Kirby Smart unpacks decision to throw deep on London Humphreys touchdown late in 4Q

Kirby Smart knew Georgia needed a touchdown as host Tennessee held a 38-30 lead in the final minutes of regulation Saturday inside an electric Neyland Stadium. And he wanted it now.

It’s why, with the sixth-ranked Bulldogs facing a make-or-break fourth-and-6 play from the Vols’ 28-yard-line with less than 3 minutes left, there was no hesitation from the Georgia coaching staff. Rather than simply trying to get the necessary first down, junior quarterback Gunner Stockton dropped a dime into the waiting arms of sophomore receiver London Humphreys just inside the right pylon for a touchdown.

A two-point conversion pass from Stockton to Zachariah Branch later, and the game was tied at 38-all with 2 1/2 minutes left in regulation before a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Josh McCray clinched a 44-41 overtime win over No. 15 Tennessee.

After the game, Smart explained the bold play call on fourth down.

“I don’t know what they were in, we were just going to take a shot there. We needed to score fast. We didn’t need to keep milking time,” Smart said Saturday during his postgame press conference. “So, we felt like they were defending the sticks (first-down marker) and we were trying to get a touchdown. Sometimes you get an advantage when people play the sticks, and we were willing to take a shot.

“Because it was no guarantee we were going to get the 2(-point conversion), so I was on the headphones the entire drive saying, ‘Hey, we need to score quickly because we may need to get the ball back,’” Smart continued. “We can’t assume the tie. So the two-point conversion was the play of the game, because that actually gave us a chance.”

Kirby Smart calls out Gunner Stockton ‘naysayers’ after comeback win over Tennessee

When Tennessee got off to a blazing start, Georgia had no choice but to put the ball in the hands of Gunner Stockton. A question mark ahead of his first career road start, Stockton more than answered the call Saturday night, and Kirby Smart made sure to call out those that doubted him.

“A lot of naysayers out there about Gunner,” Smart told ESPN’s Holly Rowe postgame. “I thought he played his tail off today.”

Plenty was made of Stockton’s two previous performances against Marshall and Austin Peay. Neither inspired too much confidence, totalling just 417 yards and two touchdowns. A new challenge of facing off against an SEC team awaited him.

Stockton stepped up to the plate and then some, throwing for 304 yards and two touchdowns while completing 23 of his 31 passes. But there were certain moments where Stockton had to get it done, including a fourth quarter fourth-down throw for a touchdown and the game-tying two-point conversion.

“It’s a great atmosphere here,” Stockton said. “It was loud. We came in, overcame some stuff, didn’t play the best we wanted. But in the end, we won.”

— On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.