It's been said Alabama can't be beaten this year in a shootout, and that proved true Saturday night.
The No. 3-ranked Georgia Bulldogs found themselves in such a game with the No. 2 Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa and were unable to keep the pace once again, losing 41-24.
It was Georgia's sixth consecutive loss to the Crimson Tide and the third in a row for coach Kirby Smart. That makes Saban _ who was cleared to coach the game Saturday morning with a third negative COVID-19 test _ 22-0 against his former assistant coaches.
The Bulldogs matched their best half of the season with 24 points in the first two quarters. But they allowed Alabama to go the length of the field for a field goal in the final 23 seconds to trail 24-20, and that set the tone for the rest of the game.
Alabama outscored them 21-0 over the first 20 minutes of the second half and turned an exciting, well-played game into a one-sided affair. Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett expedited the process, throwing his first three interceptions of the season. The Crimson Tide turned all three of them into scores.
From there, the Crimson Tide grinded out the rest of the contest old-school style. Najee Harris carried the ball 30 times for 140 yards, most of them coming once Alabama had the lead.
Meanwhile, Georgia's vaunted defense had no answers for Bama's two star receivers. DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle combined for 238 yards and three touchdowns and 17 receptions from quarterback Mac Jones. Alabama gashed the Bulldogs for 564 yards, more than twice Georgia's season average.
"This was the kind of game I guess you'd say Alabama likes to play," Saban said. "Really proud of the way our offense played."
It was a return to Earth for Georgia's former walk-on quarterback. Bennett passed for two touchdowns and staked his team to a first-half lead. But completed just 18 of 20 throws in the game Alabama had five pass deflections at the line of scrimmage against the 5-foot-11 signal-caller, nine pass break-ups overall.
Georgia managed 414 yards offense itself. James Cook's 82-yard touchdown catch was the highlight for the offense, which also got touchdowns from freshman Jermaine Burton and Zamir White.
Alabama's back-breaker came on Waddell's 90-yard touchdown catch against Tyson Campbell, who fell down in man coverage. That gave the Tide a 27-24 lead with 4:00 left in the third quarter. They'd score twice more in the next five minutes.
