No. 2 Bulldogs fall in wild one at No. 4 Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The No. 2-ranked Georgia football team suffered its first regular-season defeat since 2020 on Saturday night, falling 41-34 to No. 4 Alabama in a wild game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The loss snapped a run of 42 consecutive regular-season wins, as well as 28 straight in SEC regular-season games, for the Bulldogs.

Georgia’s last regular-season loss came against Florida on Nov. 7, 2020. On Saturday, the Crimson Tide jumped out in front early with three first-quarter touchdowns, forcing the Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1 SEC) to play catch-up the rest of the way. Despite outscoring the Tide 27-11 in the second half, and briefly taking the lead late in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs came up short in the end.

In a game with more than 1,000 yards of offense, Alabama (4-0, 1-0) finished with 547, while Georgia gained 519. Georgia’s defense had allowed just 18 points on six field goals coming into the game, and the offense had zero turnovers through three games before committing four Saturday.

Quarterback Jalen Milroe directed the Tide down the field for a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, completing all three pass attempts, including one for a 34-yard gain, and later scoring on a seven-yard run for a 7-0 lead with 10:11 left in the first quarter. It was the first touchdown the Bulldogs had allowed this season.

An offensive pass interference penalty negated a 28-yard gain and stalled the Bulldogs’ first drive, forcing a punt. Alabama then drove 84 yards in six plays and went ahead 14-0 with 4:39 to play in the first on a Milroe 16-yard touchdown pass to Jamarion Miller.

The Bulldogs’ next drive ended when Domani Jackson intercepted a Carson Beck pass in Georgia territory and returned it to the UGA 22. Three plays later, Germie Bernard ran for a seven-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead with 2:21 to go in the first.

After forcing a Georgia punt, Alabama scored again on their next drive. On fourth-and-1 at the Bulldog 36, Milroe got free and ran all the way for the touchdown and a 28-0 lead.

The Bulldog offense got going on its next possession, driving 75 yards on 11 plays and scoring on Trevor Etienne’s seven-yard run, cutting the lead to 28-7 with 6:43 left in the half. Etienne ran for seven on fourth-and-1 at the UGA 45 earlier in the drive to keep the Bulldogs moving.

Facing a fourth-and-1 at the Georgia 34, the Tide went for the first down and Miller was stuffed for a 1-yard loss by Daniel Harris and Dan Jackson. Alabama got the ball back on the next play when Jihaad Campbell intercepted a Beck pass and returned it 13 yards to the Bulldog 12.

Jackson got the ball back for Georgia with an interception at the 2 and returned it out to the 5. Three plays later, Beck, under pressure, tried to throw the ball away and was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety and a 30-7 Alabama lead.

Milroe threw for 199 yards and ran for 106 in the first half, helping Alabama out-gain the Bulldogs 355-153 through two quarters. It was a much different game in the second half.

The Bulldogs cut Alabama’s lead to 30-15 with 5:06 left in the third quarter on a 12-yard touchdown catch by Arian Smith to cap a 15-play drive. Georgia converted two fourth-down plays on the drive and drew a penalty on Alabama on a third attempt. Beck hit Lawson Luckie in the back of the end zone to convert the two-point conversion attempt.

Alabama’s Graham Nicholson kicked a 28-yard field goal with 1:23 to play in the third to push the Tide’s lead to 33-15. Georgia cut the lead to 33-21 with 9:46 left in the game when Beck hit Luckie in the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown. That came after a 21-yard completion to Anthony Evans III and a 34-yarder to Colbie Young.

Two big completions got the Bulldogs to the Tide 1 on their next drive. Beck connected with Cash Jones out of the backfield for a 30-yard gain, followed immediately by a 47-yard strike to Smith. Two plays later, Dillon Bell ran the ball in for a three-yard touchdown, trimming Alabama’s lead to 33-27 with 5:39 remaining.

Georgia’s defense forced Alabama to punt on its next drive and the Bulldogs got the ball back at their 33 with a chance for the win with 2:42 remaining. And on the first play, Beck hit Bell down the middle for a 67-yard touchdown to take a 34-33 lead with 2:31 remaining.

But the lead was short-lived. On the first play of Alabama’s ensuing drive, Milroe connected with Ryan Williams for a 75-yard touchdown, and a successful two-point conversion made it 41-34 Tide with 2:18 to play.

Georgia had one last possession and drove into Alabama territory. On fourth-and-8 at the Tide 34, he hit Luckie for 14 yards to the 22. Beck’s next pass was intercepted in the end zone with 43 seconds left.

Beck completed 27 of 50 passes for a career-high 439 yards and three touchdowns, with three interceptions and a fumble. Milroe threw for 374 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception, and ran for 117 yards and two scores. Safety Dan Jackson led the Georgia defense with a career-high 10 tackles and an interception.

The Bulldogs are back at Sanford Stadium next Saturday when they host Auburn at 3:30 p.m. Georgia has won 26 straight games on Dooley Field.

POST-GAME NOTES

*Streaks Snapped: Second-ranked Georgia saw its regular season winning streak end at 42 games as #4 UA hung on for a 41-34 decision. Before tonight, Georgia’s last regular season loss came to Florida in Jacksonville on Nov. 7, 2020. Georgia now is 49-3 in its last 52 games.

*Georgia saw its SEC and school record streak of consecutive SEC regular season victories end at 28.

*Tonight marked the first regular season loss for Georgia’s 2024 senior class as they are now 45-3 overall and 39-1 in the regular season.

