What Kalen DeBoer Said After Alabama Defeated Georgia

ATHENS, Ga.— No. 17 Alabama football (3-1, 1-0 SEC) defeated No. 5 Georgia (3-1, 1-1 SEC) by a 24-21 final score at Sanford Stadium on Saturday night. It was the Crimson Tide's second victory over Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs in as many seasons.

Kalen DeBoer is now 2-0 against Georgia, winning one game each at home and on the road. Ty Simpson threw for 276 yards and two scores, one to Isaiah Horton and one to Germie Bernard. Simpson added a rushing touchdown.

The Crimson Tide started the game with a 14-0 lead, taking a 24-14 advantage into halftime. Alabama did not score any points in the game's final 30 minutes. It was another tense fourth quarter between the two teams. However, Georgia squandered too many opportunities and failed to capitalize on momentum at certain points in the game despite having its first true home-field advantage over the Crimson Tide in 10 years.

Neither team scored any points during the game's final 15 minutes. Alabama was remarkably successful on third-down plays, going 13-of-19. The Crimson Tide's win snapped a 33-game home winning streak for the Bulldogs.

Georgia has not won a regular season game against Alabama since coming into Tuscaloosa during Nick Saban's first season and getting a victory. The Crimson Tide followed that with its memorable 2008 triumph in Athens, then a 38-10 win between the hedges in October of 2015.

DeBoer spoke to members of the media after the game. A full transcript is below.

Opening Statement:

"Just a great team win for our guys. Faced a, I mean, credit to Georgia, they're a great team. Just proud of the way our guys came out and fought. Just, you can't overstate what our guys have just been doing as far as just every day, trying to get better. That's what it's about. They just were focused and knew they were gonna have to play four quarters. It took every second of it. Again, finding a way to win. First half, a lot of conversions, especially on third down. Got off the field. And then turned into a fistfight in the second half, and [the] defense standing in there and getting a big fourth-down stop, that was big. It's another step in the right direction for our team. I know that they're already talking. They're not done with their improvement. They've really been focusing on that. They've been focusing on us. That's, I think, the key is not getting caught up in anything else other than what we can control, and I'm super proud of [them] for that."

On road struggles and lessons from the game:

"It's a mindset going in, it's your, especially against a team like this. You're gonna get punches thrown at you. You're just gonna, you're gonna take, you're gonna get some. And we got some tonight. What's your response gonna be? Our response was to punch back and punch back harder, and I really felt like even when it doesn't, isn't perfect execution, just felt like there was an attitude, an energy, that our guys had. There's gonna be no regrets when we walk off the football field because we gave it everything we had."

On the screen pass to Kadyn Proctor:

"That went in during fall camp. It was going really well, and then we had one that didn't go well, and so it got shelved for a little bit, but brought it back out. He made a catch earlier in the week that gave us a lot of confidence. Middle of practice, sweaty hands, not a great throw, pulled it right off the ground. So, pretty impressive seeing a big guy like that do what he did, and he's been pretty consistent on it, so he's done his part and our guys are excited for him. It's, who wants to tackle that guy? Who wants to tackle him? He's such a great athlete and he's worked hard to continue to improve that in other ways."

On the game-sealing pass play:

"We wanna play to win. Didn't want to give them a chance. They'd have over a minute to go, probably, or right at a minute, maybe, with the punt. That gets hard, especially on the road. It's a pretty conservative play, because you need five yards. What are you gonna do if you get three? What are you gonna do if you get four? If we got out the back door clean with Jam [Miller], it was gonna be a good play, and then you've still got it in your quarterback's hands, and he can make a decision. Where you're at on the field, if you have to take a sack, you take a sack, keep the clock running, and then you go from there. Proud of the execution of the guys. We've had that one in for a while. Long time. Even last year, so just executing at the right time. I thought it was a great play call, great execution."

On crowd noise and getting plays in to Ty Simpson:

"It takes a lot of work when you get in an environment like we had today. They [the offense] can't hear him, and you've gotta make sure every word is heard. The effort that he put forth today, the energy he just showed in the locker room, man, he's giving everything he has. We knew we were more than likely gonna have to get right up there in their ear, tell them exactly what's going on with those protection checks, make sure everyone's on the same page. One guy blows an assignment or doesn't hear something correctly, now you've got a guy in your lap when you're the quarterback."

