Georgia and Alabama may not officially be rivals on the schedule, but matchups between the two have made for cinematic viewing experiences in recent history.
The Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide have accounted for nine of the last 10 SEC Championships, and the two programs’ dominance of the conference has pitted them against each other in battles at the top of the SEC almost every year.
Here are some of the best moments in the history of the series between the two historic programs.
Georgia beats Alabama 26-23, 2007
In Nick Saban’s first rodeo with the Bulldogs as Alabama’s head coach, Georgia managed to narrowly escape Tuscaloosa with a win in overtime.
Saban’s team went into the game 3-0 with a win over No. 16 Arkansas the week before. Georgia, meanwhile, had already suffered a loss at home to unranked South Carolina and was looking to bounce back with a big road win.
After Georgia controlled most of the game, going up 10-0 early and later taking a 20-10 lead, Alabama tied the game 20-20 with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter.
Alabama got the first possession in overtime and took a 23-20 lead after nailing a 42-yard field goal, but Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mikey Henderson on the first play of the Bulldogs’ drive to win the game.
The game-winning touchdown foreshadowed a line of similar highlight plays that have determined outcomes in the series since, but that matchup is the most recent time the Bulldogs have beaten the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa.
“[The win] means we’re back in the race,” Georgia’s then-head coach Mark Richt said. “I think the players can enjoy the day, but for the coaches this is the cut-off time.”
Alabama beats Georgia 41-34, 2024
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer’s first matchup with Georgia was similarly a nail-biter, but DeBoer was able to get a more favorable outcome.
When No. 2 Georgia came to Tuscaloosa to play No. 4 Alabama, both teams were 3-0 and looking as hot to start the year as any team in the country. It came as a shock, then, when the Crimson Tide got off to a blazing hot start and took a commanding 28-0 lead over the Bulldogs early in the second quarter.
Going into halftime 30-7, it looked like the DeBoer era was getting off to as good of a start as it possibly could have.
But Georgia didn’t quit. The Bulldogs went on a 27-3 run to take a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter as Alabama looked as though it was on the verge of a shocking collapse.
In the style of Stafford’s game-winner, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe threw a 75-yard bomb to freshman Ryan Coleman-Williams to retake the lead on the first play of Alabama’s final drive.
A Zabien Brown interception in the endzone ended Georgia’s last possession, and Alabama was ranked No. 1 in the AP poll the following day after coming out on top in an all-time matchup.
DeBoer had survived his first major test as head coach of the Crimson Tide.
“It’s been, since day one, about never having regrets and competing until the very end,” DeBoer said. “Sometimes just a play doesn’t end up the way you wanted. You’ve got to keep fighting.”
Alabama beats Georgia 32-28, 2012
Going into the 2012 SEC Championship, Alabama was chasing its third national title in four years, as Nick Saban was climbing up the ranks of legendary coaches for his success in Tuscaloosa. With an upset loss to Texas A&M earlier in the year, the Crimson Tide’s season was on the line in Atlanta.
Georgia went up 21-10 in the third quarter, putting the reigning champions’ repeat hopes in jeopardy.
Touchdown runs by TJ Yeldon and Eddie Lacy gave Alabama the lead, however. After trading leads with Georgia again in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs were forced into a two-minute drill, down by four late in the game.
Quarterback Aaron Murray drove them into Alabama territory, but Georgia’s offense came up just short of a game-winning score on the five-yard line.
As it would later do in 2024, the Crimson Tide managed to stifle a potential game-ending drive by the Bulldogs, and Alabama advanced to the BCS National Championship, where it would claim the national title over Notre Dame.
Alabama beats Georgia 26-23, 2018
Of all the moments these two teams have etched in the college football history books against each other, none were as momentous as Alabama’s overtime win over Georgia in the 2018 National Championship.
After a sluggish start for the Crimson Tide’s offense and a 13-0 deficit in the third quarter, Saban made the historic choice to bench quarterback Jalen Hurts for freshman Tua Tagovailoa.
The bold decision proved critical for Alabama. Although Saban’s team still faced a 20-10 deficit in the fourth quarter, Tagovailoa’s touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley with under four minutes left in regulation tied the game 20-20.
Alabama’s defense held Georgia to a field goal in overtime, after which two of the most historic snaps in the sport’s history were played.
Tagovailoa was sacked on the first play of Alabama’s possession for a 16-yard loss in what was as disastrous of a start as the Crimson Tide could have had to overtime.
But it didn’t matter. On second-and-26, the freshman quarterback ripped a deep ball to fellow freshman DeVonta Smith to secure the game and give Saban his fifth championship with Alabama.
“Was that a good game, or what?” Saban famously asked afterwards. “I’m so happy for Alabama fans.”
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