Ryan Williams caught Jalen Milroe’s 75-yard touchdown pass with 2:18 left and No. 4 Alabama beat No. 2 Georgia 41-34 in its Southeastern Conference debut Saturday night. Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer.
Then, Alabama’s other freshman, defensive back Zabien Brown, wearing jersey No. 2, intercepted a pass from Carson Beck in the end zone to secure the win.
The dynamic 17-year-old Williams turned, caught the ball in tight coverage, made a quick pivot and raced down the right sideline. Milroe then hit Germie Bernard for the two-point conversion for the Tide (4-0, 1-0).
The long TD pass gave the Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1) their first lead of the game 13 seconds after Carson Beck’s 67-yard bomb to Dillon Bell.
It was DeBoer’s introduction to the fascinating rivalry of SEC power that added another memorable chapter without Nick Saban roaming the sidelines.
A rematch of last season’s SEC Championship Game, also won by Alabama, turned into an exciting quarterback duel.
Milroe completed 27 of 33 passes for 374 yards with two touchdowns and an interception that bounced off a receiver. He also ran for 117 yards and a pair of TDs. Williams had six catches for 177 yards.
Beck was 27 of 50 passing for 439 yards with three touchdowns. In his first multi-interception game, he threw 3 interceptions, but he came into play in the second half.
The Bulldogs scored three touchdowns in the final 9:46. Alabama got the only thing it needed.
Milroe led Alabama to touchdowns on its first four drives against the only defense in the FBS to not allow one to come into the game.
The Bulldogs were down 28-0 within the opening minutes of the second quarter and appeared to be all but done by halftime, having won 42 straight regular season games and 28 straight regular season SEC wins.
Then Beck brought it back.
take out
Georgia: Looked vulnerable against a program that has won two of the last three national titles in its last two games, including a 13-12 win over Kentucky. But the Bulldogs showed they were going nowhere in a dominant second half.
Alabama: The Tide has shown no signs of slipping under DeBoer so far, especially offensively, running on the road against Wisconsin and surviving at home against recent SEC foes.
Opinion poll results
Alabama will jump at least one spot in the AP poll. The Bulldogs’ second-half play probably means they won’t be far away.
next
Alabama: The first SEC road game is played Saturday at Vanderbilt.
Georgia: Hosts struggling longtime rival Auburn on Saturday.
The Associated Press reported.
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