Aaron Murray got the last laugh over Zach Mettenberger. Again.
Once Georgia roommates competing for the starting quarterback job, Murray and Mettenberger duked it out on opposing offenses Saturday in an explosive showdown between No. 9 Georgia and No. 6 LSU, one with national implications. But after Mettenberger led his team on a long, go-ahead touchdown drive with 4:14 to play, Murray one-upped him with a 75-yard, game-winning jaunt.
At the end the drive, Murray connected with Justin Scott-Wesley on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 1:47 left in the game. The score and extra point gave the Bulldogs a 44-41 victory and put them squarely in the middle of the BCS championship equation.
The cool and calm that Murray displayed had coaches and players singing his praises.
“He calmed everybody down,” said Georgia wide receiver Chris Conley, who had five catches for 112 yards. “He said, ‘OK, fellas, we know what we need to do; we need a touchdown.’ It wasn’t a speech. We didn’t need any rah, rah. He said we needed to execute. Aaron led us down there, and we did it.”
“He played beautifully. He played clutch,” Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said. “He was phenomenal and gutsy, in my opinion.”
Long criticized for a perceived inability to win a big game, Murray had a monster performance. The fifth-year senior was 20-of-34 passing for 298 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for a score. He was perfect on the final drive, going 4-for-4 on passes and checking down into a pair of runs.
“It’s not about me,” Murray said. “It’s about this team, it’s about us getting better and us winning these big games. I’m just really happy for everyone, players, coaching staff. It was a really special moment being in this locker room and being with the fans on the field afterward.”
On his message to the offense when they huddled with 4:14 to play, Murray recalled: “I said, ‘we’ve been through this before. Everyone relax. Let’s go out there and make plays and execute. Just win your one-on-one battles.’ That’s what I told them. Our guys did a great job.”
After taking a knee at midfield to close the door on the game, Murray turned and chucked the ball nearly 50 yards to Sanford Stadium’s west end zone. The field was engulfed in red jerseys at midfield as the Bulldogs jumped and bumped amid a wild celebration.
Mettenberger, playing his first game at Sanford Stadium since being banished after an arrest for sexual battery, wasn’t too bad himself. The senior from Watkinsville was 23-of-37 passing for 372 yards and three touchdowns.
“It was just another game,” Mettenberger said. “We didn’t put too much stock into it. … It’s just tough we have to deal with this loss.”
The Tigers (4-1, 1-1 SEC) play on the road next week at Mississippi State. Georgia heads to Tennessee.
It was an emotionally exhausting day — and week — for Richt and his staff. They have known Mettenberger since he was 5 and first came to work with his mother, Tammy, who is an administrative assistant in the football office. Richt shed tears during the CBS postgame interview.
“I don’t normally get as emotional as I did after this,” said Richt, who said he got a “brief hug” from Mettenberger before he bolted off the field. “But it was good to celebrate with our players. They lifted me up.”
Said UGA offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, who recruited and coached both players, “I’m about to pass out right now.”
There was a lot to be excited about. The victory keeps the Bulldogs (3-1, 2-0), who have endured three games against top-10 opponents in the season’s first month, in the BCS championship discussion.
It was the Bulldogs’ 15th consecutive win on their home field. They did it without their best running back for more than half the game.
Sophomore tailback Todd Gurley left the game for good with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter with a sprained ankle. He had 73 yards on 8 carries at the time. Gurley’s availability for Saturday’s game at Tennessee is uncertain.
But backup Keith Marshall picked up where Gurley left off and finished with 96 yards on 20 carries. Georgia ended with 496 yards of offense, 198 rushing.
“We were rolling basically,” Marshall said. “Todd told me to go out and ball out and just play football.”
Chris Conley had 112 yards receiving, Scott-Wesley had 55 on four catches and Michael Bennett caught two for scores. Sophomore Marshall Morgan kicked two field goals, including a 55-yarder.
The win bailed out Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and his young charges. They had a chance to put the game away earlier, but let the Tigers loose on a third-and-22 at their own 13-yard line. After the 25-yard completion to Odell Beckham, LSU drove the remaining 62 yards on five plays and went ahead 41-37 on Jeremy Hill’s 8-yard run.
After a touchback, Georgia took over at its own 25, and Murray went to work. On three passes and two runs — the second an 18-yarder by freshman tailback J.J. Green — Murray on first down from the 25 found Scott-Wesley wide open going down the right sideline. Scott-Wesley hauled in the strike around the 10 and cruised in untouched for the score.
The sellout crowd, loud as its ever been in the closing minutes, broke out in bombastic celebration.
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