*The Bulldogs had won 16 straight games in an opponent’s home stadium, the last loss coming to Alabama in 2020.

*Bulldog coach Kirby Smart had won five straight AP top-five matchups before the Bulldogs fell tonight in Tuscaloosa.

*Defensive Review: UA built a 28-0 lead and hung on for a 41-34 victory, amassing 547 yards of total offense on 65 plays.

*Coming in tonight, the Bulldogs had allowed just 18 points on six field goals to rank third nationally. UA came in ranked sixth nationally in Scoring Offense at 49.0 ppg. UA built a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and an eventual 30-7 advantage at the half. It was Georgia’s largest halftime deficit since trailing No. 23 Ole Miss 31-0 in Oxford in 2016. UA finished the first half with 355 yards of total offense on 35 plays.

*UA became the first team to score a TD on Georgia, doing on its opening drive, going 70 yards on eight plays in 4:43. UA added another TD on its second possession, going 84 yards on six plays in 3:11 for a 14-0 edge with 4:39 left in the first quarter. UA took a 21-0 lead on its third possession in the first quarter, needing to go just 22 yards following an interception. UA went up 28-0 on its fourth possession, going 67 yards on six plays capped by a 36-yard TD run by Jalen Milroe on a 4th-and-1.

*On it’s fifth possession, UA was stopped on a 4th-and-1 at the UGA 34, losing a yard with Dan Jackson and Daniel Harris on the stop. On the next play, UA got the ball back on an INT and took it to the UGA 25. It did not lead to any points.

*UA trailed 34-33 with 2:31 remaining in the contest but Jalen Milroe connected with Ryan Williams for a 75-yard TD and a two-point conversion for a 41-34 edge.

*Georgia’s leading tacklers were senior Dan Jackson with a career-high 10 and an INT while junior Malaki Starks had eight. For Jackson, it was his third career INT and his first since the South Carolina game last year.

*Summary Of The Offense: Georgia scored 34 points including 27 in the second half and gained 519 yards on 76 plays.

*Senior QB Carson Beck finished 27-for-50 for a career-high 439 yards, 3 TDs plus a career-high three INTs and a fumble. He is now 16-2 as a starter.

*Beck’s 439 yards ranked fourth most in school history and the most since 1994 when Eric Zeier had 441 versus Vanderbilt, going 23-for-54..

*Coming in tonight, Georgia was one of three teams nationally yet to commit a turnover. In fact, the last one came on a Beck fumble in the 2023 SEC title game versus UA.

*The leading receivers were senior Arian Smith with a career-high 6-for-132 yards and a TD while senior Dominic Lovett (6-for-59 yards) and Dillon Bell with 5 for a career-high 100 yards and a score.

*The Bulldogs tallied 80 rushing yards. Junior Trevor Etienne had a team-high 12 carries for 55 yards and one score.

*Down 30-7 in the second half, Georgia converted three fourth downs as part of a season-high 15 play, 80-yard drive in 6:44, all season-highs. It ended with a 12-yard TD pass from Beck to Smith. Then, Georgia converted a two-point play on a pass to Lawson Luckie to cut it  to 30-15 with 5:06 left in the 3rd quarter. Entering the game tonight, Georgia was 1-for-2 on 4th Down attempts.

*Down 33-15, Beck marched the Bulldogs down for another score, going 80 yards on six plays in 1:46, capped by an 8-yard TD pass to Luckie.

*Down 33-21 with 7:14 left, Georgia went 78 yards on just four plays in 1:35 to cut it to 33-28 with 5:39 remaining on a three-yard run by Dillon Bell. The drive featured a 30-yard catch by Cash Jones and a 47-yard completion to Smith.

*Trailing 33-28 with 2:42 left in the contest. Georgia took over at its own 33 and Beck connected with Dillon Bell for a 67-yard TD, both career-longs for Beck and Bell, and its first lead at 34-33 with 2:31 left. A two-point conversion failed.

*Down 41-34 with 2:18 left in the game, Georgia drove to the UA 22 when Zabien Brown snagged an INT in the endzone with 43 seconds left.

*In the first half, Georgia trailed 30-7. It ran 28 plays and tallied 153 yards of total offense with two turnovers and a safety.

*Facing a 14-0 deficit, Georgia had its first turnover since the 2023 SEC Championship Game as Beck was picked off by Domani Jackson at the UGA 22, and it led to an eventual TD.

*Down 28-0 with 12:24 left in the first half, Georgia went for a 4th-and-1 at its own 45 and Trevor Etienne gained seven yards. The Bulldogs would go on to

score a TD, going 75 yards on a season-high 11 plays and then season-long 5:41 capped by another seven-yard scamper by Etienne, his first as a Bulldog.

*Before tonight, the last time Georgia allowed a safety came in 2013 by Florida (Lucious Purifoy).

*Special Teams In Action: Junior Brett Thorson had three punts for a 46.7 average including a 56-yarder with a minus four-yard return.

*Sophomore PK Peyton Woodring made two PATs and handled kickoffs too.

*Sophomore Anthony Evans had three kickoff returns for 69 yards and two punt returns for one yard.             

*Captains, Coin Toss and For Starters: Georgia’s captains were Carson Beck, Trevor Etienne, Malaki Starks and Jalon Walker. 

Georgia won the toss and deferred the ball until the second half. There was one first-time starter in junior Micah Morris (RG).

*Up Next: The Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1 SEC) play host to Auburn (2-3, 0-2 SEC) Saturday, Oct.. 5 at 3:30 pm (ABC). It will mark just the second home game this season for the Bulldogs.