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There are no words worthy of describing what was arguably one of the most bizarre conclusions, not only in the history of this storied intrastate bloodletting, but perhaps in all of football history. If you settle on an apt but pithy adjective, be my guest and phone it in to the SportsLine desk staff, because nothing that these fingers type is going to accurately capture a frenetic finish in which the Yellow Jackets captured bragging rights for a second straight winter by benefiting from a missed field goal.

Indeed, this was a game for the ages, and it left players from the bitter rivals emotionally spent. Actually, I double-dare you to come up with an ending better suited for one of those "Fantastic Finishes" videotapes.

The "Holy Roller" play of Oakland Raiders fame? Uh-uh. Doug Flutie's amazing pass to Gerard Phelan against the University of Miami? It can't hold a candle. The scramble through the marching band that lifted California over Stanford? No way. Dan Marino's fourth-down bomb to tight end John Brown in the Sugar Bowl? Nope. The famed "Immaculate Reception" play by Steelers fullback Franco Harris? Your humble columnist witnessed that one in person and still isn't certain it was a legal touchdown.

For the record, the game was decided by Luke Manget's 38-yard field goal in the first overtime, a kick that followed an end zone interception by Georgia Tech cornerback Marvious Hester but, more important, came one snap after the kicker had a three-point attempt from the same distance snuffed out by Georgia linebacker Kendrell Bell.

Just as Tech placement specialist Brad Chambers was lionized last year for booting the winning field goal that snapped his team's seven-game losing streak to the Bulldogs -- geez, a local newspaper even ran a story this week on how the life of the kicker dubbed "The Streakbreaker" was changed by the conversion -- Manget, a true freshman, will be etched into Yellow Jackets legend no matter what he accomplishes in his next three seasons.

But while Manget will get the credit, backup quarterback and holder George Godsey should be recognized for his quick thinking. And at the same time, Georgia coach Jim Donnan, perhaps the thinnest-skinned man operating a Division I football program, ought to be castigated for an inexplicable blunder that probably cost the Bulldogs a victory in regulation.

First the saga of Godsey, the caddy to Heisman candidate Joe Hamilton and, thus, a guy who has played but a handful of snaps this season. After the inconsistent Hester dodged the goat horns by picking off a ball that Quincy Carter threw right in his hands to quash Georgia's first overtime possession, the Jackets took over at the 25-yard line knowing all they needed was a field goal to win.

Two off-tackle rushes by tailback Sean Gregory netted 4 yards and, on third-and-6 at the Georgia 21-yard line, Tech coach George O'Leary decided not to wait for the winning kick. His rationale was that, if there was a bad snap, Godsey could simply fall on the ball and the Jackets would get another shot at the deciding field goal on fourth down. But the kick from Manget was low and Bell easily blocked the ball backward. As it floated in the air behind the line of scrimmage, Godsey grabbed it and raced back to the 21-yard line.

Thirty minutes after a victory that put his team in the Gator Bowl for the second straight season, O'Leary insisted Godsey knew the rule for blocked field goals -- he could recover it only behind the line of scrimmage -- and that the Jackets practice such a scenario every day.

Yeah, right, George.

"You could call it a case of quick-thinking on my part, but the honest truth is, I was just reacting to the ball hanging up there in the air," said Godsey, an industrial engineering major. "I mean, I understood perfectly why we were kicking on third down instead of waiting. I went over all the possibilities in my mind. I told myself, 'OK, if it's a bad snap, just cover it up.' But never in my wildest imagination could I have thought about that happening. I mean, who thinks about the kick being blocked 30 feet in the air and then falling into your hands, huh? It just doesn't happen."

Had the blocked kick gone beyond the line of scrimmage, the Jackets' possession would have ended and Georgia would have taken over in the second overtime. Instead, Manget was given a second shot, this one from a more advantageous position on the left hash-mark he prefers, and he nailed the 38-yarder that set off a wild rally at mid-field.

On the 25-yard line, Georgia defensive tackle Marcus Stroud lay prone, pounding the turf with his meaty fists. As the field goal sailed through the uprights, Yellow Jackets offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen, one of the college game's finest minds and a man who deserves serious consideration for one of the current campus head coach openings, dropped to his knees with his hands to his head.

"I watched the kick all the way because, if I'm going to die, I want to see the bullet that kills me," Friedgen said. "But really, I was praying, just giving thanks for the victory. To me, it was a miracle. How else could you describe it? I mean, how many times do you actually win on a 'do over,' right?"

