Honestly, if you were watching the ball drop in Times Square on December 31, 2022, you missed the real fireworks. While most of the world was counting down to midnight, college football fans were witnessing a heart-stopping, program-altering collision in Atlanta. The Ohio State vs Georgia 2022 Peach Bowl wasn't just a playoff game. It was a heavyweight fight where the canvas was stained with sweat, tears, and a missed field goal that still haunts Columbus.
Most people look back at that night and see a simple "choke" by the Buckeyes or a "miracle" by the Bulldogs. But that’s a lazy take. If you really dig into the film, you've got a narrative shaped by a single timeout, a controversial non-call, and a quarterback in C.J. Stroud who finally played with the "edge" everyone said he lacked.
Georgia won 42-41. But man, it was so much closer than even that score suggests.
The Hit That Changed Everything
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Marvin Harrison Jr.
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Up until late in the third quarter, Harrison was essentially a glitch in the Matrix. He had 106 yards and two touchdowns on five catches. Georgia’s secondary—a unit full of future NFL starters—had absolutely no answer for him. Then, the hit happened.
With Ohio State leading 35-24 and knocking on the door of the end zone, Stroud threw a high-arcing ball toward the back of the end zone. Georgia defensive back Javon Bullard came across and leveled Harrison. It was a violent, jarring collision. Harrison went limp. The refs initially threw a flag for targeting, but after a review, they picked it up.
Here is the reality of that moment:
- Harrison Jr. was diagnosed with a concussion and didn't return.
- Ohio State settled for a field goal instead of a touchdown.
- The Buckeyes' offense, which had been humming, suddenly looked human.
People argue about that targeting call to this day. Was it a clean shoulder-to-chest hit, or did Bullard lead with the crown? Honestly, depending on which side of the Mason-Dixon line you live on, you’ve probably got a very different answer. But the scoreboard impact was undeniable. Ohio State went from potentially being up 42-24 to "only" leading 38-24. In a one-point game, that's everything.
Kirby Smart’s "Greatest Timeout"
You ever feel like something is about to go wrong right before it happens? Kirby Smart did.
In the fourth quarter, with Ohio State facing a 4th-and-1 at their own 34-yard line, Ryan Day rolled the dice. He sent out the punt unit, but it was a fake. The snap went directly to Mitch Rossi, who sprinted for a first down. The Ohio State sideline erupted.
Except the play didn't count.
Smart had sprinted down the sideline and screamed for a timeout just a split-second before the snap. He later admitted he saw the Buckeyes in a "fake formation" because they weren't lined up in their traditional look. It was a veteran move by a coach who refuses to be "stolen from," as he puts it. Instead of a fresh set of downs for Ohio State to bleed the clock, they had to actually punt.
On the very next play? Stetson Bennett found Arian Smith for a 76-yard touchdown. Talk about a momentum swing.
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C.J. Stroud and the "Running" Narrative
Before this game, the knock on C.J. Stroud was that he was too much of a "pocket passer." Critics said he was afraid to run. He heard it. You could tell.
Against the most ferocious defense in the country, Stroud became a dual-threat nightmare. He finished with 348 passing yards and 4 touchdowns, but it was his legs that nearly won the game. On the final drive, he escaped a collapsed pocket and scrambled 27 yards down to the Georgia 31-yard line.
He put his team in position. He did his job.
Why the Buckeyes Fell Short
Even with the injuries to Harrison Jr. and tight end Cade Stover (back spasms), Ohio State had the game on a silver platter. They led 38-27 entering the fourth quarter.
The defense simply couldn't get a stop when it mattered most. Jim Knowles, the defensive coordinator brought in specifically to win these types of games, watched his unit give up 18 points in the final frame. Stetson Bennett—the former walk-on who just wouldn't die—went 10-of-12 for 190 yards in the fourth quarter alone.
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Then came the kick.
Noah Ruggles is a great kicker. He’d been reliable all year. But asking a guy to hit a 50-yarder under the highest pressure imaginable is a tall order. As the clock struck midnight and the calendar flipped to 2023, the ball hooked wide left.
It wasn't even close.
Actionable Insights for Football Historians
When we look back at Ohio State vs Georgia 2022, there are a few things coaches and analysts should take away for future high-stakes matchups:
- Depth is a Requirement, Not a Luxury: Losing a WR1 like Harrison Jr. shouldn't ground a whole offense, but at that level, the margin for error is zero.
- The "Illegal" Timeout: Kirby Smart showed that being hyper-observant of special teams formations can save a season.
- Aggression Wins: Ryan Day was criticized for being too conservative on the final three plays after Stroud’s big run. Settling for a 50-yard field goal instead of trying to get five more yards is a decision he’ll likely replay in his head forever.
If you’re a Buckeyes fan, it’s a tragedy. If you’re a Bulldogs fan, it’s the greatest escape in program history. Either way, it remains the standard for what a College Football Playoff game should look like: fast, violent, and decided by the thinnest of margins.