No. 2 Alabama battles past No. 3 Georgia in SEC clash of the titans
Big games are usually decided by little mistakes, individual moments that swing the tide of the game.
No. 3 Georgia played relatively mistake-free football in its first three games of the 2020 season. But several second-half mistakes doomed the Bulldogs (3-1) on Saturday night as they dropped a 41-24 decision to No. 2 Alabama (4-0) in Tuscaloosa.
“I was really pleased with the way our guys competed,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “Frustrated that we couldn’t get anything going in the second half, especially on that opening drive. I thought we would have been able to run down, but we stalled out and lost some momentum.”
After leading 24-20 at halftime, the Bulldogs started firing at their own feet late in the third quarter. Junior Alabama receiver Jaylen Waddle beat junior Bulldog defensive back Tyson Campbell, and a stumble by the defender allowed Waddle to scamper untouched for a go-ahead 90-yard touchdown.
The Bulldogs moved the ball on their next drive, but junior quarterback Stetson Bennett fired his second interception of the night in the red zone to stymie the drive. Alabama cashed that turnover into another touchdown, taking a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The final nail in the coffin came on the first play of the final period, when Bennett rolled right and threw back across his body to the middle of the field. That cardinal sin of quarterbacking led to his third pick, which then turned into another Tide touchdown from Jones to senior DeVonta Smith.
“I just didn’t play well enough,” Bennett said. “I have to figure out how to not give bad balls, have to figure out how to not throw interceptions and how to score point in the second half.”
After a back-and-forth first half that featured over 500 yards of offense, Alabama ripped off the first 21 points of the second half to cruise to its sixth straight win over the Bulldogs.
After the schedule shuffling the SEC released Friday, the Bulldogs now go into an open week. They return to action on Oct. 31 at Kentucky. After that it’s the annual showdown with Florida in Jacksonville on Nov. 7.
And perhaps a rematch of Georgia-Alabama happens again for a conference title.
“Our destiny is still controlled by us, which is how you want it,” Bennett said. “If we win out, we will probably see those guys, or somebody else, and we will be in the SEC Championship, so everything we want is still ahead of us.”
Alabama-Georgia three stars of the game
Mac Jones — Jones’ night started rough, as he threw an interception on the first play of the game. After that, however, he torched the Bulldog defense.
He connected on 24-of-32 passes for 417 yards and four touchdowns. He hit open receivers for big plays down the field all night, including the 90-yard score to Waddle and a 40-yard pass to sophomore John Metchie that started the scoring.
In the second half, Jones proved especially lethal. Jones fired a pair of scores and added 197 yards, rallying his team from a halftime deficit.
DeVonta Smith — As a freshman, Smith hauled in the game-winning pass to down Georgia in the national championship game. In what could be his final game against Georgia, he stuck it to the Bulldogs one more time.
The senior nabbed 10 passes for 160 yards, and he added a pair of touchdowns to his total as well. The first tied the game at 17 late in the first half, and the second put the game out of reach for good by putting the Crimson Tide up 41-24 in the final quarter.
James Cook — After missing the Tennessee game with a shoulder injury, Cook returned and showed what he can do going forward in the Georgia offense.
He ran for just 16 yards on five carries, but his real value came out of the backfield as a receiver. Cook snagged four passes for 101 yards, including an 82-yard score that is the longest passing play of the Kirby Smart era at Georgia.
Next Georgia football game
Who: Georgia at Kentucky
Where: Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky
When: noon Oct. 31
TV: SEC Network
Alabama vs Georgia scoring summary
First Quarter
BAMA—Metchie 40 pass from M.Jones (Reichard kick), 13:16.
UGA—White 10 run (Podlesny kick), 1:53.
Second Quarter
UGA—Cook 82 pass from Bennett (Podlesny kick), 14:49.
BAMA—FG Reichard 33, 9:00.
UGA—FG Podlesny 50, 5:42.
BAMA—D.Smith 17 pass from M.Jones (Reichard kick), 3:06.
UGA—Burton 5 pass from Bennett (Podlesny kick), :23.
BAMA—FG Reichard 52, :00.
Third Quarter
BAMA—Waddle 90 pass from M.Jones (Reichard kick), 4:00.
BAMA—N.Harris 2 run (Reichard kick), :51.
Fourth Quarter
BAMA—D.Smith 13 pass from M.Jones (Reichard kick), 9:32
UGA Bama team stats
- First downs: Alabama 33-20
- Total yards: Alabama 564-414
- Time of possession: Alabama 33:59-26:01
- Turnovers lost: Georgia 3, Alabama 1
RUSHING—Georgia, White 10-57, Milton 6-44, Cook 5-16, McIntosh 2-12, Bennett 6-12, Burton 1-4. Alabama, N.Harris 31-152, B.Robinson 7-20, Waddle 1-(minus 2), (Team) 1-(minus 3), M.Jones 3-(minus 20).
PASSING—Georgia, Bennett 18-40-3-269. Alabama, M.Jones 24-32-1-417, (Team) 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING—Georgia, Pickens 5-53, Cook 4-101, Burton 4-58, K.Jackson 2-23, Rosemy-Jacksaint 1-18, McKitty 1-10, FitzPatrick 1-6. Alabama, D.Smith 11-167, Waddle 6-161, Metchie 3-50, Forristall 3-29, N.Harris 1-10.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Georgia, Podlesny 35.
This story was originally published October 17, 2020 at 7:10 PM.