The Georgia Bulldogs claimed a dramatic victory in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday, defeating Texas 22-19 in overtime at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
However, the win may have come at a significant cost.
Star quarterback Carson Beck, a major figure in Georgia’s success this season, was forced to leave the game at the end of the first half after taking a brutal hit.
Coming off a grueling eight-overtime win against rival Georgia Tech the week before, the Bulldogs showed resilience again against the Longhorns.
Backup quarterback Gunner Stockton stepped in for Beck, completing 12 of 16 passes for 71 yards and showing impressive poise and command against a strong defense.
Notably, the injured-Beck came in for what was the game-winning play in overtime after Stockton lost his helmet the play before.
Beck handed the ball off to Trevor Etienne who barreled forward for the dramatic walk-off score.
Head coach Kirby Smart acknowledged the emotional toll of Beck’s injury during his postgame remarks.
“A tough deal for him in terms of not being able to go out there and finish in the second half,” Smart said. “But he’s also excited for his teammates and happy that it ended the way it did, and ironically, he got to be on the field for that.”
Georgia’s victory secured them a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff, with their next game set for New Year’s Day against either Notre Dame or Indiana.
However, the spotlight is now on Beck’s availability.
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum expressed concern about Beck’s condition during an appearance on SportsCenter.
“They are not fine,” Finebaum said of Georgia. “As we get ready for the playoffs, this is the single biggest question going on: What is Carson Beck’s condition?”
Adding to the unease, WSB’s Zach Klein reported that Beck has sustained a UCL injury, which is expected to sideline him for the Sugar Bowl.
Georgia has yet to make any official announcement about the true severity of Beck’s injury … But there are certainly bad feelings around the situation.
Entering the season as a Heisman Trophy contender, Beck has been pivotal to Georgia’s success.
The senior quarterback has thrown 28 touchdowns this season, but his production has shown slight declines from last year.
His completion percentage dropped from 72.4% to 64.7%, and his yards per attempt fell from 9.5 to 7.8.
He’s clearly missed both Bock Bowers and Ladd McConkey. In the grand scheme of things, Beck has failed to live up to the sky-high expectations that were set for him entering the season.
Having said that, we all know how talented and dangerous he is.
It goes without saying that, when healthy, Beck is more than capable of leading the Dawgs to the national title.
But the question on everyone’s minds is: Just how healthy will Beck be come New Year’s Day???
Beck appeared to be rounding into form in recent weeks, throwing 11 touchdowns with no interceptions across three games leading up to the SEC Championship.
The injury couldn’t come at a worse time for Georgia, whose realistic title hopes hinge on Beck’s ability to return.
What are your thoughts on the situation?
Do you agree with Finebaum that Georgia could be in enormous trouble???
