While not one of the most celebrated moments in Penn State history, the Nittany Lions do hold one of college football’s more ridiculous records. And after a rivalry matchup between Georgia and Georgia Tech on Friday night, that record still holds firm.
Georgia and Georgia Tech played an eight-overtime game that saw the Bulldogs come back from a 17-0 deficit to celebrate a wild 44-42 victory. After making a defensive stop on Georgia Tech’s two-point try to start the eighth overtime shortly after midnite, Georgia clinched the win when freshman running back Nate Frazier powered his way up the middle of the field for a short game-winning run. And as a result, Penn State’s record for the most overtimes played survived unrivaled.
Penn State lost a nine-overtime game to Illinois in 2021 by a score of 20-18. Needless to say, that game was far less entertaining than what unfolded in Athens, Georgia on Black Friday. Georga and Georgia Tech each outscored the Penn State-Illinois debacle by themselves by the end of the first overtime, with the score knotted at 40-40 going to the third overtime.
The Georgia-Georgia Tech game did become the longest game in SEC history once it moved to the eighth overtime session. Of course, it was the previous SEC record holder for most overtimes that led to the revised overtime rules in college football. LSU and Texas A&M played a grueling seven overtime game in 2018 under the old overtime rules that led to the NCAA Rules Committee moving to the 2-point try model once you enter the third overtime.
Penn State could potentially face Georgia in the upcoming College Football Playoff. Georgia’s win last night may have been enough to secure a spot in the 12-team field regardless of what they do in next week’s SEC Championship Game (Georgia will play the winner of Saturday’s Texas-Texas A&M game in the SEC championship game), although the Bulldogs do have two losses already. A third loss could make for some questions for Georgia in the field depending on what else happens around the country this week and next.
Penn State has its own work to do today though. Penn State hosts Maryland with a chance to likely secure a home playoff game in the first round. And if it somehow gets a big helping hand from Michigan, Penn State could play for the Big Ten title next week against Oregon.
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