Woodring FG lifts Bulldogs past Crimson Tide, 20-17

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The No. 2-ranked Georgia football team scrapped and clawed its way to a hard-fought 20-17 win over No. 6 Alabama on Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Both defenses kept explosive offenses out of the end zone for much of the night, but the Bulldogs made some big plays late to pull out the win. Kicker Peyton Woodring’s 23-yard field goal with 5:25 remaining putting Georgia ahead for good.

Georgia and Alabama have each claimed the conference title three times in the past six seasons. The teams split a pair of games in 2025, with the Crimson Tide winning in Athens during the regular season and the Bulldogs prevailing in the SEC Championship Game. Saturday’s game was befitting the battles these teams have waged in recent years. Georgia came in ranked first in the country in scoring at 51.4 points per game, while Alabama was second at 49.6.

Bulldog quarterback Gunner Stockton completed 18 of 22 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown, while running back Dwight Phillips, Jr., ran 17 times for 120 yards. Georgia (6-0, 4-0, SEC) out-gained the Tide 455-346, and the Bulldog defense got key stops late to seal the win.

Georgia’s defense made the game’s first big play when defensive lineman Joseph Jonah-Ajonye sacked and stripped Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell on the game’s opening drive, and linebacker Quintavius Johnson recovered the loose ball at the Bulldog 37-yard line and returned it to the 39.

The Bulldog offense moved the ball inside the Alabama 20 thanks to a pair of runs by Phillips and a 26-yard reception by tight end Lawson Luckie, but two penalties, one of them negating a 17-yard touchdown run by Phillips, pushed Georgia back to the 36. Woodring kicked a 43-yard field goal to put the Bulldogs ahead 3-0 with 3:25 left in the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, after the Tide (5-1, 3-1) had punted twice and Georgia once, the Bulldogs went ahead 10-0 on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Stockton to wideout London Humphreys. On the previous play, a second-and-17 at the Bulldog 27, Stockton found tight end Jaden Reddell open down the middle for a 53-yard gain. Humphreys also had a 9-yard catch on third-and-3 earlier in the 93-yard drive.

Alabama answered quickly, scoring on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Russell to tight end Marshall Pritchett on the third play of the ensuing drive to make it 10-7 with 5:49 left in the half. The Tide then got the ball back on the first play of Georgia’s drive when linebacker Bray Hubbard intercepted a Stockton pass at the Bulldog 29.

The Bulldog defense rose to the challenge after the turnover, including a 9-yard tackle for loss, and forced a punt. The Crimson Tide defense stopped Georgia on its next drive and went ahead 14-10 on the final play of the half when EJ Crowell ran the ball in from the 1. The score marked the first time the Bulldogs have trailed all season.

Georgia got the ball to start the second half and hit several big plays on the way to a 14-yard Stockton touchdown run. Stockton hit wideout Talyn Taylor for 15 yards, Bo Walker ran for 17, Stockton connected with receiver Craig Dandridge Jr. for 30 on the right side, and then Stockton put Georgia back in front, 17-14, on the run into the end zone.

Alabama tied the game on the ensuing drive, with kicker Conor Talty hitting a 39-yard field goal to make it 17-17 with 5:07 to go in the third quarter. Heading into the fourth, Georgia had the ball at the Tide 25 after converting a couple of big plays, including a 14-yard completion to Taylor, a 31-yard run by Phillips, and a pass interference call on Alabama on third-and-21. Forced to try a field goal, Woodring’s 39-yard attempt missed wide left. It was his first miss of the season.

Georgia’s defense forced a punt on the Tide’s next drive, and the Bulldogs took over at their 11 with 10:44 left in the game. A 22-yard rush by Phillips and a 37-yarder by Bo Walker moved Georgia inside the Tide 10, but the Bulldogs had to settle for a 23-yard Woodring field goal and a 20-17 lead with 5:25 remaining.

The Bulldog defense forced Alabama to punt after the Tide drove down to the UGA 34, and the offense took the field with 3:14 to play. A 17-yard completion to tight end Elyiss Williams on third-and-7 at the Georgia 10 kept the drive going, and then the Bulldogs benefitted from a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Alabama later in the drive to close out the win, Georgia’s first in Tuscaloosa since 2007.

The Bulldogs are back between the hedges next Saturday when they host Auburn at 3:30 p.m. Georgia has won nine in a row against the Tigers and leads the all-time series 66-56-8.

