Second-half offense guns down Auburn
November 18, 2002 by BRADLEY HANDWERGER
Filed under Sports
AUBURN, Ala. — What looked like it was going to turn into Florida Part II with a loss in a game that could clinch a spot in the SEC Championship Game, turned into a night Georgia will never forget.
The Bulldogs pulled out a 24-21 victory over Auburn on the Plains in thrilling fashion — a spectacular 19-yard touchdown catch over a Tigers defender by junior flanker Michael Johnson gave Georgia the go-ahead points with a little over a minute to play and eventually the SEC Eastern Division Championship.
The real story, however, comes in the form of a fairytale second half played by the Georgia offense.
After being held to just 63 total yards on 23 plays in the first half, Georgia came out and piled up 272 yards of offense in the second half.
“We knew we couldn’t lose this game,” junior running back Musa Smith said. “We never quit. We finished the drill.”
Georgia head coach Mark Richt, who moved his record to 8-0 on opponents’ home fields, said he was really proud of the team.
“Since I’ve been here, I can’t remember a game (that we hadn’t played hard),” he said. “I’ve never once seen the team quit in a game or lose their heart.”
Georgia came out from halftime and immediately drove 67 yards on 10 plays for its first touchdown of the game. That drive alone totaled more yards than the Bulldogs had in the entire first half.
The Bulldogs’ never-say-die attitude, which had been seen in previous wins over Alabama and South Carolina and merely peeked around the corner in the Florida loss, showed itself one more time against Auburn.
With 1:58 to play and the goal of the SEC Championship Game fading like the sun over a mountain range, Georgia’s offense got one more shot at redeeming 20 years of SEC mediocrity.
As the offense was getting ready to go onto the field, Richt turned to senior lineman and leader Jon Stinchcomb, who had given an impromptu speech to his teammates at halftime.
“Richt was looking at Stinchcomb and said, ‘This is what it’s all about,’” Smith said.
The offense responded, and 33 seconds later, Johnson scored his 19-yard touchdown on 70X Takeoff — the play the 2002 Georgia team will remember as what took them to the Georgia Dome.
