Georgia Football Weathers the Storm Against Alabama

October 11, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

Oct 10, 2026; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Quintavius Johnson (3) celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumble against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first quarter at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny St… | Source: Lastwordonsports.com - Kate Pearson Halyburton, Editor“It’s all about execution. That is the key to victory.” Georgia’s Kirby Smart set the tone in his opening remarks minutes before kickoff. The game was pure Georgia football. The Dawgs weathered Hurricane Isaias and an excellent performance by Keelon Russell to knock off Alabama 20-17. It was the Dawgs’ first regular-season win against Alabama since 2007, Nick Saban’s first year. With Texas’s second-half collapse at the Cotton Bowl, Georgia should be #1 on Monday morning. Here are the three keys for Georgia’s win over Alabama.

Georgia Football Weathers the Storm Against Alabama

Georgia Continues to Run the Damn Ball

Georgia came into Tuscaloosa with a shorthanded running back corps. Nate Frazier is RB1 for the Dawgs and tried to play, but seemed to tweak something in his ribs before the game. ABC showed Frazier visibly upset when he realized he wouldn’t be playing. Chauncey Bowens was also out on Saturday Night. Bowens is Georgia’s primary short-yardage back and leads the Dawgs with six touchdowns on the season.Losing your top two running backs is far from ideal, especially in a heavyweight fight like Saturday night’s, but Georgia continued to show why it is RBU. Dwight Phillips, Jr. shined on Saturday night, rushing 17 times for 120 yards. Phillips is not the biggest back. Frazier and Bowens are both big-bodied and weigh 220+ pounds; Phillips is listed at 185. The junior from Mableton played big. He had several big runs and found the means to extend Georgia’s possessions during the game.Bo Walker also did a nice job coming in to work as a tandem with Phillips. Walker finished the game with 10 rushes for 69 yards. Mike Bobo did an excellent job of using Phillips and Walker to wear down Alabama and extend drives. Each team had just seven possessions in the second half. Scoring opportunities were scarce, and Georgia’s running back depth helped put the Tide on ice.Photo Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images

Put Some Respect on Gunner Stockton

Gunner Stockton has faced a lot of social media slander lately. The media rarely mentions Stockton when it comes to the top quarterbacks in college football, or even in the SEC. Smart praised his quarterback in his postgame on-field comments. He said that although Stockton is often overlooked, he made the biggest throw to put the game on ice on Saturday night. Late in the game, Georgia faced third-and-seven from its own ten-yard line. Stockton found Elyiss Williams for 17 yards and a first down, helping put the game on ice. Contrast that with Arch Manning, who threw two back-breaking fourth-down interceptions that let Oklahoma snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.Stockton finished the day 18 of 22, for 249 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Georgia was fortunate a second interception was overturned after replay showed an Alabama defender didn’t prevent the ball from hitting the ground before he could secure the interception. Stockton also scored a rushing touchdown on the first drive of the second half, crashing into the end zone through two defenders to put Georgia back on top.

Georgia’s Defense Was Clutch

Russell was fantastic for Alabama on Saturday night. As we wrote in our preview earlier this week, whoever won the chess match between Russell and Georgia’s defense would prove victorious on Saturday night. Georgia did an excellent job of pressuring Russell most of the night. At times, that made the Tide quarterback uncomfortable, but on more than a few occasions, Russell showed his speed and elusiveness to convert key third-and-fourth downs.Unfortunately for Alabama, he didn’t do it often enough. Last year in Athens, Alabama seemingly converted nearly every third-and-fourth-down opportunity. That wasn’t the case Saturday night. Alabama converted just six of thirteen attempts. Georgia also got home, finishing the game with four sacks.

The Last Word

No big-time SEC clash would be free of controversy. Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama faithful were not too pleased when the officials didn’t call KJ Bolden for offensive pass interference in the end zone late in the fourth quarter. The no-call gave the Tide a chance to get a first down and possibly move in for a go-ahead touchdown. Instead, Bolden, on a safety blitz, pressured and sacked Russell on the next play. (Who says, ball don’t lie?) DijonLee Jr. put the game on ice for Georgia when he took a swing at a Georgia receiver. The penalty gave Georgia a first down, letting them take a knee and put an “1” in the loss column for Alabama this year.Next week, Georgia will continue its Alabama tour of the SEC when Auburn comes in to continue the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium.Main Photo: David Leong-Imagn Images

Georgia Football Weathers the Storm Against Alabama