Dominick Sanders has one final chance to stand alone with a UGA football record

Baker Mayfield was on the run, feeling pressure from a surging Georgia defense in the second half.

Rolling outside of the pocket, the Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner let loose on a pass down the field, hoping to hit a big play. The pass, however, sailed long over his intended target.

The play worked in favor for Georgia, with Dominick Sanders sitting deep as a last-level defender. The ball floated to the senior safety as he recorded his fourth interception of the season. A big-time moment late in the third quarter of the Rose Bowl, Sanders returned the pick 39 yards to the Oklahoma 4-yard line.

A couple of plays later, quarterback Jake Fromm found receiver Javon Wims for a touchdown to give the Bulldogs a seven-point lead in what would eventually be a thrilling 54-48 double overtime victory.

For Sanders, the pick moved him into a tie for first-place all-time in the Georgia record books with 16 career interceptions.

Sanders is at the top of the list alongside with Bacarri Rambo and Jake Scott. With Georgia set to face Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Sanders will have one more chance to stand alone with this record if he is able to get an interception against the Crimson Tide.

"It's good but the main thing is I still have another game left," Sanders said. "I still have a lot of stuff to do. It's a pleasure to be at the top of the list. It was a goal but it wasn't always on my mind. I just told myself to keep playing ball and it will come."

Sanders has been a four-year starter who wasn’t recruited by Georgia until late in the recruiting process. It wasn’t until Jeremy Pruitt, the now-Alabama defensive coordinator who will soon be Tennessee’s head coach, was hired as Georgia’s defensive coordinator in 2014 that the Bulldogs started recruiting Sanders. Pruitt liked Sanders so much that he put him in his starting lineup as a freshman.

When former head coach Mark Richt was fired, Pruitt wasn't retained on Kirby Smart's staff. But Sanders bought into Smart and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker’s system and has been one of the unit’s go-to leaders for the past two seasons.

While Sanders has an opportunity to be the sole holder of the Georgia career interception record, playing for a national championship has long been his dream scenario.

"To think about all the work in the spring, the summer and fall camp, this is what we worked for," Sanders said.

This story was originally published January 4, 2018 at 12:12 PM with the headline "Dominick Sanders has one final chance to stand alone with a UGA football record."