Kirby Smart explains Georgia's disastrous fourth-down play

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The Georgia Bulldogs made a questionable decision to go for it on 4th-and-2 from their own 32 yard line with over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter of the Sugar Bowl. Georgia lined up like it was going to just try to draw an offsides penalty on the Ole Miss Rebels, but redshirt freshman center Malachi Toliver snapped the ball and quarterback Gunner Stockton was strip sacked for a 10-yard loss by Ole Miss linebacker Suntarine Perkins, who was unblocked.

The decision to snap the ball appeared to shock several Georgia players. Offensive lineman Monroe Freeling did not get out of his stance until it was too late. Stockton had almost no chance to make a play.

At the time, Georgia was trailing just 27-24 and did not have to force the issue. The Bulldogs had certainly lost momentum. Ole Miss ended up getting the ball on Georgia’s 23 yard line. The Rebels needed just two passes from quarterback Trinidad Chambliss to score.

Trailing 34-24, Georgia mounted a comeback to tie up the game. The Rebels ended up kicking a game-winning field goal.

A lot of fans and media are questioning why Georgia went for it on 4th-and-2 and why the Bulldogs were so disorganized. Well, it turns out Georgia was not even planning to go for it.

“We screwed that up a little bit,” Smart said. “We had a misfire there. It was a change-up from what we had done twice. And we knew teams were going to sit back and not honor us because we had not snapped it on those plays in two different locations, two different times. And the ball was not supposed to be snapped in that situation. But that was on us as coaches.”

Toliver was filling in for injured starting center Drew Bobo. The snap mistake was costly, but Georgia had plenty of opportunities to win the game. Ultimately, the Bulldogs did not do enough to win, but the error on fourth down was one of Georgia’s biggest blunders of the game.

This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Kirby Smart explains UGA football’s questionable 4th down play

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