UGA wins OT thriller to secure SEC title, CFP bye
ATLANTA — The Georgia Bulldogs were struggling to get anything going against Texas, and there was little reason to be hopeful of a turnaround with their quarterback crumpled on the turf. Enter a guy who had barely played in his college career.
Little-used backup Gunner Stockton came off the bench in the second half after an injury to Carson Beck and led No. 5 Georgia to an improbable 22-19 overtime victory over the No. 2 Longhorns in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday.
The Bulldogs (11-2) won their third SEC title under coach Kirby Smart, but the trophy comes with an even bigger prize — a first-round bye in the new 12-team College Football Playoff. Georgia came into the game ranked fifth by the CFP, but now it is assured of playing in the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal game on New Year’s Day in pursuit of its third national title in four seasons.
“This team never, ever says no,” a jubilant Smart said amid the falling confetti at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Texas (11-2, No. 2 CFP) was denied an SEC title capper to its first season in the league and will host a first-round game on either Dec. 20 or 21. Both of its losses have been to the Bulldogs, who prevailed 30-15 when the powerhouse programs met in Austin during the regular season.
“This stings,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “But we get a chance to regroup in a couple weeks and get into the College Football Playoff and go compete for a national championship. I think we’re plenty good enough to go win that.”
The big question for Georgia amid the celebration was the health of Beck, the two-year starter who went down on the final play of the first half with an injured throwing arm. Smart would only call it an “upper extremity” injury and said an MRI would determine the extent of the damage.
Stockton, a third-year sophomore, had played only six games in his college career — all of them mere mop-ups of blowout wins. He guided the Bulldogs to a touchdown and two field goals before taking a hard hit on a run in overtime that sent his helmet flying.
“This kid is a winner,” Smart said about his backup. “This kid is special.”
Beck, who could barely lift his arm, came back in the game for first-and-goal at the 4. All he had to do — and could do — was hand off to Trevor Etienne, who powered into the end zone to end the first overtime game in the SEC championship’s 33-year history.
Georgia went beyond regulation to win for the second week in a row, following up an eight-overtime, 44-42 victory over Georgia Tech in the regular-season finale.
This one was even sweeter, especially after losing its offensive leader.
“We’re beat up, we’re tired, we’re mentally fatigued,” Smart said. “But I don’t know if I’ve ever had a more mentally tough team. They just keep coming, keep coming. They never say die.”
Beck went down on a wild final play of the first half while trying to heave one into the end zone. Trey Moore knocked the ball away with a blow to the right arm, setting off a wild scramble that ended with a couple of laterals and a Georgia lineman winding up with the ball.
More concerning for Georgia, Beck remained on the turf holding his throwing arm while teammates hovered over him. He finally trotted slowly off the field, but Smart said his day was done.
Not quite.
After holding Texas to a field goal on the opening possession of overtime, Stockton had to leave the game after a first-down run ended with a hit that knocked off his helmet.
“When we got the play and everybody saw it was Carson, we were pretty juiced up,” offensive lineman Tate Rutledge said.
Etienne took the handoff from Beck and powered up the middle. The ailing quarterback threw up his left arm in celebration, his right arm hanging by his side.
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers threw for 358 yards, but was sacked six times and threw a pair of interceptions.
The Longhorns had a 260-54 edge in total yards in the first half, but continually hurt themselves with penalties and led only 6-3. They finished with 11 flags for 94 yards, including a false start that wiped out a field goal.
With punter Brett Thorson sidelined with an injury, the Bulldogs called a gutsy fake on fourth-and-5 at their own 30.
The short snap went to protector Drew Bobo — son of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo — who flipped it to Arian Smith coming around end for a 9-yard gain on what was technically a pass.
“He will go down with a higher passing percentage than his father,” Smart quipped, referring to Mike Bobo’s quarterback days for Georgia in the 1990s.
The Bulldogs fumbled twice after the fake but managed to recover it both times before settling for Peyton Woodring’s third field goal that made it 16-13 with 4½ minutes left.
