Never Interrupt a Rival While He’s Blowing a Twenty-Point Lead

GEORGIA MONEYBALL — Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Georgia hosted the No. 3 recruit in America — an Ohio State commit — on the very weekend the Buckeyes handed Texas the biggest fourth-quarter comeback ever against a No. 1.

ALBANY, GA — · By the RFA Sports Desk

Georgia went recruiting Saturday without leaving home. Sports Illustrated reported five five-star prospects came through Athens on a game-day visit, and the name at the top of the list was David Jacobs Jr. — edge rusher, No. 3 player in the country, a Georgia legacy, and, for the moment, an Ohio State commit the Bulldogs would dearly like to un-commit. Riding along were 2028 quarterback pledge Jayden Wade, uncommitted five-star safety Casey Barner, Jaxon Dollar — the top tight end in the 2027 class, already in the fold — and in-state tackle Landon Ghea.

Now, prying a young man loose from a handshake is delicate work, and it usually requires a sales pitch. Georgia didn't need one. While Jacobs was enjoying the hospitality, top-ranked Ohio State sat on a 23-to-3 lead over Texas deep in the fourth quarter — whereupon the Buckeyes gave up 21 unanswered points, missed a 45-yard field goal, and watched Hollywood Smothers fall into the end zone from a yard out with 25 seconds left. Texas 24, Ohio State 23. Per Sportradar, no AP No. 1 had ever blown a bigger fourth-quarter lead.

Silence, in the flipping business, is the loudest argument there is.

The pollsters did what pollsters do and handed Texas the top spot. Meanwhile the pitch in Athens writes itself. Georgia has outscored its two opponents 133 to 23, which is to say the Bulldogs have not had a fourth-quarter lead worth sweating all fall, and Kirby Smart does not have to say one word about what happened up north. Silence, in the flipping business, is the loudest argument there is.

It was that kind of weekend for the sure thing generally. Oklahoma State — 1-and-11 a year ago, beaten by Tulsa in Week 1, a 23-and-a-half-point underdog — snapped a 21-game losing streak by whipping No. 6 Oregon, 39 to 31, behind Drew Mestemaker's 317 yards passing and 109 more on the ground. No team in the history of college football had ever ended a skid of ten or more games by beating a top-ten opponent. The goal post, I'm told, went for a swim in Theta Pond.

As for Georgia's own weekend, the road show goes to Fayetteville Saturday at noon, and the bookmakers expect no drama: the line opened with the Bulldogs favored by 24 and a half, 96 percent of the early money took Georgia, and ESPN's computer gives them a 96 percent chance. Arkansas, DawgNation reports, may be shuffling its offensive front after losing right tackle Bryant Williams in that 43-to-10 mess at Utah. Some weeks the recruiting pitch writes itself. Some weeks the whole column does.

The Notebook

• MEANWHILE, UP NORTH: Unranked Michigan handled No. 11 Oklahoma, 17 to 10, forcing two turnovers — Jyaire Hill's fourth-quarter interception set up the go-ahead touchdown.
• HONEST GAME OF THE WEEK: Bayou Bengals at Oxford Rebel Roosters, Saturday at 7:30 Eastern. LSU by 3, and the desk calls it a coin-flip.
• BY THE NUMBERS: Georgia's power success rate on short yardage stands at 100 percent, the best figure in three seasons of records — up from 75.9 in 2023.

Written in the tradition of Lewis Grizzard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1946–1994.

Hear the desk read tonights report on Radio Free Albany, WPFQ 96.7.