Georgia Beats Oklahoma in Classic Rose Bowl

Bulldogs prevailed in double-overtime thriller
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 2, 2018 12:14 AM CST
Georgia Beats Oklahoma in Classic Rose Bowl
Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield celebrates after running back Rodney Anderson scored a touchdown against Georgia during the first half of the Rose Bowl NCAA college football game Monday, Jan. 1, 2018, in Pasadena, Calif.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Sony Michel burst through the line for a 27-yard touchdown run to give No. 3 Georgia a 54-48 victory Monday night against No. 2 Oklahoma, winning the first overtime Rose Bowl and sending the Bulldogs to the College Football Playoff championship game. Michel, who had a fumble in the fourth quarter returned for a go-ahead Oklahoma touchdown, ran for 181 yards and three scores for the Bulldogs (13-1), but none bigger than the last one in the second overtime, the AP reports. "I made plays. I gave up plays. My team just had faith in me," says Michel, who did all that damage on just 11 carries. "That's what this team is all about. They showed true character today."

In the final game of his college football career, Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns, and caught a touchdown pass that gave the Sooners a 17-point lead with 6 seconds left in the first half. But the Heisman Trophy winner could not get the Sooners into the end zone in the first overtime when a touchdown would have ended the game. The first overtime Rose Bowl was also the highest scoring, surpassing last year's 52-49 USC victory against Penn State. The Bulldogs will play either Alabama or Clemson on Jan. 8 for the national championship in Atlanta, about 90 miles from their campus—with a chance to win their first national title since 1980. "We got to get back to work. It's not done," Michel says. "Now we got to finish. Let's just finish this season off right."

(More Rose Bowl stories.)

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