Texas: This one really stings for the Longhorns, who squandered a prime chance to finish off their SEC debut season with a championship. The running game struggled to get anything going, finishing with just 31 yards on 28 carries. And there are plenty of questions about an offensive line that gave up a total of 13 sacks in the two losses to the Bulldogs.
Georgia: The best thing for the Bulldogs is earning extra rest for the playoff, especially with Beck ailing. But give plenty of kudos to Stockton, who completed 12 of 16 passes for 71 yards and made that huge run in overtime, shaking off an interception that gave Texas a chance to tie it on Bert Auburn’s 27-yard field goal with 18 seconds left in regulation.
Texas: The Longhorns will surely host a first-round game, but now will have to win four games to capture a national championship.
Georgia: Smart says he plans to celebrate for maybe 48 hours — instead of his customary 24-hour rule — because the Bulldogs don’t play again for nearly four weeks.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Chase Briscoe led a banner night for Toyota in qualifying Wednesday for the Daytona 500 by winning the pole for NASCAR’s “Great American Race.”
It is the first Daytona 500 pole for Briscoe, who moved to Joe Gibbs Racing this season when Stewart-Haas Racing closed at the end of 2024. His move to the No. 19 gave Toyota its first pole in NASCAR’s biggest race of the season.
“A great way to start our season. Unbelievable way to start off the year. Unbelievable way to start off with Toyota,” Briscoe said. “To be able to be the guy to deliver them the first anything when they’ve already accomplished so much is pretty cool. To think I’m going to start on the front row or on the pole of the Great American Race with ultimately the great American brand of [sponsor] Bass Pro Shops is unbelievable. Can’t thank Coach Gibbs enough, the entire Joe Gibbs Racing organization.”
Briscoe’s lap of 182.745 mph held off a slew of Ford challengers. Former Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric qualified second in a Ford for Team Penske, which started from the pole last year with Joey Logano, who closed the year as NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Ford drivers claimed four of the top five spots in time trials, but only Briscoe and Cindric as the front row starters were locked in Wednesday night.
“A lot of fast Fords,” Cindric said. “Pretty good to start on the front row with one of my good friends. All in all, a great box checked for the start of this week. I think every single part of this weekend is important to setting up with an opportunity to win this race on Sunday.”
The only other drivers locked in during time trials were Toyota’s Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr., who were not guaranteed entry but posted speeds fast enough to claim two of the four “open” spots in the race.
The remainder of the starting order is set Thursday night in a pair of qualifying races.
There are nine drivers entered for four open spots and Truex and Johnson claimed two of them in time trials. Johnson is a seven-time NASCAR champion, two-time Daytona 500 winner and member of the Hall of Fame. Truex is the 2017 Cup champion and in his first year of not racing NASCAR full time.
“Both Jimmie and I were beneficiaries of their [Toyota’s] hard work on their engines,” Truex said.
Both would have been eligible to request the “world-class driver” provisional that guarantees entry as a 41st car to one driver who does not compete full time in NASCAR and brings marketability and visibility to the biggest race of the season.
The provisional will go to four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves if he fails to race his way in Thursday night. If he takes the provisional, Trackhouse Racing will not receive any points or purse money, and the field will be 41 cars — the largest field since 43 cars was the standard in 2015.
Johnson said his Legacy Motor Club was unaware of the provisional until it was announced earlier this year — even though it was a new rule included in the charter agreement teams signed in September. The rule required a team to request the provisional 90 days before the event, and the rule was not publicly announced until after the deadline for the Daytona 500 had passed.
“We didn’t know about it until the rule came out. Evidently, it was buried in the charter agreement that came out,” Johnson said earlier Wednesday. “But when the rule came out, I forget the time of the morning, three minutes later, we were on the phone with NASCAR and recognized it wasn’t within the 90 day-window and we weren’t eligible.
“We’ve had a lot of talks with everyone at NASCAR and I have a better understanding of the intent of the rule, and I would anticipate some changes following [Daytona] to better define and clarify that. When first read, our reaction wasn’t great, but it is what it is and hopefully, we have a fast enough car to get in.”
