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Carson Beck, what a guy.
Don’t even call it a legacy drive. It was a legacy play. Georgia’s starting quarterback was knocked out of the SEC Championship Game on the final play of the first half and had to be replaced in the third quarter. But when his replacement, Gunner Stockton, was forced to leave the game for a play after his helmet was knocked off, Beck was called upon in overtime with the game on the line.
Facing a first-and-goal from the 4-yard-line, Beck took the field unable to lift his right arm. Georgia lined up in the I, Beck took the snap and handed it to Trevor Etienne, who surged up the middle for a game-winning touchdown.
Georgia 22, Texas 19. With the run, the Dawgs clinched the SEC title and a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.
Carson Beck comes back for the final play and GEORGIA WINS THE SEC pic.twitter.com/q3UUA7M0KH
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) December 8, 2024
It was a wild turn of events in a game that went back and forth. Georgia trailed 6-3 when Beck went out of the game in the first half. Stockton completed 12 of his 16 passes for 71 yards, but he also threw an interception that helped Texas force overtime.
Beck was ruled out at halftime. Then he was back in a crucial spot.
When he trotted back onto the field, the broadcast cut to a shot of Beck’s family in the stands and his mother couldn’t look. Fans on social media were in disbelief.
Carson Beck securing the win for Georgia
pic.twitter.com/MYxlEFpVlo— PrizePicks (@PrizePicks) December 8, 2024
How Carson Beck came back into the game after being ruled out
(DONT WORRY WE’RE KEEPING HIM REBOOTED)
— PrizePicks (@PrizePicks) December 8, 2024
Carson Beck going in for the last snap: pic.twitter.com/jwpoVXTjM2
— ʞɔᴉɹʇɐd⭐️ (@patrick7111996) December 8, 2024
https://twitter.com/CourtAnne1225/status/1865562528157200453
But, of course, the conversation after Beck’s injury was dominated by comparisons to last year’s Florida State team. The College Football Playoff selection committee excluded an unbeaten ACC champion because of concerns about the team’s backup quarterback.
Everyone on social media made the same remark as Georgia tried to wrestle control of the game away from Texas.
We don’t know what the extent of the Carson Beck injury is, but if he’s seriously hurt, does the CFP committee have some Jordan Travis-like thinking to do?
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) December 7, 2024
If Carson Beck is seriously injured the committee has already established precedent that a team without its starting quarterback should be assessed as such
Just saying…
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) December 7, 2024
Carson Beck got injured? Well, probably need to drop them all the way out of the College Football Playoff just to be safe.
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) December 7, 2024
Those jokes were obviously short-lived, though.
Georgia won. As a result, the Dawgs are an automatic qualifier for the CFP. And, considering they were already sitting fifth in the CFP’s Top 25, they’re likely to earn a first-round bye that will give Beck extra time to get healthy or give the coaching staff extra time to get Stockton ready.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
