The No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs avoided disaster Friday night at Sanford Stadium in the 118th iteration of the "Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate" rivalry.

Trailing 17–0 at halftime to the rival Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Georgia buckled down in the second half, tied the game at 27 with one minute to play and converted on a two-point conversion in the eighth overtime to secure a 44–42 victory.

Improving to 10–2 overall with the comeback win, Georgia likely has punched its ticket into the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Already having secured a spot in the SEC championship game Dec. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Bulldogs are set to battle the winner of Saturday's matchup between Texas and Texas A&M. A win in the conference championship over the Longhorns or Aggies will clinch a top-four seed and a first-round bye for Georgia in the College Football Playoff.

A loss to Georgia Tech on Friday night would have put the Bulldogs' national championship dreams in jeopardy. They still would've been able to clinch a spot in the bracket with a win next weekend in Atlanta, but a loss to Texas or Texas A&M likely would have bounced them from Playoff contention. It would've been quite the stunning fall for a team that entered the month of November 7–1 and ranked No. 2 in the country.

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck filled out the box score in the winning effort, throwing for 297 yards and five touchdowns on 28-of-43 passing. He outdueled Haynes King, who had Georgia Tech on the verge of an upset with a Herculean effort, throwing for 303 yards and two scores to go along with 110 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

After both teams exchanged punches—and failed two-point attempts—in the overtime periods, Georgia running back Nate Frazier was the hero, galloping in for the game-winning conversion on a run up the middle.

Georgia can begin preparing for its SEC bout against Texas or Texas A&M. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, finishes the regular season 7–5 and will await its bowl game fate.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Georgia Avoids Massive Upset in Thrilling Eight-OT Win vs. Rival Georgia Tech.