ORLANDO, Fla. -- Garrison Hearst was among the biggest surprises in the country this season, but people at Orlando couldn't have been too surprised by his success.
Hearst racked up nearly 200 yards and MVP honors in a 1990 Florida- Georgia High School All-Star Game at Orlando. He returned to the same field 2 1-2 years later to rush for 163 yards and two touchdowns Friday while lifting No. 8 Georgia to a 21-14 victory over No. 14 Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl.
'Yes, Hearst is as good as advertised,' Ohio State Coach John Cooper said of the Heisman Trophy runnerup. 'Everytime we'd have them stopped, Hearst would bail them out.
If published reports are correct, Hearst may have helped cost Cooper his job. Cooper has yet to win a bowl game in four tries at Ohio State, and it was reported he would be fired if he lost Friday.
Hearst, who set Southeastern Conference records for points scored (126), touchdowns (21), rushing TDs (19) and yards per carry (6.8) this year as a sophmore, added a school record for rushing in a bowl game Friday.
Despite Hearst's performance, it still took Frank Harvey's 1-yard run with 4:32 to cap the Bulldogs' second 80-yard scoring drive and lift them to their first 10-game winning season since 1983.
Eric Zeier connected on 21 of 31 passes for 242 yards and no interceptions and Andre Hastings caught eight passes for 113 yards.
Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit hit just 8 of 24 passes for 110 yards. Robert Smith rushed 25 times for 112 yards and scored both Buckeyes' touchdowns.
Smith took a screen pass 45 yards to the Georgia 15 with the score tied 14-14 in the fourth quarter. Three plays later, Herbstreit ran into fullback Jeff Cothran in the backfield, forcing a fumble recovered by Georgia defensive tackle Travis Jones.
Launching the game-deciding drive with bursts of 13 and 11 yards, Hearst also sprinted for 8 yards on third-and-two from OSU's 13.
Harvey then totaled the final five yards, including his TD run.
'There was no anxiety in the huddle on that last drive,' said Zeier, who passed for the most yards in a bowl game for Georgia since Frank Sinkwich threw for 243 in the 1942 Orange Bowl. 'But Garrison always opens up things (with his running). He didn't do anything he hasn't done all season.'
'He amazes me everytime he touches the ball. He just simply makes things happen.'
After Hastings returned the second-half kickoff 49 yards, Hearst struck quickly. The scatback sprinted down the right sideline for 34 yards, giving Georgia first-and-goal at the 8. Following an incompletion, Hearst ran for 3 yards and then scored on a 5-yard run to put Georgia ahead 14-7.
Ohio State, 8-3-1, retaliated with an eight-play, 33-yard scoring march set up by Walter Taylor's 17-yard punt return. Reserve tailback Raymont Harris racked up 17 yards on the drive's first three carries, and OSU found itself with fourth-and-inches at the Georgia 11. Herbstreit gained 2 yards on a sneak, and Smith found a big hole off left tackle for a 5-yard run that tied the score 14-14 with 3:31 left in the third period.
Hearst put the Bulldogs ahead 7-0 when he capped a 14-play, 80-yard march with a 1-yard TD with 6:48 left in the first period. Hearst gained 43 yards on eight carries on the drive, including third-down gains of 14, 7 and 4 yards.