On the team's identity:

"I think it's just, I think there's a toughness that's being built. I don't think we're there yet. I think there's things that we can do better. We talked about mental, physical and emotional toughness that it was gonna take. That was one of the first things we put on the keys to victory at the beginning of the week. We knew it was gonna be a, when it came to turnovers and takeaways, that was gonna be critical. And then executing in critical situations. And we did that, and those three things right there: We've taken care of the football, we executed in critical times, got the fourth-down stop, executed on third down, got off the field, especially in the first half, we were good in the red zone. Offensively, 4-for-4, I think three touchdowns. So, all those things, but there's a toughness that our guys are building on. We've still got a long ways to go, and they know that."

On the big fourth-down stop:

"No question. Just, they do a great job in the run game. We knew they were gonna try to really hold the line of scrimmage. Both defensively and then control it offensively. They did a nice job. But you play every play as its own play. You play every game as its own game. There's nothing that carries over. There's nothing that carries over into that situation, so just do your job. Be fundamental, play with great energy. Make things happen. We didn't just sit back on our heels and hope that they didn't execute. We went out there and attacked it and made a play."

On Simpson's decision-making:

"He's continued to do a really good job of keeping his eyes downfield, trusting his offensive line more and more in pass protection, and then the guys are getting in the right spots at the right time. The repetitions that are happening in practice, just, even the completion percentage and the execution in practice, you can see it continue to build. He's ripping it, cutting it loose. I'm proud of him, because he's, he's playing with some energy and some emotion. He's given some talks to the team that are pretty passionate. And he's all-in, that's for sure."

On short gains during running plays and their importance:

"We've gotta continue to get better in the run game. There's times when we had looks that we just should really take advantage of. There's an execution piece to it. There's a toss play, and it's not always the offensive line, there's a toss play to the right that, I just felt like numbers-wise, I think Germ [Germie Bernard] had the ball in his hands. We've just gotta get everyone on the same page, doing your job. There's some times inside too, where there are two high safeties, and we should be able to get more than what we had. Not just three or four. We should be able to get seven or eight, especially as the game goes on. Now, in the last drive? That happened a little bit more. So, that's why you just stick with it. I think I saw 38 attempts or something like that as far as rushing attempts. That's a credit to Ryan Grubb just continuing to stay with it and not getting greedy, not just feeling it has to turn into an all-out passing game. So, just proud of the continued fight that he had and what he brings out of the offensive line."

On his teams' performances after bye weeks:

"First of all, we got some guys back. That helped. I think T.K. [Tim Keenan III] in the middle, we really needed him. I thought he played, I don't know if he's played great, I haven't really seen it that close, but he helped. He made a difference. Jam, obviously, makes a big difference. Not just in the run game, in the protection piece. Just confidence in him. So, you've got your guys, and they're healthier, and then you've got a staff that does a great job putting a game plan together, and then you get more reps at it. So, when you can make those plays look, and the checks be on point through a few more days of practice, a few more reps, that's what you get. Because we've got good football players out there."

On Alabama's fourth-down attempt:

"We were a yard [away]. I'd like to think that we can get that yard and just, there's times last year where I wish I'd have gone for it a time or two. Just, play aggressive. Play to win. What we did there at the end of the game. You've gotta be smart. You can't be reckless. But, just, trying to, they squeezed the edge pretty good and caught us from behind. So, thought we had good numbers to the front side with Ty keeping it, a lead blocker there. Didn't, physically, get the job done."

On what stands out most about the team from the Florida State game to now:

"It started at, they pretty much just got an edge to them. Took everything that was out there and channeled the energy into us. Into us being better and getting better. And there's two things you can do when things are coming down on you a little bit. You can go back yourself in a corner or you can fight. These guys, they've made up their minds. They're gonna fight. The staff is doing the same thing. That was where it started, but I think it's just continued now, continued to build. We've gotta make sure we don't forget what that chip on the shoulder was that kinda got this momentum going. Gotta understand what it took mentally, physically, emotionally today to be able to sustain from start to finish. Not just 30 minutes. It's 60 minutes. So, that's been a word that we talked about going back to January. I've talked to you guys about it. Sustaining it. Can we sustain the energy? Can we sustain the passion? Not just for the season, not for the game, but each play. We sustained it, and at the very end, churning out those first downs with the offensive line, that's something we weren't doing in fall camp. That's not something we were doing at the beginning of the season at the end of the game. Maybe we did it at the beginning of the game. The first drive, Florida State, worked at it, got it done, but we weren't doing that in the second half like we did tonight."