Alabama wipes out a 28-0 lead and escapes Georgia on a late touchdown

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama blew a 28-point lead against No. 2 Georgia on Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

And then the No. broke. 4 Crimson Tide again the hearts of the Bulldogs in a 41-34 victory, in which the SEC heavyweights scored touchdowns on consecutive plays from scrimmage late in the fourth quarter.

Alabama only sealed the victory when cornerback Zabien Brown intercepted quarterback Carson Beck’s pass to receiver Colbie Young in the end zone with 43 seconds left to end Georgia’s furious rally.

“Yeah, when you’re up against a really good football team, you know there’s going to be a strong push,” said Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, who won his first SEC game. “We pushed each other to the limit.”

After rallying from a 23-point deficit at halftime, the Bulldogs took their first lead on Beck’s 67-yard touchdown to Dillon Bell to make it 34-33 with 2:31 remaining.

But Alabama scored on the next play from scrimmage. On first-and-10 from the Crimson Tide 25, quarterback Jalen Milroe threw a deep ball down the right sideline for freshman Ryan Williams. The receiver spun out of cornerback Julian Humphrey’s tackle at the 8-yard line and beat safety KJ Bolden for a 75-yard touchdown with 2:18 left.

Milroe threw a 2-point conversion to receiver Germie Bernard to give Alabama a 41-34 lead.

“You have to keep fighting,” DeBoer said. “When it comes to the concept, a lot of our plays have opportunities where you find that one-on-one. And if you like the matchup, you go after it. And so he obviously liked what he saw and delivered, and Ryan did the rest for him.

Milroe completed 27 of 33 passes for 374 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 117 yards and two more scores. According to ESPN Research, he is the first player in FBS history with 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns against an Associated Press top-five opponent.

Williams, a 17-year-old freshman, had six catches for 177 yards with one score.

Beck recovered from a slow start to complete 27 of 50 passes for 439 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He also lost a fumble and was sacked three times.

The loss ended Georgia’s 42-game winning streak in the regular season, the longest by an FBS team since Oklahoma won 45 in a row from 1953 to 1957. It also ended Georgia’s 16-game road winning streak.

“We played terribly in the first half,” Beck said. “I don’t think we have to watch the film to see that we didn’t play our best. You know, that starts with me. I have to be better.”

It was DeBoer’s first meeting with Georgia, but the results were the same for Alabama. It has won nine of its past 10 games against Georgia, including a 27-24 win in last year’s SEC championship game that led to the Bulldogs failing to make the College Football Playoff.

“It was a great game,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “Obviously we weren’t really prepared, and that’s on me in the first half. We didn’t do a great job, especially defensively. We also gave them short fields. With a quarterback like Milroe, that creates a lot of difficult situations.” time.”

Smart fell to 1-6 against Alabama as Georgia’s coach.

The Bulldogs couldn’t have had a worse start. Georgia’s defense struggled to tackle Milroe on the opening possession. When a holding call backed the Tide to first-and-20 from the Georgia 25, Milroe gained 16 yards on a keeper. On the first goal of the 7, he held the ball again and beat everyone to the rim for a 7-0 lead.

On Georgia’s next possession, Beck threw a good deep ball down the left sideline to Arian Smith, who dropped the pass. An offensive pass interference penalty two plays later forced a punt.

Alabama gained 64 yards on its next three plays and then scored on Milroe’s perfect throw to running back Jam Miller, who beat linebacker C.J. Allen with a 16-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.

Things would only get worse for Georgia. On the next possession, Tide cornerback Domani Jackson jumped Beck’s screen pass to Oscar Delp for an interception at the Bulldogs’ 22. Three plays later, Bernard scored from 7 yards out for a 21-0 lead.

Georgia punted again on its next possession. On fourth-and-1 at the Georgia 36, ​​Bulldogs linebacker Jalon Walker blew, and Miller hit him so hard that Walker’s helmet fell off. Walker could only watch as Milroe scored on a 36-yard run down the right sideline, putting Alabama ahead 28-0.

Alabama added a safety late in the first half when Beck was penalized for intentionally grounding in Georgia’s end zone