No. 17 Alabama won a nail-biter in Athens at Sanford Stadium against No. 5 Georgia Saturday 24-21. The victory snaps the Bulldogs’ 33-game home win streak dating back to 2019.
“Great team win for our guys,” head coach Kalen DeBoer said. “You can’t overstate what our guys have been doing as far as every day, trying to get better.”
The action started with the Crimson Tide forcing the Bulldogs to go 3-and-out on their first possession of the game. Alabama put together a 14-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that ate up 6:30 off the clock and opened up a 7-0 lead. The score came via a 6-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ty Simpson to wide receiver Germie Bernard.
Alabama missed out on points earlier in the possession after wide receiver Ryan Williams dropped a wide-open deep pass from Simpson, which would have been a guaranteed touchdown.
The Crimson Tide continued to roll as it forced Georgia to punt and drove the length of the field once again for a touchdown. This time, Simpson threaded the needle to wide receiver Isaiah Horton for another 6-yard touchdown to make the score 14-0 a minute into the second quarter.
Georgia answered with ease, scoring a 39-yard touchdown just three plays later on a pass from quarterback Gunner Stockton to a wide open wide receiver Colbie Young, pulling the Bulldogs within a score.
After punting and pinning Georgia back to its own 7-yard line, Alabama defensive back Bray Hubbard separated Bulldog running back Nate Frazier from the football, giving the away team possession of the football at the Georgia 11.
The Crimson Tide was unable to move the ball much after the turnover, settling for a Conor Talty field goal to make the score 17-7 with 8:30 left in the half.
Georgia regrouped and pushed the ball down the field en route to a 2-yard rushing touchdown by running back Chauncy Bowers to make the score 17-14 just before the two-minute timeout.
Alabama was given two minutes to drive the length of the field to try to muster some points before the break. A minute and a half later, it did just that. The Crimson Tide drove down to the UGA 13 and then found tackle Kadyn Proctor (yes, that is correct) for an 11-yard reception, setting up Simpson for a 2-yard touchdown run. Alabama was in control of the ballgame, leading 24-14 at the half.
“I’m just doing what we practice and trying to execute to the best of my ability,” Proctor said after his reception. “I go through people, man. That’s the biggest thing for me: power.”
Two major things stuck out as reasons for the lead in the first half. First, the Crimson Tide owned the third-down conversion statistic, converting 9/11 attempts compared to Georgia’s 0/3. Second, Alabama came out of the gate with creative offensive play calling, which seemed to catch the Bulldogs’ staff off guard.
The Crimson Tide continued to look poised on its opening possession of the half, driving down to the Georgia 33-yard line, but had to settle for a field goal attempt. Talty’s kick missed well left and gave the Bulldogs a spout of momentum.
“It turned into a fist fight in the second half,” DeBoer said.
Georgia took full advantage and marched down the field for a touchdown to once again pull within 3 points at 24-21with 6:30 left in the second quarter. More bad news for Alabama came in the form of defensive lineman James Smith being ejected for targeting late in the drive.
The woes continued for the Crimson Tide as Simpson was stuffed on a 4th and 1 at midfield to give the Bulldogs possession right back, setting up an opportunity to take their first lead of the game.
A couple of drops provided a lucky break for Alabama, giving the Crimson Tide the ball deep in its own end with just under three minutes left in the quarter. The team failed to gain a yard, giving the Bulldogs possession at their own 46.
Coming out of the quarter break, Georgia had a 4th and 1 inside the Alabama 10, but got shut down, helping the Crimson Tide maintain a 24-21 lead with 13:20 left.Both teams then took turns trading punts late, ultimately leading to Alabama holding possession with just over two minutes left to play, holding a 3-point lead.
The Crimson Tide took the clock down as much as it could, setting up a 3rd and 5 with 1:29 left. A first down would give Alabama the victory. DeBoer and Grubb decided to put the ball in the hands of their quarterback as Simpson rolled to the right and hit running back Jam Miller for 7 yards, sealing the game.
Simpson talked about how it felt to be trusted with the opportunity to win the game for his team on 3rd down.
“It feels great,” he said. “But I think it goes back to our guys in general. We’ve been prepping that play all week.”
DeBoer called the win “a big step in the right direction for our team,” adding that his players are “not done with their improvement.”
Alabama’s next chance to improve will come Saturday for Family Weekend versus No. 18 Vanderbilt. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT, and the game can be streamed on ABC.
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