179 points, two epic playoff games and one great day of college football (Pete Thamel)
ATLANTA - As Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggleslined up to attempt the game-winning 50-yard field goal, midnight approached on the East Coast. As millions waited for the ball to drop and a new year to kick in, a rollicking day of college football hurtled toward a crescendo.
Georgia led Ohio State by one point, 42-41, and Kirby Smart called a time out to attempt to ice Ruggles. A din of fear, loathing and anticipation filled Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the perfect emotional cocktail for a semifinal day the sport had waited nearly a decade to unfold in such a manner.
College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock stood unassumingly near the goal line where Ohio State was attempting to kick. He declared victory before a victor had been decided. "What a great day for college football," he beamed.
The first wire-to-wire riveting semifinal day the sport had seen…
Ruggles shanked his field goal left, a knuckleball to sputter in the New Year. Georgia took a knee one time, and the game ended at 12:01 a.m., one of the great days in the recent history of the sport taking the span of two different years to complete. Fittingly, the drama couldn't quite fit in one.
