Late Penalty Ends Alabama’s Final Chance as Georgia Wins 20-17

Peyton Woodring kicked a 23-yard field goal with 5:25 remaining and Georgia beat Alabama 20-17 on Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama’s last chance to get the ball back ended on a penalty. The Crimson Tide used all three timeouts on Georgia’s final possession, and Bo Walker gained one yard on second-and-3 from the Georgia 34 with 2:20 left. Alabama defensive back Dijon Lee Jr. was called for a personal foul on the play. Instead of facing third-and-2, Georgia had an automatic first down at midfield, and quarterback Gunner Stockton knelt three times to run out the clock.

Georgia (6-0, 4-0 SEC) outgained Alabama 263-122 after halftime and held the ball for 19:17 of the second half. Alabama (5-1, 3-1) led 14-10 at the break and scored three points the rest of the way.

Alabama took the opening kickoff and held the ball for 7:20, converting a fourth-and-1 on a 14-yard keeper by quarterback Keelon Russell. The 12-play drive ended without points when Joseph Jonah-Ajonye sacked Russell and forced a fumble that Quintavius Johnson recovered at the Georgia 37. Dwight Phillips Jr. ran 17 yards for an apparent touchdown on the drive that followed, but a holding penalty nullified it, and Georgia settled for a 43-yard Woodring field goal with 3:25 left in the first quarter. Alabama had possession for 10:45 of the quarter and trailed 3-0.

Georgia extended the lead in the second quarter with a 93-yard drive that started at its own 7. On second-and-17, Stockton threw deep down the middle to Jaden Reddell for 53 yards, and he found London Humphreys for a 20-yard touchdown on the next play to make it 10-0 with 7:09 left in the half.

Lee returned the kickoff 34 yards, though an illegal block in the back moved Alabama back to its own 11. The Crimson Tide needed three plays from there. Trae’shawn Brown ran 58 yards to the Georgia 22, and Russell threw to Marshall Pritchett for a 22-yard touchdown.

Bray Hubbard intercepted Stockton on Georgia’s next snap, giving Alabama the ball at the Georgia 29, but the Crimson Tide lost 14 yards and punted. Alabama got the ball back at its own 20 with 1:42 left in the half and went 80 yards in 12 plays. Russell completed passes of 23 yards to Ryan Coleman-Williams, 28 to Lotzeir Brooks and 15 to Daniel Hill, the last one to the Georgia 1 with eight seconds left. EJ Crowell scored from there on the final play of the half for a 14-10 Alabama lead.

Georgia took the second-half kickoff and went 75 yards in eight plays. Stockton converted a third-and-7 with a 30-yard throw to Craig Dandridge Jr. and scored on a 14-yard keeper to put the Bulldogs back in front, 17-14, with 10:38 left in the third quarter. Alabama answered with a 10-play drive that included a 21-yard Russell scramble, and Conor Talty’s 39-yard field goal tied the game at 17 with 5:07 left in the quarter.

Georgia’s next possession started at its own 10 and lasted 11 plays. An Alabama interception on the first snap was overturned on review, and Phillips later ran 31 yards into Alabama territory. Two Georgia penalties pushed the Bulldogs back to third-and-21 at midfield before a pass interference call on Lee gave them an automatic first down at the Alabama 35. The drive reached the 21, and Woodring missed a 39-yard attempt wide left with 13:41 remaining.

Alabama crossed midfield on a 22-yard Russell scramble, but a false start on fourth-and-4 backed the Crimson Tide up and they punted. Sacovie White-Helton muffed the punt at the Georgia 9, and Blake Stewart recovered for the Bulldogs at the 11. Georgia went 84 yards in 10 plays from there. Phillips had runs of nine and 22 yards, Walker went 37 yards to the Alabama 8, and Woodring’s 23-yard field goal made it 20-17.

Alabama moved to the Georgia 34 on completions of 23 yards to Rico Scott and 18 to Derek Meadows, and the drive stalled there. Brown was stopped for no gain, KJ Bolden broke up a second-down pass, and Bolden and Valdin Sone sacked Russell for a nine-yard loss on third down. Alabama punted on fourth-and-19, and Georgia took over at its own 7 with 3:10 left. Stockton converted a third-and-7 with a 17-yard completion to tight end Elyiss Williams, and the penalty on Lee came two plays later.

Stockton completed 18 of 22 passes (82%) for 249 yards with a touchdown and an interception and ran for a score. Phillips ran 17 times for 120 yards, and Walker added 69 yards on 10 carries. Georgia fumbled four times and did not lose any of them. Raylen Wilson led the Bulldogs with 10 tackles, and Chris Cole had eight tackles, a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. Georgia sacked Russell four times and finished with 455 total yards to Alabama’s 346.

Russell was 16-of-30 for 185 yards and a touchdown without an interception. Brown ran for 90 yards on nine carries. Caleb Woodson led Alabama with nine tackles, and Hubbard added eight tackles and the interception. Lee finished with four tackles.