On Saturday night, Georgia and Clemson ran 121 total plays, but it was a six-play sequence in the second quarter that changed the tide and propelled Georgia football to a season-opening win.
With 5:32 left before halftime, Clemson faced a 4th-and-9 from their own 16-yard line after Georgia’s suffocating defense forced a three-and-out for the third time in four Clemson offensive possessions.
Georgia was set to get great field position with plenty of time left on the clock, giving them a chance to put the first points of the game on the board before halftime.
Clemson punter Will Spiers got off a wobbling duck of a kick that never got much altitude and came fluttering to the turf around midfield.
Positioned a bit below Georgia’s 40-yard line, punt returner Kearis Jackson made the choice not to field the punt, waved his arms like an official indicating an incomplete pass while simultaneously giving a clear-out call like “Peter, Peter” to tell his teammates to get away from the ball.
With the deafening crowd noise in Bank of America Stadium, Jackson’s warning did not reach all of his teammates as Dan Jackson and Kendall Milton both attempted to block Clemson linebacker James Skalski in an effort to set up the return.
All three players converged at the same spot where the fluttering kick came to a bouncing rest. Jackson and Skalski both managed to avoid it, but Kendall Milton wasn’t so lucky and the ball grazed his left foot as he leaped to get out of its path.
Clemson snapper Jack Maddox pounced on it and Georgia went from having the ball at midfield to their defense having to come right back in and hope to get another stop.
When it happened, this seemed like an awful break for the Dawgs - it ended up starting the sequence that turned the ballgame in their favor. https://t.co/oRsmqJ23s0
— The Saturday In Athens Podcast (@Saturday_Athens) September 6, 2021
It seemed like a huge momentum shift and an awful break for Georgia. For the first time all night, Clemson’s struggling offense had a great starting field position at midfield and Georgia’s defense in a quick-change disadvantage.
After a two-yard run by Clemson running back Will Shipley on first down, D.J. Uiagalelei found Justyn Ross for a 12-yard gain and a first down at Georgia’s 36. Clemson looked like they were cooking with gas.
Georgia’s defense smothered a rushing attempt on first down and then displayed their tackling proficiency with a nice open field stop on a second down pass play to set up 3rd-and-4 at the Georgia 30.
Clemson was looking at two positive outcomes. They had a nice 3rd-and-manageable that could lead to a drive sustaining first down, or they would have a field goal attempt from a makeable distance.
Georgia brought pressure from Uiagalelei’s arm side, but he seemed to find Justyn Ross on a quick slant around the right hash coming from his slot position. The only thing that separated Ross from a clean dash into the end zone and a game-shifting score was Georgia safety, Christopher Smith.
Smith took inside leverage on and made a blinding dash to step in front of Ross and snatch Uiagalelei’s pass out of the air.
Catching it in stride, Smith was off to the races down the left sideline. He outpaced Clemson’s 250-pound signal caller and hit paydirt. House call. Pick 6. Georgia is on the board with a touchdown. Savage pads were awarded to Smith. Georgia fans tipping the Richter scale in Charlotte with their raucous response.
It was a lead that Georgia would never relinquish. Six plays. Six plays that shifted a ballgame and made Christopher Smith a legend in Georgia football lore.