He did, just off the speed of Truex, but it was enough to ensure the two former champions will race Sunday.
The drivers who must race their way in Thursday, seeking the two remaining spots, are Anthony Alfredo, Justin Allgaier, Corey LaJoie, B.J. McLeod, Chandler Smith and J.J. Yeley. If Castroneves races his way in, there will only be one open spot available.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR filed a 68-page appeal Wednesday night — roughly one hour before the start of Daytona 500 qualifying — arguing that a federal judge erred in recognizing 23XI Motorsports and Front Row Motorsports as chartered teams for 2025 as the two organizations sue over antitrust claims.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell of the Western District of North Carolina in December issued a preliminary injunction that allowed 23XI and Front Row to receive the same rewards as a chartered team while the lawsuit wades through the court system.
23XI Racing is co-owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, while Front Row Motorsports is owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins.
Last month, Bell denied NASCAR’s motion to dismiss the suit, and also denied NASCAR’s request that the two organizations post a bond to cover any monies they are paid as chartered teams that would have to be returned should 23XI and Front Row lose the lawsuit.
“The district court’s injunction orders flout federal antitrust law; misapply the established rules governing the use of preliminary injunctions; ignore unrebutted, legally significant evidence; and have sweeping implications for NASCAR’s 2025 Cup Series season,” NASCAR wrote. “These injunctions misuse the judicial power to force NASCAR to treat its litigation adversaries as its business partners and confidants, undermining the mutual trust that has fueled NASCAR’s growth and success.”
The timing of the appeal — despite it hitting just one hour before time trials begin for Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500 — was a coincidence in that Wednesday was a court-ordered deadline. NASCAR does not publicly comment on the lawsuit.
NASCAR has maintained that it will defend itself against antitrust claims and believes that 23XI and Front Row have a misguided case; the teams don’t like the terms of the charter agreement so were the only two out of 15 organizations that refused to sign the forms when NASCAR presented its take-it-or-leave it offer 48 hours before last season’s playoffs began.
Not liking the terms of a contract does not qualify as an antitrust case, NASCAR believes, and it is willing to see the case through to trial. Should 23XI and Front Row prevail, it is believed NASCAR will eliminate the charter system outright rather than renegotiate new charters.
“While every other team owner that was offered a new Charter with these better terms accepted it, these two held out — raising concerns about several provisions but not the mutual releases,” NASCAR wrote. “NASCAR eventually withdrew its offers to Plaintiffs and moved forward with planning its 2025 Cup Series season without them as chartered teams. So 23XI and Front Row turned to the courts, attempting to transform the Charter’s standard release provision into a trump card to belatedly secure, outside of negotiations, the Charters they regretted rejecting — even though neither team owner ever raised that provision as an issue in two years of Charter negotiations.
“With neither the facts nor the law on their side, 23XI and Front Row argue it violates the Sherman Act for sports enterprises to include such standard releases in their agreements. The district court took the bait.”
At issue are the agreements that teams asked for and were granted in 2016. A charter guarantees each car that holds one a spot in the field each week, as well as guaranteed prize money and other financial incentives.
There are 36 guaranteed spots in each race, with four “open” spots for cars that do not hold charters. NASCAR believes 23XI and Front Row should be open cars because they did not sign the charter agreements.
NASCAR also did not want to approve the sale of charters from now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing to the two teams, which each purchased one charter to expand their organizations from two cars to three. Had Bell not granted the injunction to recognize the two teams as chartered for 2025, a combined six cars between the two organizations would not have received an automatic berth into the Daytona 500.
23XI fields Toyotas for newcomer Riley Herbst, as well as Tyler Reddick, last year’s regular-season champion, and Bubba Wallace. Front Row field Fords for Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland and newcomer Zane Smith.
“At this point, NASCAR would prefer to extend the perks of the 2025 Charter to owners committed to enhancing NASCAR’s competitiveness with other sports for fans, sponsors, and media dollars — rather than owners that undermine NASCAR’s brand,” the sanctioning body wrote in the appeal.
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