POST-GAME NOTES

Looking Good: With a 20-17 road win over #6 Alabama, second-ranked Georgia is off to a 6-0 start (4-0 SEC) for the sixth time in 11 seasons under head coach Kirby Smart. UA dropped to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the SEC.

*Tonight was Smart’s third win over UA and the first in the regular season, the other two came for a national championship (2021) and an SEC Championship (2025). UA lost for just the second time under Kalen DeBoer inside Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, falling to 16-2. This was Georgia’s first win at UA since 2007 in overtime.

*The Bulldogs have scored 277 points, and that’s the best six-game total to start a Georgia season, passing the 1910 team that had 270..

*The Bulldogs are now 123-21 overall under Smart. The Bulldogs have won two straight over UA for the first time since winning three in a row, winning in 2002, then 2003 and 2007.

*For the year, the Bulldogs are outscoring their opponents 277-84.

*Defensive Highlights: Sixth-ranked Alabama was limited to 17 points after averaging 49.6 ppg this year. UA had 346 yards on 60 plays, gaining 185 in the air and 161 on the ground. UA was held to just three points in the 2nd half and no points in the fourth quarter.

*At halftime, UA had 14 points on 224 yards on 40 plays.

*UA got the ball to start the game, and it’s first drive resulted in a turnover after three first downs. They had a pair of third-down conversions plus a 4th-and-1 conversion at the UGA 46. Then, Joseph Jonah-Ajonye caused a fumble on a sack (both first of his career), and it was recovered by  Quintavius Johnson (first of his career) at the UGA 39.

*Georgia is outscoring opponents 73-7 in the 1st quarter this year, allowing only a TD to Vanderbilt.

*Down 10-0, UA responded with a three play, 89-yard drive in 1:12 featuring a 58-yard rush by Trae’shawn Brown, the longest by an opponent this year. It made it i10-7 with 5:49 left in the 1st half.

*UA claimed a 14-10 lead on the final play of the 1st half, capping a 12-play,  80-yard drive in 1:42. It marked the first time that Georgia has trailed this season.

*The leading tacklers for Georgia were Raylen Wilson with nine and Chris Cole with eight. Cole picked up a sack in the 3rd quarter to give him 2.5 for the year and seven for his career. Georgia had four sacks on the night.

*Offensive Review: Second-ranked Georgia tallied 455 yards on 61 plays, gaining 206 on the ground and 249 through the air.

*Fifth-year QB Gunner Stockton finished 18-for-22 for 249 yards with 1 TD and one INT. Also, he had six rushes for 12 yards. He improved to 18-3 as a starter and 7-2 versus ranked teams. He scampered in from 14 yards out to put Georgia in front 17-14 early in the 3rd quarter. In the 1st half, he went 9-for-11 for 143 yards and 1 TD and 1 INT..

*Overall, Georgia has scored a TD in 21 of 24 quarters this season, going 2-for-4 tonight.

*Tied at 17 with 10:44 left in the game, Georgia went 84 yards in 10 plays before making a 23-yard FG for a 20-17 lead. The drive featured a 37-yard rush by Bo Walker and a 22-yard gain by Dwight Phillips Jr.

*Down 14-10 to start the 2nd half, Georgia went 75 yards in eight plays in 4:22 to reclaim a 17-14 lead at 10:38 left in the 3rd quarter.

*Georgia finished the 1st half with 10 points, tallying 192 yards of offense on 26 plays. It trailed 14-10.

*Following a turnover, Georgia’s first drive started at the UGA 39, and it resulted in a 43-yard FG and a 3-0 lead with 3:25 left in the 1st quarter. It featured a 26-yard catch by TE Lawson Luckie and 16 rushing yards by Dwight Phillips Jr. However back-to-back penalties wiped out a TD.

*Georgia’s next two drives started at its own 3 and 7. The latter eventually produced points, going 93 yards on nine plays in 5:08. It featured a 53-yard completion to TE Jaden Redell on a 2nd-and-17 followed by a 20-yard TD pass to London Humphreys to make it 10-0 with 7:09 left in the 1st half.

*Georgia is outscoring its opponents in the 1st half this season 164-40.

Receiving Leaders:

*Ten Bulldogs caught a pass tonight. Craig Dandridge Jr had a team-high 4 catches for 45 yards while Talyn Taylor (3-43) and London Humphreys (3-43, 1 TD) were next while TE Jaden Reddell had a career-long 53-yard catch in the 1st half.

