Georgia has at least one player who keeps showing up big for the Bulldogs’ victories

Georgia can count on one player to make the game-changing play.

Kelsey Kramer College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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Georgia Bulldogs inside linebacker CJ Allen (3) celebrates his sack as Auburn Tigers take on Georgia Bulldogs at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. Georgia Bulldogs defeated Auburn Tigers 20-10.
Jake Crandall/ Advertiser-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Georgia Bulldogs as a whole have failed to be consistent, but there is at least one player on the roster who keeps showing up, and that’s junior linebacker CJ Allen.

Allen delivered a huge play for Georgia in Saturday night’s 20-10 win over Auburn.

Right before halftime, the Tigers tried to punch it in with a Tush Push on third-and-goal, but quarterback Jackson Arnold lost control of the ball. The play went under a lengthy review after replays appeared to show Arnold crossing the goal line, but in the end, Allen was credited with forcing the fumble, and Kyron Jones came up with the recovery. However, Jones and Georgia didn’t receive credit for the 99-yard touchdown run.

After the game, Smart expressed his frustration with the play that was a lot clearer in his eyes.

“Frustrating, but the kids never quit,” Smart said of the play. “That’s never been more evident of a punch out on the goal line, which we practice all the time. … I never got an explanation and, of course, they took the longest I’ve ever seen (reviewing). All I was told was that someone saw a clear recovery, but they said he was down. I still don’t know if he was down, but the officials said he was down. … I saw the ball from the sideline jostle out, but couldn’t tell if it crossed the line or not.”

The Moment That Won the Game

In the end, Georgia won by more than one touchdown, but this was a moment that changed the entire trajectory of the game as the Dawgs were able to get three points on the board right after to make the score 3-10 at halftime.

Regardless of how critics viewed it, Allen deserved all of the praise for doing what needed to be done for Georgia to win.

“That’s a huge swing in the game,” Smart said. “Look, we didn’t just get given a field goal. We had to go get it. When you start on a one-inch line and you sneak one, you bust a run out, you go two-minute, you operate well with no timeouts and have a chance to score a touchdown and kick a field goal a little over a minute, I was proud of those guys. That gave us juice and life.”

Allen finished the night logging 10 tackles, one sack, and a pass breakup.

Through six games so far, Allen leads the Bulldogs with 46 tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and three passes defended.