Gritty Georgia Comes Up Clutch Late, Beats Alabama In 20-17 Thriller

Gritty Georgia hasn’t had to use much of the mental toughness that Head Coach Kirby Smart instills in his team. The Georgia Bulldogs won their first five games overwhelmingly, usually taking quarterback Gunner Stockton out well before the final whistle. Saturday night, though, on the road in Tuscaloosa, a place Georgia hadn’t won in 20 years, it conjured up ample fortitude to win a back-and-forth nail-biter 20-17.

Gritty Georgia Overcomes Running Back Injuries

The Bulldogs faced a daunting challenge going on the road to a place they hadn’t won since 2007. A full, healthy squad would have had its hands full with an exceptionally talented Alabama Crimson Tide team hitting its stride under dynamic multi-purpose quarterback Keelon Russell. Now, take out Georgia’s top two running backs, Chauncey Bowens and Nate Frazier, and the odds of victory seemed miniscule.

ESPN’s College GameDay talking heads agreed that the Bulldogs were a long shot to grab a victory in Tuscaloosa. Only one so-called expert out of five, Pat McAfee, picked Georgia to win. Considering Smart’s 2-7 record against the Crimson Tide and the piling up of running back injuries, the picks made sense.

The Bulldogs’ coaching staff allowed Dwight Phillips Jr. to make his impact felt, filling in for Bowens and Frazier, and he took full advantage. How many players would step up with a prime-time performance in one of the game’s most daunting environments, especially with limited game time going in? Most would crack under the pressure; Phillips, instead, looked like an established pro.

Phillips set the pace for gritty Georgia. His career-high 17 carries led to an exceptional 120 rushing yards. He kept the chains moving with high-impact plays and explosive running that tied Alabama up in knots all night. He enabled the Bulldogs to maintain offensive balance and keep the explosive Crimson Tide playmakers off the field.

Phillips stepped his play up as the game intensity rose to a harrowing pitch. On Georgia’s final scoring drive, he broke away for a 22-yard run that set the Bulldogs up for a time-consuming series. Gritty Georgia capitalized with a 23-yard chip shot to take a lead that they never gave back. Smart preaches next-guy-up and using the fortitude crafted through months of hard-hitting drills and practices. Several times in a season, adversity will rise, and these are the opportunities when champions are crafted.

Dynamic Defense Propels Gritty Georgia

The back-to-back 2021 and 2022 National Champions Bulldogs were led by stifling defenses filled with future pros. The elite defensive standard slipped a bit in the last couple of years. Smart made it an emphasis to get back to high-pressure, takeaway-inducing defenses that made opponents want to quit before the opening whistle.

Georgia’s defensive rankings illustrate a return to elite play as it ranks second overall in advanced metrics, tied for fourth in takeaways per game and 24th overall nationally in sacks. In every game, it has held opponents to 20 points or less, even while putting its reserves early in the second half. The question many posed, though, was whether the Bulldogs really had been tested?

Playing and dominating the likes of the Tennessee State Tigers, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, and Arkansas Razorbacks did not make many stand up and take notice. Critics pointed to Georgia’s schedule and scoffed at its chances of holding down the high-octane Alabama scoring attack, 49.6 points per game, going into last night.

Smart emphasized to his defenders to be aggressive, physical, and have no letup. The Bulldogs used a hard-hitting attack to rattle the Crimson Tide offense. Georgia stayed in Russell’s face all evening, sacking him four times. He couldn’t get settled, feeling the pass rush, which affected his accuracy. After a 4-for-6 completion start, he missed on 10 of his next 15 attempts.

The Bulldogs excelled in holding down big plays and containing Alabama’s excellent receiving core. Ryan Coleman-Williams led the Crimson Tide with only 39 yards. The running game, after going over 100 yards in the first half, finished with only 56 yards in the second. Georgia toughened its wall when the game’s stakes rose to their highest.

