The Georgia Bulldogs finally experienced a College Football Playoff game that was decided in regulation.
Friday night's Orange Bowl semifinal actually was over at halftime.
Stetson Bennett's 57-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Burton at the 1:38 mark of the second quarter staked the third-seeded Bulldogs to a 27-3 advantage and served as the early dagger in their eventual 34-11 thrashing of second-seeded Michigan at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Proving his doubters wrong once again, Bennett completed 20 of 30 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing three times for 32 yards to propel Georgia to a second appearance in the national title game in five seasons.
"I'm so happy for these kids," Georgia coach Kirby Smart told ESPN immediately after the game. "They answered a million questions about our team bouncing back and how you play. We've got a lot of high-character guys on this team, and they played their tails off."
On Jan. 10 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the Bulldogs (13-1) will meet familiar foe Alabama (13-1), which took its own convincing step to a seventh national championship under Nick Saban with a 27-6 throttling of Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl earlier Friday in Arlington, Texas. The top-ranked Crimson Tide may not have come out of their semifinal unscathed, however, as starting offensive linemen Emil Ekiyor and Chris Owens were unable to finish that contest due to injuries.
Alabama and Georgia played a memorable national championship game to cap the 2017 season, when a 41-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to DeVonta Smith in overtime delivered a 26-23 triumph for the Tide. The Bulldogs advanced to that title contest with a 54-48 double-overtime outlasting of Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl.
Four weeks ago, Alabama stunned the Bulldogs 41-24 in the Southeastern Conference championship contest, and Georgia players had fielded questions about that result ever since. Now they have their desired rematch.
"We've got a lot of things to fix," Smart said. "We got to fix some of them over the break, but they've got about a five- or six-hour head start on us. We've got to get back and get to work for what is a really good football team."
Said Bennett: "I think we're good enough. Obviously they're a great team. We're going to enjoy this one tonight and start preparing for them tomorrow."
Against Michigan (12-2), the Bulldogs took the game's opening possession 80 yards in seven plays, scoring on a 9-yard pass from Bennett to tight end Brock Bowers. Bennett was 4-for-4 passing for 67 yards on the inaugural march, with Bowers collecting three receptions for 51 yards.
Michigan drove to Georgia's 41-yard line with its first possession before throwing incomplete on fourth-and-4.
Georgia went right back to work, zipping 59 yards in six plays and adding to its lead when Kenny McIntosh headed right on a carry, pulled up and found Adonai Mitchell open in the end zone with 4:41 remaining in the opening quarter. A 20-yard Bennett scramble to Michigan's 27 early in the second quarter helped the Bulldogs continue the onslaught with a 43-yard Jack Podlesny field goal that extended the lead to 17-0.
The Wolverines produced a much-needed big play midway through the second quarter when Cade McNamara and Roman Wilson connected for a 42-yard gain to Georgia's 19, but the Bulldogs quickly stiffened and forced a 36-yard Jake Moody field goal that pulled Michigan within 17-3. Georgia then retrieved its 17-point advantage when Bennett's 53-yard pass to James Cook set up a 28-yard Podlesny kick that made it 20-3.
"This felt nice, especially after the last game we had," Bennett said. "We came out and executed, especially in that first half."
Cook collected four catches for 109 yards, including a 39-yard score early in the fourth quarter, while Bulldogs junior inside linebacker Nakobi Dean was quite menacing with two tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
"We got better over these last three weeks," Dean said.
Dawg bites
McIntosh became the first Georgia running back to throw a touchdown pass since Thomas Brown connected with quarterback Joe Tereshinski from 9 yards out against Florida in 2005. ... Senior defensive back Christopher Smith was ejected for targeting with 1:28 left before halftime. Smith missed the second half but can play against Alabama. ... The Bulldogs improved to 34-21-3 in bowl games, which includes a 3-1 record in the Orange. ... Senior defensive back and Clemson transfer Derion Kendrick had two interceptions, matching his total from the first 13 games.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.