Georgia Survives Scare, Pulls out 27-20 Win Over Auburn Behind The B&B Boys
Georgia has a new quarterback and an old tight end. And thanks to them, the top team in the country still has an unblemished record.
Carson Beck has been at Georgia since 2020, but as a backup quarterback that played only sparingly. He arrived on Saturday to his first Southeastern Conference road start at an inspired Auburn and pulled it out, 27-20, in front of a raucous crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Brock Bowers has probably been the best tight end in the country since 2021. He made a case Saturday that he may be the best player in the country.
Beck found Bowers eight times for 157 yards, six of those coming in the second half after the Bulldogs had clawed back to tie a game they once trailed 10-0 in the first quarter. The combination teamed up late in the game to pull out the win, with Beck hitting a wide-open Bowers over the middle with less than three minutes to play in the game. Bowers made the catch and broke three tackles on his way to a 40-yard touchdown with 2:52 left for the 27-20 lead.
"He kept making play after play after play," Beck said of Bowers. "Of course, he's going to get the ball."
Georgia tight end Brock Bowers makes one of his eight catches in the No. 1 Bulldogs 27-20 win at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama, on Saturday. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Two-time defending national champion Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC) won its 22nd straight game, dating back to the 2021 season before a 15-0 mark last season. Auburn fell to 3-2 and 0-2 under first-year coach Hugh Freeze. But it looked much improved over last week when it fell to Texas A&M, 24-10. And the Tigers looked vastly improved over its 42-10 loss to Georgia last season.
Georgia Trailed Auburn Early, 10-0
"They've got a great team," Beck said. "The environment here is insane. It's loud, but we stayed composed."
Georgia had to come back to tie the game twice - at 10-10 in the second quarter and at 17-17 in the third. The Bulldogs did not take their first lead until the 10:57 mark of the fourth quarter at 20-17 on a 38-yard field goal by Peyton Wooding. Auburn tied the game for the third time at 20-20 on a 42-yard field goal by Alex McPherson with 6:21 to play.
Bulldogs' Tight End Brock Bowers Could Not Be Stopped
Then the Beck & Bowers show took over.
Bowers' game-winning touchdown tied the Georgia school record for career touchdown catches at 23 with wide receiver A.J. Green, who played from 2008-10.
"This team had not been on the road," an exuberant Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "This young man (Beck) has not played in this type of environment. We just kept fighting and kept thumping. When you win on the road in the the SEC, I don't care who it is or where it is. It's hard to do."
Beck struggled to find Bowers in the first half to the chagrin of offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.
"He finally looked back side in cover two," Smart said. "I think coach Bobo was about to kill him."