In a 17-17 time late in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs forced the Crimson Tide to punt on its final two possessions. That is a unit living for and thriving in adversity. Gritty Georgia is filled with five- and four-star playmakers, but it’s the mental toughness that sets it apart from its competition.

Stockton Epitomizes Gritty Georgia

Stockton, who has been doubted much of his life, is the perfect quarterback for this Bulldogs team. There is no flash and dash, instead work hard and do what it takes to win. That is Stockton. It’s easy for others to overlook him, as so many in the media do.

The so-called experts talked up Russell and the high-octane Alabama attack throughout the week. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, the network’s biggest talking head, said that while Stockton had played well, he would still take Russell over him. This was the theme throughout, despite Stockton having more touchdowns (13-11) than Russell and fewer interceptions. The chatter was about whether and how Georgia’s defense would stop the Crimson Tide offense. Little was mentioned about the Bulldogs offense.

Stockton’s leadership is his greatest attribute, and his teammates love him. Put Stockton in a heated environment with much criticism and doubt, and he elevates his play and that of those around him. Georgia needed to get off to a good start against Alabama and Stockton followed suit, leading two scoring drives.

Stockton threaded the needle on a magnificent 20-yard passing touchdown to wide receiver London Humphreys, giving the Bulldogs a 10-0 lead. Georgia had all the momentum; it moved the ball at will, and Stockton was completing everything in sight with a well balanced attack.

In the blink of an eye, the game turned. The Crimson Tide scored two touchdowns to close the half. Running back Trae’shawn Brown’s 58-yard run awoke Alabama’s offense, and the Bulldogs’ defense couldn’t hold it down. A game it had controlled flipped into a 14-10 deficit.

Leadership comes through performance in crisis. The Crimson Tide had all the momentum and could have easily grabbed the game by the throat. Stockton’s response was a crisp eight-play, 75-yard touchdown capped by his 14-yard run into the end zone. Alabama responded with a long drive to tie the game on a 39-yard field goal. A 17-all score went into a wild fourth quarter.

Another efficient Stockton drive was wasted with a 39-yard Peyton Woodring miss. A fourth-quarter failed field goal on the road would usually bring doom. The Crimson Tide hadn’t lost at home to the Bulldogs in 20 years; Alabama had the ball now, and a long drive and a score could result in yet another win.

Georgia’s defense, instead, played brilliantly, holding the Crimson Tide to two punts. Yes, the Bulldogs were helped by a controversial pass-interference no-call on safety KJ Bolden when Alabama looked poised to take the lead. In saying that, the Crimson Tide were still in field goal range even with the no-call, but Bolden sacked Russell on the next play, driving Alabama out.

Stockton did the rest, leading gritty Georgia on a 10-play, 84-yard drive that ended in the go-ahead field goal. After another Crimson Tide punt, he steered the Bulldogs to a clock-killing series capped by a magnificent third-down pass to tight end Elyiss Williams. Every time Georgia looked ready to get knocked down for the count, Stockton responded brilliantly. He exemplifies the Bulldogs, a team of gritty, hard workers who often get overlooked but perform their best when many doubt them.

End Of My Gritty Georgia Rant

Georgia is almost certain to be the new number one team. The Texas Longhorns showed, in what has become an annual tradition, to be overrated in a 24-23 loss to their rival Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry. Becoming the top team provides opportunity, but it must come with caution.

The Longhorns’ defeat serves as a warning to Georgia, which is likely to be favored heavily in all its remaining games, except against the Mississippi Rebels. Rivalry games are never gimmies, and contests against the Auburn Tigers and Florida Gators will further test the Bulldogs. Smart lives for these moments, and one can rest assured he will make sure his team quickly turns the page from the huge win over Alabama.

Georgia has shown it is the most complete team with dominating performances throughout the first five weeks. Winning in one of the toughest environments in the country, with its back to the wall in Week Six, will give the Bulldogs elevated confidence. The return of key players like Bowens and Frazier will elevate the performance further. Grit and talent are an unstoppable combination. Add in Smart, who will never let the team feel comfortable, and there is reason to believe anything is possible, including another national title.

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