Rushing Numbers: Georgia had  206 rushing yards on 39  attempts tonight. It had 49 yards on 15 carries in the 1st half.

*In his first career start, sophomore TB Dwight Phillips Jr. tallied a career-high 120 yards on 17 carries to lead the rushing attack.

*Georgia did not have two of its leading rushers tonight in junior Nate Frazier and junior Chauncey Bowen due to injury.

*Special Teams Summary: Senior PK Peyton Woodring scored 8 points on two FGs (23- and 43-yarders) and two PATs plus he took care of the kickoffs. *Woodring  missed a 39-yarder early in the 4th quarter with the game tied at 17.  It was his first career miss from 30-39 yards after going 27-for-27 from that distance. On the season, Woodring is 6-for-7 in FG attempts, and In his career, he is now 65-for-74.

*Junior Drew Miller posted a 46.0 average on two punts with a long of 52 and one touchback.

*In the 4th quarter, freshman Blake Stewart recovered a muffed punt return attempt by Sacovie White-Helton at the UGA 11.

*Points Off Turnovers: Georgia scored 3 points of one turnover.  UA got one INT on a tipped pass, and it did not lead  to any points.

For the year, the Bulldogs are +6 and have scored 62 points off 11 turnovers. Opponents have only 19 points off five Bulldog miscues.

*Captains And Starters: Georgia’s captains were Chris Cole, Raylen Wilson, Earnest Greene III and Gunner Stockton.

*Georgia won the coin toss and elected to defer the football until the 2nd half. Sophomore Dwight Phillips, Jr., made his first career start.

*Along with Bowens and Frazier out tonight, Georgia was missing wideout Isiah Canion for the third straight game while Thomas Blackshear, who started last week, was out too. On defense, Tyriq Green (S/KOR) missed his fourth straight game.

*Up Next: No. 2 Georgia (6-0, 4-0 SEC) will play host to Auburn on Oct. 17 at 3:30 pm. AU (3-2, 1-2 SEC) was off this week.

POST-GAME QUOTES

Opening Statement…
“What a great college football game, great atmosphere. I’ve been in a bunch of those with them, and they all seem similar. Just a physical game back and forth. Critical calls, critical situations. You could go back and look at hundreds of them on there. At the end of the day, our quarterback played well enough for us to win. We scored enough points to win, but it was a really extremely physical football game. I have a lot of respect for Alabama. I have a lot of respect for Coach [Kalen] DeBoer, a lot of respect for their team, how they play. Another week in the SEC because humility is a week away, as you saw today. It’s going to be physical. It’s going be tough.”

On RB Dwight Phillips…
“What a great kid, man. This Dwight Phillips, man, y’all don’t know how special this kid is. He hasn’t complained one time since being here, and he’s so tough for his size. [Mike] Bobo came to me before the game and said, ‘Hey, Nate isn’t going to go.’ I said, ‘We have to give it to Peanut [Dwight Phillips Jr.]. He said, ‘[Do] you remember that game when we were at Georgia, and they gave the ball to Torin Kirtsey, and he weighed about 175.’ I don’t know how many times Torin carried, maybe 30. I said, ‘If we have to give it to Dwight that many times, he can do it. He and Bo [Walker] stepped up big, even the young kid [Nick Peal]. This kid was in high school six months ago, Peal. He’s a really good football player, and he’s going to get better. We’re a beat-up football team right now, guys. We have guys out left and right, and to have both those backs out and Isiah [Canion] out at receiver – tough deal, but we responded.”

On QB Gunner Stockton on the game-winning offensive drive…
“It’s a deal that you get better with experience. He had a couple plays that, hey, they didn’t work out. He didn’t let them affect him. He had the pick that was kind of batted, and then he had a boot that we thought could have been a big play that he underthrew. He doesn’t let things fester and affect him. When he has to stand in there and throw a bullet and make a play, he was able to do it tonight in really critical situations. The one conversion to Craig [Dandridge Jr.] over on our sideline on their best corner, he threw a hitch over there, and we just got enough for a first, and then the big conversion on third and whatever it was, seven or eight. I told Mike [Bobo], be aggressive. We’re not playing to run it and punt. We’re going to try to win the game right now.”

