ATLANTA – The Georgia Bulldogs struggled to get anything going against Texas and there was little reason to hope for a turnaround with their quarterback collapsed on the turf. Enter a guy who barely played in his college career.

Lightly used backup Gunner Stockton came on in the second half after an injury to Carson Beck and led No. 5 Georgia to an improbable 22-19 overtime victory over the No. 2 Longhorns in the Southeastern Conference championship game on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (11-2) won their third SEC title under coach Kirby Smart, but the trophy comes with an even bigger prize – a bye in the first round of the new 12-team College Football Playoff. Georgia entered the game ranked fifth in the CFP, but is now assured of playing in the quarterfinal game of the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day as a No. 2 seed en route to its third national title in four seasons.

“This team never says no,” said a jubilant Smart amid the falling confetti at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Texas (11-2, No. 2 CFP) failed to win an SEC title in its first season in the league and will host a first-round game on either Dec. 20 or 21. Both losses came to the Bulldogs. who prevailed 30-15 when the powerhouse programs met in Austin during the regular season.

“It hurts,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “But we have a chance in a few weeks to regroup, get into the College Football Playoff and compete for a national championship. I think we’re good enough to win this.”

The big question for Georgia during the celebration was the health of Beck, the two-year starter who was sidelined with a throwing arm injury on the final play of the first half. Smart would call it just an “upper extremity” injury and said an MRI would determine the extent of the damage.

Stockton, a third-year student, had played in just six games in his college career – all mere rehashes of overwhelming victories. He led the Bulldogs to a touchdown and two field goals before taking a hard hit on a run in overtime that sent his helmet flying.

“This kid is a winner,” Smart said. “This child is special.”

Beck, who could barely lift his arm, came back into the game and scored first in the 4th. All he had to do – and could do – was pass the hand to Trevor Etienne, who stormed into the end zone to end the game’s first overtime game in the 33-year history of the SEC Championship.

Georgia topped the regular season, winning for the second straight week after posting a 44-42 victory over Georgia Tech in eight overtimes in the regular season finale.

This one was even sweeter, especially after losing his offensive leader.

“We’re banged up, we’re tired, we’re mentally exhausted,” Smart said. “But I don’t know if I’ve ever had a mentally tougher team. They just keep coming, keep coming. You never say die.”

Beck went down on a wild final play of the first half while trying to throw a ball into the end zone. Trey Moore knocked the ball away with a punch to his right arm, sparking a scramble that ended with a couple of sideways hits and a Georgia lineman being tackled with the ball.

Even more concerning for the Bulldogs was that Beck remained on the turf, holding his throwing arm while his teammates hovered over him. Eventually he slowly trudged to the locker room, but Smart said his day was over.

Not quite.

After leading Texas to a field goal on the first possession of overtime, Stockton was forced to stop the game for at least one play after his first-down run ended with a hit that ripped his helmet off.

One play was all the Bulldogs needed from Beck.

“When we got the play and everyone saw it was Carson, we were pretty excited,” offensive lineman Tate Rutledge said.

Etienne took the handoff from Beck and drove the center forward. The stricken quarterback threw his left arm up in celebration while his right arm dangled at his side.

Quinn Ewers threw for 358 yards and Texas’ only touchdown, but was sacked six times and had two interceptions – both by Daylen Everette, who was voted the game’s MVP.

The Longhorns had a 260-54 yardage lead in the first half but continually hurt themselves with penalties and led only 6-3. They finished the game with 11 flags for 94 yards, including a false start that negated a field goal.

Fake

In one of the game’s biggest decisions, Georgia scored a fourth-quarter field goal set up by a bold fake after punter Brett Thorson was sidelined with an injury.

On fourth-and-5 at their own 30, the Bulldogs hit the ball to guard Drew Bobo – son of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo – who turned it over to Arian Smith, who ended up scoring a 9-yard gain was technically a passport.

“He’s going to go down with a higher pass rate than his dad,” Smart quipped, referencing Mike Bobo’s quarterback days for Georgia in the 1990s.

The Bulldogs were also very lucky. They fumbled twice after the fake but managed to recover both times before settling for Peyton Woodring’s third field goal that made it 16-13 with 4 1/2 minutes left.

Take away

Texas: This has to really hurt the Longhorns, who missed a prime opportunity to cap their debut SEC season with a championship. The running game struggled to get anything going, finishing with just 31 yards on 28 carries. And there are a lot of questions about an offensive line that gave up a total of 13 sacks in the two losses to the Bulldogs.

Georgia: The best thing for the Bulldogs is to get some extra rest for the playoffs, especially with Beck ailing. But kudos goes to Stockton, who completed 12 of 16 passes for 71 yards and threw off an interception that gave Texas a chance to score Bert Auburn’s 27-yard field goal with 18 seconds left that clinched the game in OT .

Next

Texas: The Longhorns will host a first-round game, but now they must win four games to win a national championship.

Georgia: Smart says he plans to celebrate for perhaps 48 hours – instead of his usual 24-hour rule – because the Bulldogs won’t play for nearly four weeks.

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