One of the most anticipated matchups of the entire 2024 college football season has officially come and gone in a fashion no one could have drawn up as Georgia fell to Alabama, 41-34 on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama had built a solid lead over Georgia in what looked like could be a blowout for the Crimson Tide before a near collapse as the Bulldogs came back from a 28-0 deficit, taking a 34-33 lead over Alabama in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter.
“They did a nice job converting on fourth downs. I think that was really the story in the second half is those fourth down calls and fourth down plays. If we get one or two of those, really, the game is much different in the second half.”
Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer on close win
Here’s a look into four things we took away from the Alabama victory for both sides.
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1. Georgia isn’t as perfect as we thought
Georgia was largely viewed as an unbeatable team ahead of the season, something that no longer rings true as the Bulldogs were nearly boatraced by the Crimson Tide before launching a comeback effort that followed them trailing 30-7 at the half. This was originally projected to be a close, low-scoring contest that would be a defensive battle into the fourth quarter. Instead, it was quite literally anything but that.
This comes just one game after Georgia nearly fell to Kentucky, 13-12.
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2. Jalen Milroe steals the show
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was a force in this one, causing the same issues some analysts thought he would with his true dual-threat ability. Georgia had trouble finding any answer for what Milroe was able to do with his legs as the Crimson Tide signal-caller carried the ball 16 times for 117 yards and a pair of scores.
Milroe finished 27-for-33 passing with 374 yards through the air, two touchdowns and one interception. If he wasn’t before, he’s now definitely a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate with early first-round NFL draft potential.
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3. Carson Beck ends his interception-free streak
Beck made it through three games of the season without throwing a pick, and he was commended for how well he took care of the ball. That was not the case throughout the game, though, as Beck threw three uncharacteristic interceptions to the Alabama defense. Outside of that, though, he finished with an impressive stat line of 27-for-50 passing with 439 passing yards, three touchdowns, and the three picks.
The last game before this in which Beck threw an interception was against Georgia Tech on Nov. 25, 2023.
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4. Alabama Crimson Tide defense holds
While there were some issues in the fourth quarter, Alabama’s defense was overall impeccable throughout this matchup. The Crimson Tide consistently kept Beck under pressure, giving up just 153 yards and nine first downs in the first two quarters of play.
Deontae Lawson headlined the effort, posting a team-high 10 tackles and one sack. Alabama’s secondary also came up big after there were concerns about how well they would perform against Georgia in this particular area as Crimson Tide defensive back Zabien Brown made the final interception as Georgia nearly pulled off the win in the last minute of the game.