What if Tech could have converted a fourth-and-1 (or a third-and-1) from the Georgia 25 early? What if the Jackets hadn’t missed a 25-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter? What if the Tech defense could have made just one play to stop one of Georgia’s three touchdown attempts in the fourth quarter? What if the Jackets could have converted a first down after gaining possession with 3:33 left in regulation and leading 27-20?

What if Tech could have scored in either overtime period when it had the ball on second down after a failed Bulldogs attempt and tied the game with a successful two-point conversion?

What if, what if, what if?

No. 7 Georgia 44, Georgia Tech 42, eight overtimes.

ExploreGeorgia narrowly outlasts Georgia Tech in a thrilling 8-overtime battle

For the seventh straight meeting, the Jackets lost to their rivals, this time in a manner that seemed like a punch in the gut followed by a kick in the face, ending with strangers barking loudly in their faces.

But what shouldn’t be forgotten in such a crushing defeat is the irrefutable evidence that Tech has become a team to be reckoned with – in college football, in the ACC and, undoubtedly, in the state of Georgia.

Georgia, a national championship contender playing in front of its vaunted home crowd – where it had not lost in its last 30 games – needed eight overtimes to survive its archrival’s upset attempt. Only once in college football history have two teams played more overtime, a nine-overtime game between Illinois and Penn State in 2021. That was the degree to which Georgia and Tech were tied.

This came at the end of a regular season in which the Jackets defeated two top-10 teams, won more regular season games (seven) than they had since 2018, and earned back-to-back bowl bids for the first time since their 18th season, a two-year bowl streak ended in the 2015 season.

If Georgia wins the national title, the Bulldogs and their fan base will have to look back on that late November night at Sanford Stadium and be grateful (and perhaps happy) that the Jackets didn’t get to play again.

It was so, so close. The Yellow Jackets entered the game as 17-point underdogs and took control of the game from the start. They penetrated Georgia territory on their first five possessions, scored touchdowns twice and forced two punts, a turnover, a fourth-down stop and a missed field goal attempt in Georgia’s first five possessions. They led 17-0 at halftime, the first time since 2019 that the Bulldogs went scoreless until halftime.

If anyone had doubted Tech’s ability to beat the Bulldogs before kickoff, the time for disbelief was over.

Tech controlled the game into the third quarter, with the Jackets answering two Georgia touchdown drives with a field goal and a touchdown. Quarterback Haynes King, whose right (throwing) shoulder was in much better health than in Tech’s previous two games when his passing abilities were severely limited, was at his best play-wise.

When he put a goalie in from 11 yards out that (along with a point-after try from Aidan Birr) gave the Jackets a 27-13 lead with 5:37 left in regulation, it seemed certain for the Tech fans , to celebrate. In fact, Georgia fans began to leave Sanford Stadium, their expectations of victory dashed.

But as is the way of the history of this one-sided rivalry, the talented Bulldogs had the final say. Georgia drove 75 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 27-20 with 3:39 left in the fourth quarter, then forced a King fumble on a fateful third-and-1 carry from the Tech 31. It followed another “what if?” – a King pass to receiver Abdul Janneh on 2nd-and-13 that pushed Janneh out of bounds just before the marker.

Georgia took advantage of the error and tied the score with a 32-yard touchdown drive that ended with 1:01 left in the fourth quarter.

In the wildest back-and-forth battle of overtime, Georgia and Tech could not be separated but stuck together like magnets encased in titanium and sealed in a vacuum. Seven overtimes failed to produce a winner.

The two teams scored touchdowns and extra points (first overtime), then touchdowns and failed on mandatory two-point attempts (second overtime), then failed two-point conversion attempts (third and fourth overtimes), and then successful conversions (fifth overtime). Failed conversions (sixth and seventh overtime periods). The seventh had a now-or-never feeling for the Jackets.

First, Georgia was stopped by a goalie from Carson Beck as the Bulldogs borrowed from the Tech playbook with a fake throw from Beck and a run up the middle, a King classic. He was stopped by security guard Omar Daniels. Tech could now win with a conversion from the 3-yard line.

Technical offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner drew deep from his own supply of plays, positioning both offensive tackles and both guards near the sideline. The resulting passing play led to pass interference against Georgia and now the Jackets had the ball at the 1½ yard line. If the Jackets could do it from 54 inches away, they would be assured of victory.

But King, carrying the ball after an incorrect handoff, was tackled well in front of the goal line.

And in the eighth overtime, Georgia finally prevailed. King threw incomplete to receiver Eric Singleton Jr. and then Bulldogs running back Nate Frazier scored with a run up the middle.

In the first few minutes of Saturday morning the game was (finally) over.

Some Tech players went straight to the locker room. King, who had played so bravely, strolled amiably around the field, looking for Bulldogs players to congratulate before heading back to the locker room.

There is some consolation for Tech and its fan base. Technology must now have Georgia’s full attention. Smarts already existed. He saw his colleague Key build that program and recruit recruits that followed the Bulldogs, something that hasn’t always happened in this state.

“This rivalry is good for our state, and Brent and I shared that before and after the game,” Smart said.

While the recent Tech-Georgia meetings were so one-sided in favor of the red team that it hardly seemed like a rivalry and there was nothing to lose to lose sleep over, that is no longer the case.

But on this cold night that might have been all.