The Georgia Bulldogs won the College Football Playoff title on Monday night when they blasted the TCU Horned Frogs 65-7 to secure their second-straight national championship. It was a dominant performance, but Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban thinks that a blown call in the semifinal matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes might have been the only reason the Bulldogs were in Monday’s title game in the first place.
Late in the third quarter of the Peach Bowl matchup between the Buckeyes and the Bulldogs, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was knocked out of the game with a big hit to the head by Georgia defensive back Javon Bullard. Bullard was originally flagged for targeting, but the penalty was overturned by the booth.
But during an appearance on the ESPN pregame show ahead of Monday night’s national championship game, Nick Saban revealed that he believes the hit on Marvin Harrison Jr. should have been targeting, according to AthletesInSpace.
If the hit was deemed targeting, Ohio State would have had the ball with a first-and-goal inside the Georgia five-yard line. It would have given the Buckeyes a chance to make it a 42-24 lead in the fourth quarter, which would have made a Georgia comeback much more difficult and given Ohio State much more momentum.
Instead, Ohio State settled for a field goal to make the score 38-24 and was without Harrison for the rest of the game. From that point, Georgia stormed back to win the game 42-41, punching their ticket to Monday’s title game where the Bulldogs were ultimately crowned national champions.
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