Upon Further Review: No. 17 Alabama 24, No. 5 Georgia 21

In a game where neither team scored points during quarter number four, Alabama football (3-1, 1-0 SEC) defeated Georgia 24-21 on Saturday night. The Crimson Tide snapped the Bulldogs' (1-1 SEC) 33-game home winning streak in its first trip to Athens since 2015. Alabama led by 10 points at halftime after scoring the game's first 14 points, and the home side never led at all.

"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," head coach Kalen DeBoer, who is now 2-0 against the Bulldogs, said after the victory. "[They] knew they were gonna have to play four quarters. It took every second of it."

The win bumped Alabama's AP Poll ranking up by seven spots, placing the Crimson Tide back in the top 10 (No. 10) for the first time since DeBoer's squad opened the 2025 season ranked eighth. Georgia, which has the same 3-1 overall record as Alabama, dropped from No. 5 to No. 12.

Player of the Game: Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson had not played a road game since the team's late-August loss at Florida State in the season opener. He had also never made an SEC start on the road until Saturday. Sanford Stadium is not an easy first test in that department, but Simpson passed it; he completed 24 of his 38 attempts for 276 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also looked far more comfortable in Athens than he did in Tallahassee, going through his reads with poise and handling pressure confidently, also scoring a touchdown in the running game during the second quarter.

Play of the Game: Georgia had the football deep in Alabama territory entering the fourth quarter. 13 minutes and 25 seconds remained on the clock when the Bulldogs made a pivotal decision: going for it on fourth down as a single yard stood between the home team and a fresh set of downs. With eight yards separating the red-clad offense from the end zone, tailback Cash Jones was stopped behind the line of scrimmage by LT Overton and Deontae Lawson. Jones nearly broke free of the tandem, but Overton got just enough of him to send him to the ground.

Stat of the Game: Third-down conversions are harder to come by in true road games, but that memo did not reach Alabama ahead of its trip between the hedges. The Crimson Tide converted 13 out of 19 third-down attempts, nine of which came in the first half and the last of which (a gutsy passing play to the returning Jam Miller) finished the game off. Georgia, by comparison, was just 2-for-8.

"That tells the tale of the game," Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said. "We did not play well on third down, and it showed."

10 things you may not have noticed...

1. True freshman Lotzeir Brooks made a play in the second quarter that may have saved Alabama's night.

Simpson scored his rushing touchdown with 34 seconds remaining in the first half. That ended up being the difference in the game, since Alabama didn't tack anything onto its 24-14 halftime lead. The critical touchdown was almost not to be. Three plays prior, Simpson took a second-down snap from the Georgia 44 and was nearly sacked. He got the ball out, finding true freshman Lotzeir Brooks. Brooks was nowhere close to the sidelines, nor would he have moved the chains if stopped right when he made the catch, but he broke free and scampered out of bounds after a 21-yard gain. Brooks is quite fast, and that speed made all the difference in helping keep a drive going which yielded what proved to be the game-winning score.

2. The Crimson Tide's running backs still have work to do on establishing themselves in the offensive attack.

Senior running back Jam Miller made his 2025 debut in Athens following a three-game stint on the injured list. Despite the boost to the room that provides, the running backs still couldn't cross the 100-yard threshold (two players combined for 76 yards, 46 of which were Miller's) on 26 attempts. This also happened in the Crimson Tide's last game prior to facing Georgia, when the stable amassed just 45 yards in a 38-14 win over Wisconsin. DeBoer said postgame that he wants to see his team get on the same page in the run game.

3. Alabama defensive lineman Edric Hill posted season-best numbers against the Bulldogs.

Tim Keenan III also returned to the Alabama ranks over the weekend, but another defensive lineman was able to eclipse his previous single-game totals. Sophomore Edric Hill logged three total tackles, including half a sack. That half sack was the first of his career. His contributions' importance was enhanced due to James Smith's targeting ejection in the second half.

4. Injured Wolf linebacker Qua Russaw did not appear on the stat sheet before exiting Saturday's game.

Alabama did not come away from the Georgia win unscathed. Redshirt sophomore Wolf linebacker Qua Russaw, a starter, suffered a foot injury in the first half and underwent surgery on Sunday. He didn't record any tackles during his time on the field.

5. Germie Bernard scored the first touchdown in all three of Alabama's wins. The team is 0-1 when he doesn't score.

Now that the first four games of the regular season have elapsed, trends are beginning to become apparent. One such phenomenon for Alabama is the fact that Germie Bernard has found paydirt first for three games in a row (he did so on a six-yard reception on the visitors' first drive Saturday). In the one game that he was kept from reaching the end zone, the Crimson Tide lost to Florida State.

6. For the first time in the Kalen DeBoer era, Alabama had fewer penalties in a game than its opponent.

Alabama football players in action against Georgia. — Georgia Bulldogs running back Josh McCray (2) powers his way in for a touchdown during the second half of a NCAA college football game against Alabama in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, September 27, 2025. | Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penalties have been an Achilles' heel for the Crimson Tide since DeBoer took over. The issue has been glaring enough, in fact, that Saturday was the first occasion in his Alabama tenure that the team was penalized fewer times than the opposition. The Crimson Tide had four penalties (for 16 yards), compared to six penalties committed by Georgia, for 68 yards.

7. Both teams' offensive lines protected their respective quarterbacks well.

Alabama football players. — Alabama's offensive line against Georgia. | Alabama Athletics

Two new starting quarterbacks squared off in Athens, and each was sacked only one time. Alabama's protection of Simpson has been a talking point given the rotation of the offensive line and Miller (who is skilled in pass protection) being absent for the Crimson Tide's first three games.

8. Georgia quarterback Gunnar Stockton's passer rating and completion percentage weren't far off Ty Simpson's.

There's no question that Simpson had the better game, but Georgia's Gunner Stockton surpassed him in completion percentage (65 to 63) and carried a 136.1 rating (Simpson's was 141.5). Stockton completed 13 of 20 passes for 130 yards to go with one touchdown. The Crimson Tide additionally kept Stockton largely in check in the running game, though he did break one run off for 21 yards.

9. Kevin Riley slightly edged Jam Miller in yards per carry.

Tuscaloosa native Kevin Riley shouldered an increased workload in Miller's absence. In Athens, Riley had 10 rushing attempts for 30 yards, good for an even three yards per carry. Miller's 46 yards on 16 carries netted him a 2.9-yard average. Those numbers further illustrate the challenges the running backs have had early in the campaign.

10. Crimson Tide linebacker Justin Jefferson had his best game of the season.

Justin Jefferson made the most of one of the biggest games in his extra year. Of his 15 total tackles, eight were against the Bulldogs. Five of those stops were solo tackles, equaling safety Bray Hubbard for the team-high mark in the contest.