On Alabama QB Keelon Russell…
“There’s no such thing as containing Russell. When a guy runs 10, 400 meters, you don’t have a 260-pound end that can contain him. You’re better off getting out of there and then go get him and maybe cover half the field because there is no containing Russell. That kid’s an elite athlete, an elite player. Hopefully we affected him some tonight, and he didn’t have some of the numbers he’s had. He’s a really good football player, and he’s going to be hell in this league for two years.”

On the defensive mindset in the fourth quarter….
“Told [Glenn] Schumann to be aggressive. If we’re aggressive, then we lose swinging, and we get the ball back, and we get a chance to win. We didn’t come here to play to lose. I didn’t come here to play to go to overtime. I came here to win. He called up a timely blitz that knocked him out of field goal. I knew when they punted that our offense had started to take the anaconda effect, and it was wearing him down. We had a chance to run it out, and that happened.”

On winning in Tuscaloosa for the first time since 2007…
“We hadn’t played here much, you know? 2007, I was here on the other side, so I don’t get into all the whole first win in a long  time here. I don’t know how many times we’ve played here since then, three? I don’t know. So, we’re one and two. What is everybody else? It’s a hard place to play. I don’t judge my happiness or success on how we play ‘Bama.’ I have a lot of respect for this place. Nick taught me a lot. Watching that show the other night, the first opening one, and I have so much respect for him. We run our program a lot like that. I tell those kids, y’all need to tune in and watch the show because the stuff going on in that show is in Athens right now. It’s going on over there all the time. It’s physical, it’s tough, and it’s accountability. That’s what he taught me, and it’s what we’re trying to do.”

On the offensive line…
“Tough. They love it. We had two kids out there that were committed to Alabama, right? It was important to them that they knew who they were by the end of it.”

On what this win means to him…
“It was the sacrifices they all make. It wasn’t about Alabama. It was about SEC road win, top 10 team. That, to me, is what we work for. Our guys grind. Our guys work hard. We practiced hard last week. We didn’t take the pads off. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, we’re thirsty, and they bought into that. They wanted to do that. They felt it was important to do that, so I celebrate that. Celebrate it with Mary Beth [Smart] because she sacrifices a ton for our family and deals with my frustrated self all the time. She deserves a kiss every now and then.”

#14 Gunner Stockton | 5th | QB

On preparation for this game…
“We just got into each practice and stayed in the moment trying to block out all the external noise.”

On the emotions after the game…
“To be honest, being competitive and playing football, having that locker room – that’s what makes it special.”

On his touchdown run…
“I thought I was [going to score]. I was just hoping I would get there before it closed. Elyiss [Williams], he made a great block. The line strained, and we had a good play.”

On the chemistry he has with his receivers…
“I think it goes to that a lot of the guys – Craig [Dandrige Jr.], Talyn [Taylor], Sacovie [White-Helton], London – everybody just stepping up. It wasn’t something new. You don’t just snap your fingers. It’s all the work put into it. I don’t know if every ball was a dime, but they definitely made some plays.”

#16 London Humphreys | Sr. | WR

On the win…
“There’s big history here between these two teams. They’re a great team with great players. They’re tough. Always a great match-up every time we play. It was a lot of fun.”

On the balance of the offense…
“Like I said, Gunner [Stockton] has to make those decisions. He has so many options on those plays. More times than not, he is successful in picking the right option there.”

#7 Khalil Barnes | Sr. | S

On RB Dwight Phillips Jr…
“Energy. I don’t think Peanut (Dwight Phillips Jr.) has had a bad day. Whenever I see him in the locker room, he is smiling. When a guy who puts so much into it is able to get out what he is putting in, it’s just feels really good for him.”

On practice leading up to this game…
“It was four days [of pads]. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. It’s nothing new now. It was new to me when I first got here. We just didn’t do it like that at Clemson. He [Coach Smart] preaches physicality, and it’s not just some cliché. We really live it.”

#9 Chris Cole | Jr. | ILB

On the performance…
“We knew coming it that this game was going to be a back and forth. There were going to be ups and downs, but we knew that we just had to reset and refocus on what we did wrong to be able to fix it. Just go back on the next drive and compete.”

On the final defensive drive…
“Our mindset was just to not let them score, and that’s out mindset every time we go out on that field. We knew coming in that we had to put the team on our back, and it was going to come down to the fourth quarter and us being on the field to be able to stop them.”