situation.
Richt decided to go for the 1st down instead of the field goal, but the gamble backfired as running back Musa Smith was stopped for no gain, giving the ball back to the Vols at their seven-yard-line.
Tennessee was able to drive to their 28-yard-line before they had to punt the ball back to Georgia, which is when Damien Gray turned the momentum around as he ran up the middle, dodged two Tennessee defenders, and ran in for a 72-yard touchdown that brought the Dawgs back to within four points at 14-10 just 1:29 into the second quarter.

Following a three-and-out, the Dawgs got the ball at their 44-yard-line and began the drive with a 19-yard pass from Greene to tight end Randy McMichael, which was followed two plays later, by a 18-yard pass from Greene to McMichael to give Georgia a 1st & goal at the Vols' seven-yard-line.
It seemed like the drive was stalling as the Dawgs lost three yards on a Musa Smith run, which was followed by a false start to push Georgia to the 15-yard-line where they had 2nd & goal.
But that is when Greene found freshman wide receiver Fred Gibson over the middle for a 15-yard touchdown to give Georgia its first lead of the game, 17-14 with 9:24 before halftime.
After the two quick Georgia touchdowns, the Vols went back to Stephens, who busted loose for a 64-yard run to give Tennessee a 1st down at the Dawgs' 16-yard-line.
However, the Georgia defense would stop the Vols as Clausen was stopped for no gain on 3rd & 2 from the seven-yard-line, forcing Tennessee to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Alex Walls which tied the game at 17 with 6:50 left in the first half.
Tennessee would force a three-and-out to get the ball back at their 20-yard-line with 5:35 left in the second quarter when the Vols put together a long drive that saw Clausen complete seven of nine passes for 72 yards to set up a 34-yard field goal attempt by Walls with 20 seconds left in the half.
But Walls missed the kick and the score remained tied at 17 as the first 30 minutes came to a close.
The third quarter was a stalemate was neither team could mount a scoring threat and combined for only four 1st downs.

Tennessee running back Travis Stephens carried the ball 30 times for 176 yards.

The fourth quarter began with the Vols having the ball at their 13-yard-line as Tennessee put together the first good drive of the second half as they were able to drive to the Dawgs' 40-yard-line until the drive stalled forcing another Tennessee punt that pinned the Dawgs back at their 12-yard-line.
That is when Greene connected with Gibson again, this time for a 55-yard completion to give the Dawgs a 1st down at the Tennessee 33-yard-line.
Then after a penalty pushed them back five yards, Greene hit McMichael for 17 yards and a 1st down just outside the red zone at the Vols 21-yard-line.
Three running plays netted eight yards and led to a 31-yard field goal by Bennett to give the Dawgs a 20-17 lead with exactly six minutes to go in regulation.
The Vols got the ball at their 20-yard-line and put the ball in Clausen's hands who connected with Bobby Graham on a critical 3rd & 4, then found Washington for 15 yards to put the Vols at the Dawgs' 49-yard-line.
After a penalty pushed the Vols 10 yards back and two plays only gained two yards, Clausen would hit Graham for 23 yards on 3rd & 18 to give Tennesee a 1st down at the Dawgs' 34-yard-line with about two minutes to go.
But on the very next play,  Georgia defensive back Jermaine Phillips picked off Clausen, giving the Dawgs the ball at their 32-yard-line and a chance to get a 1st down to complete the upset with 1:53 left.
However, the Vols had all three of their timeouts and were able to prevent the Dawgs from getting a 1st down, forcing a punt which gave Tennessee the ball at their 22-yard-line with 1:21 remaining and a chance to pull off a miracle.
After the drive started with an incomplete pass, Clausen hit Troy Fleming for 16 yards and a 1st down before throwing another incomplete pass.
Then on 2nd down, Clausen floated a screen pass to Stephens, who made the catch three yards behind the line of scrimmage, then found a hole along the left side of the field and proceeded to run in for a 62-yard touchdown to give the Vols a 24-20 lead with just 44 seconds left.

It appeared that Tennessee was going to escape the win after Stephens' touchdown, but on the ensuing kickoff, the Vols in explicating squibbed kick, giving the Dawgs a short field as they took over at their 41-yard-line with 38 seconds left and one timeout in their pocket.
On 1st down, Greene found Gary, who weaved his way for 13 yards and a 1st down at the Vols' 46-yard-line.
Then after an incomplete pass, Greene fired a pass toward the middle, that somehow was intercepted by a Tennessee defender, to land in the hands of McMichael for 27-yard gain and a 1st down at the Vols' 20-yard-line.
Greene would hit McMichael again for 14 more yards to set up 1st & goal with 10 seconds left when Richt called the Dawgs' final timeout.
Needing a touchdown, Georgia had at least two shots to get in the end zone, maybe three if they played their cards right.
But it only took the Dawgs one shot as on 1st down, Greene took the snap and faked a handoff to tailback Musa Smith, and then lofted a pass over the middle to a wide open Verron Haynes for the shocking six-yard touchdown to give Georgia a 26-24 lead with six seconds left.
While the Georgia team was celebrating on the field, legendary Georgia radio announcer Larry Munson yelled that "We just stepped on thier face with a hobnail boot and broke their nose! We just crushed their face!"

Georgia drew an 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for excessive celebration, meaning they would have to attempt the extra point from the 18-yard-line.
Instead of risking a potential a block which result in a Tennessee player picking up the loose ball and running in for a game-tying two-point conversion, Greene took a knee to keep the score at 26-24.
The Dawgs still had to kick off to the Vols but Tennessee could only run it back six yards as time expired, giving Georgia the 26-24 upset and their first win in Knoxville since 2001.
After the shocking loss, the Vols would go on a seven-game winning streak, which included a 34-32 win over Florida in the regular season finale, to give Tennessee the SEC East title and a berth in the SEC Championship Game, where all they had to do was beat LSU to earn a spot in the National Championship Game.
But the Vols were shocked by the Tigers 31-20 and ended up in the Citrus Bowl where they routed Michigan 45-17 to finish the season with a 11-2 record and #4 final ranking in the final AP poll.
As for Georgia, they would finish the season with a 8-4 record and a final ranking of #22 in the AP poll, but would win their first SEC championship in 20 years with a 13-1 record the following season.
Richt would rack up four more SEC East titles and another SEC championship as he complied a 145-51 record during his 15-year tenure as the Dawgs head coach, with a 10-5 record against Tennessee.
And it all began with a hobnail boot.