The last pass Hutson Mason will ever throw for Georgia in Sanford Stadium was intercepted to end the game and seal Georgia Tech’s 30-24 overtime victory Saturday.
“The only thing you’re ever going to remember (from this day) the rest of your life is you threw a pick and you lost to Tech,” Mason said afterward.
Compounding the misery for Georgia’s fifth-year senior quarterback is that the interception came only moments after he led a 12-play, 69-yard touchdown drive that gave the Bulldogs a 24-21 lead with 18 seconds left in regulation. Mason completed five passes on that drive, which, he conceded, would have been a storybook ending to his final home game.
“As you’re going on the field (for that drive), you realize this would be a pretty special way to end your senior year,” Mason said. “I’ve been through a lot this year mentally, and I thought there for a second that was maybe the sweetest way to write your story.”
The story was rewritten, however, by coach Mark Richt’s ill-fated decision to squib kick following the touchdown, Tech’s game-tying 53-yard field goal at the end of regulation and then the interception of Mason’s pass by Yellow Jackets cornerback D.J. White at the Tech 5-yard line after the Jackets took a 30-24 lead in overtime.
“Obviously, with 18 seconds left, you feel like you’ve won the game. I was pretty excited and pretty pumped,” Mason said. “I realized after we kicked the ball off that they had a really good shot at probably getting a field goal. All of these people were celebrating, and I was, like, ‘Shoot, this might go to overtime.’ Nothing seems to go easy, that’s for sure, around here.
“It’s unfortunate, man,” Mason continued. “There’s more to life. … But it stinks to throw a pick in your last game against Tech.”
The slant pass was intended for wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell, who had caught a 3-yard touchdown throw from Mason to cap the drive that gave the Bulldogs the lead moments earlier.
“I bet when I go back and watch it,” Mason said of the game-ending pass, “it’s one where … he’s not really open and you may just throw it at his feet and live to play another down. But that’s football, man. You make instant decisions, and you’ve got to live with it the rest of your life.”
Mason still has one more game to play for Georgia — a bowl game somewhere — but Richt said his quarterback deserved a storybook finish at Sanford Stadium.
“I just feel bad for Hutson because it should have been,” Richt said. “I feel bad for everybody.”
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