by Logan Cook

Sept. 28 2024

Wow. It’s hard to find the right words after that one. After an absolutely terrible first half, somehow Georgia found a way to claw back into the game, only to be upset at the end by a score of 41-34. 

The Tide extended their record against Kirby Smart to 6-1, and head coach Kalen DeBoer got his first SEC win. Georgia beat Alabama in the 2022 National Title game, but aside from that game, the last Georgia win came in 2007 when Mikey Henderson caught an over the shoulder pass from Matthew Stafford. I was fourteen at the time, and now at thirty-one I am still waiting for the next Georgia regular season win over Alabama.

Everyone knew Georgia would have a difficult task ahead of them in this matchup. But no one expected this bad of a performance from Georgia in the first half. Two interceptions, multiple dropped passes, blown assignments, you name it. The defense was unable to stop Milroe as he torched the Dawgs for 374 yards passing, 117 yard rushing, and four touchdowns. 

The scoring happened fast. 7-0. 14-0. 21-0. Then 28-0. In the first 14 minutes of the game, Alabama outgained Georgia 243 yards to Georgia’s 24. Bama averaged 11yards a play in that timespan. It was a blowout, and early in the first most fans had given up. 

Georgia finally got on the scoreboard after Trevor Etienne’s 7-yard touchdown, and after an exchange of interceptions, Beck was pressured in the endzone leading to a safety after an intentional grounding penalty, making it 30-7 at half. This marks only the second time in Kirby Smart’s career as a head coach that his team have up 30 points in one half (2016 against Ole Miss). 

But then, somehow, Georgia started coming back. In the third quarter, Beck found Arian Smith for a touchdown and Lawson Luckie on a 2-pt conversion, and after an Alabama field goal the quarter ended with the Dawgs down 15-33. Beck then found Luckie in the endzone again in the 4th, but the two-point conversion failed making it 21-33. 

In the fourth, Dillon Bell found the end zone twice, first on a three yard run, and then on a 67 yard pass from Beck giving Georgia its first lead at 34-33. The tide had shifted and Georgia’s comeback was complete. 

…Until the very next play when Milroe found phenom Ryan Williams for a 75 yard touchdown, putting Bama up again 41-34. Georgia was unable to score on their last drive as Zabien Brown intercepted Beck in the end zone. 

This was a heartbreaker for the Dawgs, but Kirby remained optimistic after the game: “I am extremely proud of our team. At halftime our coaches made good adjustments. Everyone was positive… for us, humility is always a week away.” He also took responsibility for the poor first half performance for not getting his players ready to play. 

In the end, it was a resilient effort from the Dawgs. When everyone else had given up, when fans called for Gunner Stockton to play the second half, when TVs were turned of, the players and coaches kept fighting, and that is my biggest takeaway. But, regardless, the 42-game win streak is over. 

Georgia will look to bounce back at home against Auburn next week. Kickoff will be at 3:30