By Grace Raynor, Seth Emerson and Matt Baker
Behind a gritty quarterback, a dominant third-down performance and a defense that made just enough plays when it mattered, No. 17 Alabama knocked off No. 5 Georgia 24-21 on Saturday night at Sanford Stadium in another memorable showdown between two of the SEC’s most decorated programs.
The Crimson Tide entered the fourth quarter clinging onto a three-point lead but was on the ropes early in the frame when the Bulldogs made their way down to the Alabama 8-yard line and needed just one yard on fourth down to keep what looked like would be a scoring drive alive. But Alabama’s defense stopped the Bulldogs for a loss of three yards and held on, as neither team scored again.
Facing a critical third-and-5 to seal the game with just under two minutes to play, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson hit Jamarion Miller for seven yards on a night when Simpson rose to the occasion and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb kept Georgia on its toes all night with creative play-calling.
“We got an extra week,” Kalen DeBoer said of Grubb’s creativity, which included throwing a screen pass to 6-foot-7, 366-pound offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor to set up an Alabama touchdown in the second quarter.
“(We went) out and executed.”
BIG BOY TRICK PLAY ALERT 🚨😤@AlabamaFTBL x 📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/0fkAyFsLn4
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) September 28, 2025
Simpson finished the night 24-of-38 passing for 276 yards and two touchdowns on a night when the Bulldogs couldn’t stop Alabama’s passing game. The Crimson Tide ran for just 117 yards compared to Georgia’s 227, but the Bulldogs had too many costly mistakes at critical times, including a dropped touchdown pass from true freshman receiver Talyn Taylor in the third quarter that could have changed things for the Bulldogs.
Alabama was also elite on third down, 12-of-19.
With the win, the Crimson Tide (3-1, 1-0 in SEC) bounced back from the disastrous Week 1 loss to Florida State and proved it can still compete with anybody. According to projections by The Athletic’s Austin Mock, Georgia’s College Football Playoff chances fell from 77 percent to 56 percent following the loss, while Alabama’s chances rose from 28 percent to 47 percent.
Georgia Coach Kirby Smart, meanwhile, fell to 1-7 against Alabama and lost his first home night game of his Georgia career. The setback was the first night home loss for the Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1) since 2009 and their first home loss since 2019.
Simpson redeemed himself early
Simpson was a pedestrian 23-of-43 for 254 yards in the opener against Florida State. Although he didn’t throw an interception, Simpson struggled under pressure against the Seminoles and was sacked three times.
Saturday night was an early bounce-back showing in another big-time environment against a marquee program. He accounted for three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in the first half while completing 15 of his 23 passes. At least four of his incompletions were drops, including a would-be touchdown pass to Ryan Williams in the first quarter. He also picked up a third-and-8 conversion on a rush up the middle.
TY15💪
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/24xZxRPQBX
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) September 28, 2025
It was fair to wonder whether his rebound in the last two weeks (17-of-17 against Louisiana Monroe, 382 yards and four touchdown passes against Wisconsin) was a product of weak opponents or growth from Simpson. His early showing at Georgia is evidence that his Week 1 issues were an aberration and not indicative of what he can do for Alabama in his first year as the starter. — Matt Baker, college football writer
Georgia’s defensive drop-off
The Tennessee game was not just a case of going against a high-scoring offense: This is clearly not the Georgia defense of old. There are blue chips and future NFL players on that defense. And the run defense, which slipped the past couple seasons, has improved. But everything else is falling well below the standard of the old Georgia defense: pass coverage, pass rush, tackling, third down and red zone.
Georgia’s defense did stiffen up in the second half, putting the offense in position to win the game. But the Bulldogs were in a hole after a start where it couldn’t get off the field.
Alabama converted its first eight third-down chances, and they were mostly long ones. And when the Crimson Tide converted its 11th third down in the fourth quarter, it set a record for the most given up in Smart’s 10 years as Georgia head coach.
What’s the issue with Smart’s once-vaunted defense? The transfer portal has certainly had its impact. Gone are the days when Georgia can depend on highly-recruited players waiting a couple years, learning the system and developing into stars. The secondary, the weak point of this year’s defense, is fairly young: Senior Daylen Everette is the only returning full-time starter, and it shows. But there’s also still talent: Safety KJ Bolden is a five-star recruit who got starts late last year. Cornerback Ellis Robinson is another five-star recruit. The other guys playing were all highly-recruited. — Seth Emerson, Georgia beat writer
DeBoer earned some breathing room with marquee win
It’s hard to overstate the importance of Saturday’s triumph for DeBoer. A defeat would have dropped Alabama to 2-2 for the first time since the 2003 season under Mike Shula. Not exactly the former Crimson Tide coach DeBoer wants to emulate.
DeBoer’s predecessor, Nick Saban, lost just four September games during his Alabama tenure and only two over his final 16 seasons. DeBoer already had one with his Week 1 defeat at Florida State — a loss that looks worse after the Seminoles were upset Friday night at Virginia. A second would have been troubling and eliminated any margin for error for the College Football Playoff aspirations of the Tide’s second-year coach.
The way Saturday played out would have increased the questions about DeBoer. Alabama took a 14-0 lead and led by 10 midway through the third quarter. Blowing that lead against a former Saban assistant in Smart would have been damning. Instead, he’s savoring another triumph against a ranked team.
The biggest win of DeBoer’s brief Alabama tenure happened last year against Georgia, but this one felt different. It was on the road, where DeBoer was only 2-5. It also happened four weeks after the major taste of adversity he experienced in Tallahassee. DeBoer proved he could regroup and hold on for a victory in one of the sport’s most hostile road environments. That’s enough to silence any critics (for the time being). — Baker
Bulldogs blow two big chances
For all Georgia’s defensive issues, it got enough stops in the second half to give the offense a chance. And the Bulldogs had the chances — but blew them.
The biggest was early in the fourth quarter, after Georgia drove down to the Alabama 8-yard line. A Gunner Stockton run set up fourth-and-inches. It wasn’t surprising that Smart decided to go for it, as like many coaches he’s become more aggressive on fourth down, driven by analytics.
But it was how Georgia went for it that was a stunning failure. It began well, with Stockton setting up a quick play, not allowing Alabama to substitute. But then, rather than run a high-percentage sneak, Stockton went into the shotgun. Then he handed off to Cash Jones, who was on the right side of the field, where Georgia was playing true freshmen at right tackle and right guard. Two Alabama defenders broke through and hit Jones, who tried to stay up but lost his balance and lost 3 yards.
Georgia could have gone ahead on the previous drive too, but a familiar issue returned: drops. They were a huge issue last year, but so far this year Georgia receivers had been dependable. Then Taylor, wide open down the seam, had a Stockton pass bounce off his hands. — Emerson
(Photo of Ty Simpson celebrating with his Alabama teammates: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
