Georgia entered the fourth quarter at Jordan-Hare Stadium against Auburn tied 17-17 with the Tigers.
By the end of it, the No. 1 Bulldogs came out on top 27-20 after senior quarterback Carson Beck and junior tight end Brock Bowers shined together in the fourth quarter.
“Bowers did what he does. The guy’s amazing. It’s a wonder why you just don’t go to him every play,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “People know he’s there. Try to find ways – creative ways – to find him the ball.”
Though Smart was very complimentary of both Beck and Bowers after the game, he also shouted other playmakers, including Daijun Edwards, Rara Thomas and Ladd McConkey in his first game action this season after missing the first four dates due to injury.
“And we need guys around (Bowers) … Daijun has stepped up. Ladd made plays today for a guy who didn’t practice much all week. He made some plays. Rara made a hell of a completion, just beat the corner. A lot of guys made plays. We need more playmakers around Brock so people can’t isolate him.
“But I thought Carson played better in the second half. I never felt like he was rattled, and that was a concern coming in, would he be rattled by this environment?”
Bowers made several important fourth-quarter catches, but the defining moment of the game came on 3rd-and-12 with over six minutes to go when he hauled in a 16-yard gain to move the chains.
A couple of plays later, Beck connected with Bowers for a 40-yard touchdown to put Georgia in the driver’s seat. After Peyton Woodring nailed the PAT, the Bulldogs led 27-20 with 6:21 left in the game. While Bowers, who hauled in a team-high eight catches for 157 receiving yards and a touchdown, was considered the hero of Saturday’s win, he was very excited to see Beck play well.
“He did awesome,” Bowers declared of Beck via UGASports.com. “To come into that place, his first start, a super hostile away game, he did about the best you could ask for. Just proud of him the way he played.”
Beck completed 22 of 33 passes for 313 yards with one touchdown and an interception. He also was impressive in third-down situations, completing seven passes to help Georgia gain first downs.
Beck struggled in the first half, however, completing just 7 of 13 passes for 77 yards and a pick. In contrast, he completed 16 of 20 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown in the second half against Auburn.
Smart acknowledged Beck was “never flustered” and stepped up in the moment.
“I’ve told y’all he’s like that. He’s a calming voice out there. He got rid of a couple of balls. He took off and ran a couple times when he needed to,” Smart said. “The closest he came to putting us at risk was when somebody didn’t do their job in the front, and he almost got sacked. He tried to throw it away there on our sideline and they should’ve picked it. At the end of the day, Carson’s a competitor.”