TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 2 Georgia versus No. 4 Alabama lived up to the hype on Saturday night with one of the craziest finishes of the college football season so far.
The Crimson Tide defeated the Bulldogs, 41-34, in front of a sold out crowd in Tuscaloosa.
Georgia took its first lead of the game with 2:31 left after Carson Beck completed a 67-yard touchdown to Dillon Bell. On the next play, Jalen Milroe found freshman Ryan Williams for a 75-yard touchdown to retake the lead.
Beck and the Bulldogs came up short on the final possession with Alabama sealing the win with an interception.
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Georgia had trouble finding its footing in the first half both on offense and defense. Milroe led the Tide on three unanswered touchdown drives in the first quarter alone.
Offensively, the Bulldogs had one too many turnovers, dropped passes and offensive pass interference calls. Beck looked uncomfortable with several of his throws.
At the end of the first half, Georgia found itself trailing 30-7.
“The first half, we played terrible,” Beck said. “I don’t think we need to watch the film to go see that we didn’t play our best. You know, that starts with me. I’ve got to be better.
“But I’m happy about how we fought, we brought it all the way back and took the lead, just weren’t able to close it out.”
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To start the second half, Beck and Arian Smith struck first with a touchdown and two-point conversion to make it a 30-15 game.
Alabama made it a three-score game again with a field goal before Beck connected with Lawson Luckie to make it 33-21 game.
Bell scored a three-yard rushing touchdown with 5:39 left in the game to bring Georgia within five before his next touchdown gave the Bulldogs their only lead of the night.
After Alabama retook the lead, defensive back Zabien Brown intercepted Beck’s pass in the end zone to end the game.
Beck finished with 439 yards on 27-of-50 passing attempts with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Milroe, who looks like a Heisman Trophy hopeful, finished with four touchdowns and 374 passing yards and 117 rushing yards.
Georgia returns home for its rivalry against Auburn and Alabama travels to Vanderbilt in Week 6.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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