Georgia Tech fans tear down the goalposts after the thrilling victory. (AP)

Donnan exited the field staring only at the ground, but likely ruminating over the missed opportunity for a win in the final five seconds of regulation. It has been a tough week for Donnan, forced to debunk rumors he was leaving Georgia to fill an opening that didn't exist at North Carolina. He may be a brilliant offensive schemer, but Donnan remains an insecure man with a me-against-the-world mentality likely born of his long tenure at tiny Marshall.

Because university policy has kept him from employing his son as a full-time assistant, there have been rampant rumors Donnan was preparing his resignation. Given his strategy in the closing minutes of regulation, maybe he should have delivered it.

Behind an inconsistent Carter (345 passing yards) and the burly tight end tandem of Javarious Johnson and Randy McMichael (a combined 15 catches for 236 yards), the Bulldogs rallied from a 41-24 third-quarter deficit to tie the game and then actually move ahead at 48-41. A 6-yard bullet from Hamilton to reserve wide receiver Will Glover knotted the game again with 2:37 remaining.

But the Bulldogs took over at their own 35-yard line and, aided by a pair of penalties against Tech and the tough running of tailback Jasper Sanks, drove to the Yellow Jackets' 14-yard line with 52 seconds left and the clock running. On the next play, Sanks burst over right guard for 12 yards to set up the Bulldogs at the 2. At that point, all Donnan needed to do was have Carter take a knee, call a timeout, then send in kicker Hap Hines to boot a winning chip shot field goal. Instead, he ran Sanks over right guard again and, on a dubious call by officials, he fumbled the ball away to strong safety Chris Young.

The replays indicated Sanks was on the ground when the ball came loose and Donnan, in typical pass the buck fashion, hinted one of the game officials from the Southeast Conference crew had graduated from the University of Florida and was out to get the Bulldogs. Long after the outcome, however, as the Bulldog Nation screamed on talk radio shows that they had been screwed by the officials for a second straight year, Donnan conceded he should merely have called for the field goal.

"Looking back on it," he said, "we probably should have just fallen on the ball and then kicked." Said a relieved O'Leary: "Hey, I was stunned they didn't just kick (the field goal)." Several Tech players and at least one coach claimed Donnan wanted to score the touchdown to make a point. Instead, he made none.

Conceding he blew the game was a difficult admission for a coach who began the season crowing that his team had closed the talent gap on SEC East powerhouses Tennessee and Florida, but it also was too little and way too late. Georgia is probably headed to another Peach Bowl appearance here, right in its own back yard, likely against ACC representative Clemson. But finishing at 7-4, and not having defeated an opponent of consequence certainly is a comedown for Donnan, who now faces nine months of second-guessing by the Bulldog faithful.

Once again Donnan lost to Tennessee and Florida, and there was also a disastrous blowout defeat at the hands of Auburn. During the season, Georgia defeated also-rans Central Florida and LSU by one point and fell behind Vanderbilt by 17. Carter, who now seems all but certain to stay in Athens for one more season despite reports he will go into the NFL draft, is 0-6 combined against the Vols, the Gators and the Yellow Jackets.

Donnan's counterpart, whose team finished 8-3, shouldn't be fitted anytime soon either for a coach of the year award. This marked the fourth game in 1999 in which Georgia Tech squandered a lead of 17 points or more. Although Ted Roof, the Jackets' third different coordinator in three seasons, is responsible for the Tech defense, O'Leary actually runs that side of the ball. A onetime NFL defensive line coach for the San Diego Chargers, he doesn't run it nearly well enough.

Offense certainly prevailed in this game, with the teams combing for 99 points, 62 first downs, 180 snaps and 1,102 yards. By the third quarter, the bitter rivals already had set a record for combined points in the series. At that point, with Georgia Tech ahead 41-31, no one could have predicted the frenetic finish that lie ahead. The Bulldogs actually caught a break when their two leading wide receivers left the game with injuries, forcing Donnan into a two-tight end formation with which Tech couldn't match up.

"It just kept going back and forth and you never really felt comfortable," said Hamilton, who totaled 438 yards. "Somehow, you had a feeling it was going to come down to whoever made a play at the end. But, man, no one could ever have drawn up a (scenario) where you have a field goal blocked and get a second chance at it on the very next play. This kind of finish might happen, what, every million years?"