Georgia's Rose Bowl victory up for 'Best Game' at 2018 ESPYs

PASADENA, Calif. — “The Granddaddy of Them All” has given its viewers plenty of memories since the first-ever Rose Bowl game in 1902.

But January 1, 2018 was a game like no other.

The 104th Rose Bowl was Georgia’s first game in Pasadena, California since its victory there exactly 75 years earlier clinched the Bulldogs’ first national championship in football.

UGA defeated UCLA by a final of 9-0.

Well, this game had much more exposure -- 26.8 million viewers made it the fifth-most-watched cable television program ever -- and much more scoring.

The 102 combined points made it the highest-scoring Rose Bowl in history.

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The tide turned in the game right before halftime, when Oklahoma scored a TD to take a 31-14 lead, but on the ensuing kickoff, the Sooners kicked it short, the Bulldogs recovered, and kicker Rodrigo Blankenship’s Rose Bowl-record 55-yard field goal whittled Oklahoma’s lead to 31-17. Georgia took momentum into the halftime locker room.

Nick Chubb scored on Georgia’s first offensive play of the third quarter --a 50-yard touchdown run.

Sony Michel added a 38-yard scoring burst later in the quarter, and the game was tied 31-31 going into the final quarter.

After both teams swapped touchdown passes, the Sooners seized momentum with a 46-yard fumble return for a touchdown that gave them a 45-38 lead.

They held onto that lead until less than 1:00 remained in regulation, when Bulldogs senior running back Nick Chubb -- 145 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns -- scored from 2 yards out to tie the game and force the first overtime in Rose Bowl history.

Both teams traded field goals on their first possessions of overtime. Then in the second OT, Georgia’s 6’5” senior linebacker Lorenzo Carter skied to block Oklahoma’s 27-yard field goal attempt.

That set up the chance for the Dawgs to win it with any kind of score on their next possession.

They did just that when Sony Michel, the game’s offensive MVP, took the second play of their ensuing possession in for a 27-yard touchdown up the left sideline, and 92,844 spectators witnessed the end to a 54-48 back-and-forth classic, giving Georgia a school single-season record-tying 13th victory, a trip to the College Football Playoff national championship game and the largest comeback victory -- 17-point deficit -- in Rose Bowl history.

Michel finished with 222 total yards -- 181 rushing, 41 receiving -- and 4 total touchdowns (3 rushing, 1 receiving), and Roquan Smith took home defensive MVP honors following his 11-tackle performance.

The Georgia-Oklahoma 2018 Rose Bowl Game is nominated for "Best Game" at the 2018 ESPYs. The other two nominees in the category are "World Series Game 5, Astros defeat Dodgers in 10 innings" and "Olympic Women's Ice Hockey, U.S. defeats Canada in shootout." WATCH the 2018 ESPYs Wednesday night at 8 p.m. on Channel 2!

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