ORLANDO, Fla. - Kregg Lumpkin stood along the sideline, headdrooping. The freshman was disconsolate about the stunning fumblethat cost Georgia a chance to wrap up the Capital One Bowl.
He wanted another chance.
He got it in overtime.
Lumpkin redeemed himself by scoring on a 1-yard, fourth-down divein the first overtime, giving No. 11 Georgia a 34-27 victory over No.12 Purdue on Thursday.
"I was just happy they were going to give me another chance,"Lumpkin said. "I was thinking, 'Don't fumble, just score.'"
The Bulldogs (11-3) built a 24-0 lead in the first half. TheBoilermakers tied it with a 17-point fourth quarter. Georgia finallywon it when Lumpkin slipped into the end zone, then Tony Taylor madea game-ending interception.
Whew!
"We've never been in overtime, so we tried to force it intoovertime," said Georgia Coach Mark Richt, able to joke about thehectic finish. "And our scoring average was down, so we were able toget a few more points."
Richt wasn't in such a good mood at the end of regulation. TheBoilermakers (9-4) tied it up thanks to a remarkable turn of eventswith just over a minute remaining.
Purdue was out of timeouts when Richt called a run on second downinstead of ordering quarterback David Greene to take a knee. Thecoach was trying to avoid a punt with a few seconds left, but hequickly regretted his decision.
Lumpkin got hemmed up deep in the backfield and tried to run theother way, but Shaun Phillips stripped the ball. After a wildscramble, Niko Koutouvides recovered for Purdue at the Georgia 34.
"What we talked about was getting down without going out ofbounds," Lumpkin said. "I should have just fallen down when I sawthat guy. I wish I had."
Ben Jones kicked a 44-yard field goal with 49 seconds remaining tokeep the game going, tied at 27.
It was reminiscent of the "Miracle of the Meadowlands," a 1978 NFLgame in which the New York Giants fumbled trying to run out theclock. Philadelphia scooped up the loose ball and ran it in for thewinning touchdown.
This time, Georgia had a chance to make up for its mistake inovertime. As the teams prepared for the extra period, Richt noticedLumpkin standing along the sideline, his head down.
"I looked at him and said, 'Hey, you can't be down now. We mightneed you to win this football game.'"
How prophetic. Taking the ball first, the Bulldogs got to the 3with the help of a pass interference penalty on Bobby Iwuchukwu, thenwent for it on fourth down from inside the 1. Lumpkin managed toslide through a crease for the touchdown.
Purdue had a chance to keep the game going. Georgia appeared toget the clinching stop when Kyle Orton threw an incomplete pass onfourth-and-goal from the 8, but the Bulldogs were offsides.
Orton's final pass was intercepted by Taylor in the end zone,setting off a wild celebration by the Georgia players after a gamethat lasted nearly four hours.
"We don't have moral victories at Purdue," Coach Joe Tiller said."It was a loss for us, a tough loss."
Tiller wasn't happy about the penalty in overtime.
"The ball was probably 10, 12 yards over the receiver's head," hesaid. "Last time I checked, Shaquille O'Neal isn't playing receiverfor Georgia."
The game was similar to the only other meeting between theschools, the 2000 Outback Bowl.
In that one, Purdue built a 25-0 lead early in the second quarter,but was stunned by one of the greatest comebacks in bowl history.Georgia rallied for a 28-25 victory in overtime.
Greene passed for three touchdowns in the first half and theBulldogs seemed on the verge of their own blowout. He finished 27-of-37 for 327 yards and was the game's MVP.
But Greene's performance was overshadowed by Purdue's thrillingcomeback, led by Orton. The quarterback ran for two TDs and threw a 3-yard scoring pass to Anthony Chambers with 1:41 remaining, pullingthe Boilermakers to 27-24.
When the onside kick went out of bounds, the game was over, right?Not so fast.
Jones, who had missed an overtime kick in a loss to Ohio State,got a chance when Lumpkin fumbled. The kicker came through with hissecond field goal.
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