Georgia fans held their breath until the final seconds of Monday night’s 33-18 win over Alabama in the College Football Playoff’s national championship game.
Call it scar tissue from so many close calls and narrow defeats over the 41-year championship drought for a program that many believed would take the final step towards glory when Kirby Smart took the helm in 2016.
Smart, a former Saban assistant, was 0-4 against his former boss before last night, a demon that Smart could never get past. So often it was Saban’s Alabama teams that gatekept the nation’s strongest programs from reaching the pinnacle of college football. Georgia’s team finally hard-nosed its way through that gate in Monday night’s game.
Georgia’s defense faltered in the first matchup of these teams in the SEC Championship in December, with big plays over the top nailing the Dawgs’ coffin shut. Last night, however, UGA limited the big plays and put constant pressure on Alabama’s Heisman-winning QB, Bryce Young. He threw two interceptions in the game, one of which sealed the victory for Georgia with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter.
UGA rookie Kelee Ringo made the game-clinching interception and ran it back for a touchdown with 54 seconds remaining.
[adrotate banner=”20″]
It must be said for Saban’s offense, though, that being down the two most prolific playmakers certainly played a part in the offense’s struggles. John Metchie, the team’s reception leader (96) went down for the Crimson Tide in the semi-final matchup with Cincinnati. In this game, the team’s leading receiver in Jameson Williams (1,572 yards) suffered a non-contact knee injury while attempting to regain his balance after completing a catch from Young.
Bryce Young still made some plays with what he had, and running back Brian Robinson did what he could to step up in the fallen receivers’ place.
Alabama and Georgia have some of the nation’s absolute best athletes on their rosters each year, but losing two top playmakers would make any team a bit more mortal.
Georgia’s own offense was tough to watch early, but a 67-yard rush by James Cook really greased the offense’s wheels before Zamir White punched in a 1-yard score in the third quarter, the first touchdown in a game that was all field goals in the first half.
Georgia QB Stetson Bennett struggled early in the game, appearing rattled and skittish by Alabama’s pressure up-front. He settled down in the second half, throwing his only two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.
The first was a moonshot to Adonai Mitchell, a 40-yard score made up of a beautiful throw from Bennett and a supremely athletic catch from Mitchell. The second was a catch and run by freshman standout tight end Brock Bowers, who caught a screen pass and rumbled into the end zone for a 15-yard score.
The state of Georgia has experienced more good fortune in the sports department over the past four months than some would say they’ve ever had or will ever have. The Atlanta Braves clinched the World Series just a few months ago, and now, long-suffering fans of the Georgia Bulldogs can finally join the party.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
