With one minute and 28 seconds remaining in Friday afternoon's Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Georgia took over at its 20-yard line facing a 21-19 deficit.
"At the beginning of the drive, I'm over in the kicking net, and I'm starting to warm up and just kind of get my leg loose again," Georgia redshirt sophomore kicker Jack Podlesny said. "I'm kind of keeping an eye on the clock, especially just so I know where we're at. As we drove down the field, I felt comfortable that I was warmed up.
"So I just walked further down, stayed there and made sure that I was ready to go if I needed to be called."
Podlesny was needed after quarterback JT Daniels zipped the Bulldogs 44 yards in eight plays to Cincinnati's 36-yard line, and the 6-foot-4, 180-pounder from St. Simons Island drilled a 53-yard field goal that put the Bulldogs up 22-21 with three seconds left. A final-play sack and strip by Georgia outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari resulted in a safety that accounted for the 24-21 final.
Before Podlesny took the field for the first game-winning kick of his career, Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart offered no words of advice.
"I don't mess with Jack," Smart said. "I don't mess with kickers. I let them do their thing. I don't want to mess with their mojo or their rhythm. I felt comfortable with where he was that he would have the leg strength to get it there, because that's about the spot that we work on during our two-minute drill, where I say, 'If we get to that spot, we're going to be able to make the field goal.'
"Probably the best thing that happened is that he didn't have long to think about it. They were out of timeouts. We got out there and snapped it, and they couldn't organize a rush. He drilled it."
When told of Smart's comments about not bothering him, Podlesny smiled and said, "I've been here for three years now. I think he's kind of started to learn how I react to things, whether it's negative or positive, and just not to kind of come in my bubble."
Podlesny admitted he would have liked a few more yards for security, but Smart said Daniels handled the previous play - a deep incompletion to Jermaine Burton - properly.
"We go through that situation probably every week," Smart said. "It was a 'must' situation. We must get out of bounds. They had a really good call. They brought pressure and trapped the flat, because they knew we had to throw the ball out of bounds.
"JT made a good decision. I would have loved it if he threw it a little flatter, because he might have got Jermaine for a touchdown."
Stevenson save
Before Georgia's game-winning drive, the Bearcats threw down the field on third-and-2 from their 40-yard line. The risky decision appeared as if it would work until Bulldogs defensive back Tyrique Stevenson broke up the Desmond Ridder pass with his back to the ball.
"It was a smash concept with (tight end) Josh Whyle coming into the flat," Ridder said. "We were expecting to get it to him quick. It was only one or two yards we had to gain, but the ball just didn't get - the ball hung up in the air what felt like for an eternity. If that ball would have gotten up and down quicker, it would have been a completion."
Said Smart: "It was probably the play of the game. If they complete that, we don't have a chance to win."
Seniors tie mark
Georgia's senior class finished with a 44-9 record, with the 44 wins tying the 2005 and 2019 seniors for the most in program history. Of course, this season's seniors had nonconference games against Virginia, East Tennessee State, Louisiana-Monroe and Georgia Tech axed by the coronavirus, as well as getting their home finale against a winless Vanderbilt canceled as a result of multiple COVID-19 cases among Commodores players.
"These seniors tied the winningest record of any senior class to come through, and they really got slighted," Smart said. "We're going to remove the asterisk and erase it, because with the Vanderbilt game, they would have been able to get that done. I just appreciate the guys never quitting and continuing to fight."
Odds and ends
Georgia has the nation's longest streak of consecutive seasons with a bowl at 24. The Bulldogs improved to 33-21-3 in bowl games, which includes a 2-0 mark in black jerseys, having routed Hawaii 41-10 in the Sugar Bowl after the 2007 season in the alternate look. Sophomore receiver George Pickens, the MVP of last season's Sugar Bowl, was stout again with seven catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore safety Lewis Cine took over Georgia's longest starting streak among defenders with 12, while junior offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer and redshirt sophomore running back Zamir White share the offensive lead at 11. Redshirt freshman Xavier Truss earned his first career start at left tackle, which resulted in Salyer shifting to left guard. Senior safety Richard LeCounte III, who had not played since a motorcycle accident on Halloween, represented the Bulldogs at midfield for the pregame coin toss and was in for the final play of the game.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.