Death, Taxes, and Alabama vs Georgia being appointment television.
College football delivered fans an instant classic and early game-of-the-year nominee on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa—the No. 2 ranked Georgia Bulldogs went down to the wire against the No. 4 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in a 41-34 showdown of heavyweights.
A tail of two halves this game was. In the first half, the Crimson Tide jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the blink of an eye, scoring touchdowns on its four opening drives.
Georgia looked spooked, something we've never seen from the Bulldogs under Kirby Smart's tenure. The 28-point deficit was the largest under Smart's tenure since the 14-point halftime deficit in the 2017 Rose Bowl vs Oklahoma.
After cutting the score to 28-7 in the late minutes of the first half, Georgia forced a red zone interception of Jalen Milroe and took over deep in their territory.
In the next play, Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Womack sent the house at Carson Beck, forcing an intentional grounding that resulted in a safety, making the score 30-7 heading into halftime.
Alabama looked like a death machine in the first half. Watching Jalen Milroe in the Kalen DeBoer offense draws similarities to watching Lamar Jackson in the Bobby Petrino offense at Louisville.
Milroe was the best athlete on the field, routinely making Georgia defenders look foolish in the open field. He put on an absolute clinic in the first half, completing 18/21 passes for 305 total yards and three touchdowns.
Milroe made his case to be the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, totaling 491 total yards and four touchdowns. Milroe's multiple passing and rushing touchdowns in every game this season is the longest streak in conference play since 1992.
Only four SEC quarterbacks in this span have had four performances of this caliber in an entire season. Three of them won the Heisman Trophy.
In the first half, Carson Beck looked like someone Georgia fans and college football pundits had not seen up to this point in his time as a starter. Beck struggled reading post-snap coverage, throwing two brutal interceptions and missing several key opportunities downfield.
In the second half, Carson Beck put on his best impression of Tom Brady in Super Bowl 51, leading a spirited comeback to make the score 34-33 in the final minute.
Ryan Williams, the unbelievable 17-year-old true freshman wide receiver for the Crimson Tide, is a prodigy.
Williams finished the night with six receptions for 177 yards and a Sports Center Top-10 touchdown late in the fourth quarter to score 41-34, just after Georgia completed its miraculous second-half comeback.
Georgia got the ball back and drove into the red zone, with a prime opportunity to send the game into overtime before Beck tossed his third interception on a jump ball to the left corner of the endzone.
Beck finished the evening 27/50 for 439 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
New coach with the same result. The Alabama demons continue to haunt Kirby Smart and Company. Alabama has won 9 of their last ten games vs Georgia, with Kirby Smart now 1-6 straight up vs the Crimson Tide.
Kalen DeBoer, the next one? College football fans look away, Alabama is going nowhere for a long time.
Kalen DeBoer is now 13-2 vs AP-ranked teams, 30-3 as a power conference coach, and a combined 6-0 against Kirby Smart, Dan Lanning, and Steve Sarkisian.
Georgia fans will overreact, naturally. Despite the loss, the Athens faithful should be strong about what they saw from their team in the second half.
What does it say about the DNA of Kirby Smart's program to get yourself up off the mat after taking gut punch after gut punch and willing yourselves back into the game with the opportunity to win the ball game?
College football delivered yet another instant classic. What a treat it would be if these two heavyweights were to rematch again in 2024.