ATHENS, Ga. - Quincy Mauger was a freshman safety for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2013, and he was on the sideline at Auburn for the "Prayer in Jordan-Hare."
"It was an unbelievable play, and it's a play nobody forgets," Mauger said this week. "It wasn't how we predicted to come home."
Georgia receiver Malcolm Mitchell and tight end Jay Rome were spared the solemn trip back, having missed that game due to injuries. They watched on television as Josh Harvey-Clemons collided into fellow safety Tray Matthews, allowing a fourth-and-18 desperation heave by Auburn's Nick Marshall to be tipped and gathered in by Ricardo Louis for a 73-yard touchdown with 25 seconds remaining.
Auburn added its shocking "Kick Six" victory over top-ranked Alabama two weeks later and wound up playing Florida State for the national championship, and the painful memories remain two years later for the Bulldogs as they prepare for Saturday's trip back.
Bulldogs glance
› Georgia (6-3, 4-3 SEC) at Auburn (5-4, 2-4) › Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. › Saturday, Noon › CBS and 102.3 FM
"I shut the TV off," Mitchell said. "I was in complete disbelief, to be honest. We had worked so hard to come back, and to watch it vanish on a play like that is something you could never imagine happening."
Said Rome: "I could not believe it. We made a really great push in the fourth quarter. The ball went up, and it just happened."
Georgia's two players involved on the play are no longer in the program, with Matthews now suiting up for Auburn.
Auburn was not lacking for good fortune in 2013, but now it seems like shocking conclusions are the norm. The last month alone has resulted in dramatic endings to the Michigan-Michigan State, Florida State-Georgia Tech, Duke-Miami and Arkansas-Ole Miss games, leaving Georgia coach Mark Richt and Alabama's Nick Saban with plenty of company in the heartbreak department.
"There is unbelievable stuff that happens, and it just seems to happen in college football more than the pros - just wild stuff," Richt said. "It's why everybody loves college football, but you hate to be on the other end of it. It's like when (Ole Miss quarterback) Chad Kelly is getting hit in the mouth (against Alabama) and just launches it up in the air and bounces it off somebody's head, and the guy (Quincy Adeboyejo) catches it for a touchdown.
"Then last week it looks like Ole Miss has a stop, and the Arkansas guy (tight end Hunter Henry) flips it over his head to the one guy (tailback Alex Collins) on the whole team who could probably outrun the defense. I was watching it just thinking it was wild as a fan."
The wacky finishes to recent college football games almost make Florida's 63-yard touchdown pass from Will Grier to Antonio Callaway on fourth-and-14 for a 28-27 win over Tennessee in late September look somewhat normal. Almost.
"You put yourself in an opportunity to win for 59 minutes, but that's football sometimes," Volunteers coach Butch Jones said. "You find out about the character of football teams and how they handle adversity. It can affect you in many ways. It can tear a season apart, and it can create separation and divide.
"The good teams can survive it, but the great teams can learn from it and move on."
Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze is getting more experience than he wants in addressing stunned locker rooms. The Rebels gave up a fourth-and-25 last Saturday on Henry's behind-the-back lateral, and they lost last year's game against Auburn when star receiver Laquon Treadwell fumbled while suffering a fractured leg and ankle as he was crossing the goal line.
Freeze said the disappointments from the two games are the same, but why are these dramatic endings occurring with such regularity?
"It's probably a combination of the kids' awareness of the game and seeing the coverage that our game receives now," Freeze said. "These kids see that and are able to talk with the coaches about some of these situations, but I don't know if there is a way to cover all the situations that we've seen."
Auburn's 73-yard pass two years ago scratched what would have been the greatest comeback in Georgia history. The Bulldogs trailed 37-17 early in the fourth quarter and rallied to take a one-point lead behind the stellar play of quarterback Aaron Murray, who actually drove Georgia near the red zone following the Louis touchdown but was sacked on the final play.
Georgia rolled to a 34-7 win over the Tigers last season at Sanford Stadium, but a return to the scene this week has resulted in a return of many unpleasant memories for the Bulldogs.
"I was wide-eyed, because you never thought that ball would get caught," said defensive lineman Josh Dawson, whose reaction on the sideline was caught by CBS cameras. "Nobody saw it coming, but it was a lesson learned for us. Hopefully it won't happen again.
"We've put it behind us. It's not the same Auburn team. It's not the same Georgia team."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.