Too much like the NFL? Alabama-Georgia thriller everything we need in college football

Bill Bender

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Too much like the NFL? Alabama-Georgia thriller everything we need in college football image

"College football feels too much like the NFL." 

We have heard over and over again about the new-look college football package, which comes with a 12-team College Football Playoff. NIL. Transfer portal. It is an every week conversation, one that was escalated this week because of UNLV, of all teams.

Now, consider the show No. 2 Georgia and No. 4 Alabama put on Saturday night. 

This wasn't just a top-five showdown between SEC powers. We have seen plenty of those between programs that have combined for five national championships in the last 10 seasons. This was a September Super Bowl. Too much hyperbole? OK, it was at least on par with the best matchup Sunday Night Football has to offer. 

The Crimson Tide beat the Bulldogs 41-34 in a dizzying tale of two halves at Bryant-Denny Stadium. We might see it again with the 12-team College Football Playoff. And this time, we WANT to see it again. That's the difference between what we have now and what we had in the BCS era and four-team CFP era. 

Jalen Milroe dominates for Bama in first half 

So what was the best halftime overreaction?

Probably Jalen Milroe for Heisman. At the break, the Bama QB had 186 passing yards, 106 rushing yards and three total TDs. A 36-yard TD sprint put the Crimson Tide up 28-0 with 12:32 left in the first half. 

Alabama led 30-7 at halftime and outgained the Bulldogs 343-146. 

Kalen DeBoer is the next GOAT? DeBoer was acing his first real test since taking over for legendary coach Nick Saban – an all-time statement against Georgia coach Kirby Smart. 

But just like on NFL Sundays, it is always a tale of two halves.

Carson Beck nearly leads incredible comeback 

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck was 7 of 16 for 68 yards and two interceptions at halftime. The Bulldogs were 0 of 5 on third down and looked incredibly flustered. 

When Beck was sacked by Qua Russaw, which Jah-Marien Lathan scooped up with 13:43 left in the fourth quarter, it wasn’t just game over. This was dynasty over for a program that was 45-2 since 2021 coming into the matchup. 

Of course, that was an overreaction, too. Georgia scored three TDs in three possessions. Beck hit tight end Lawson Luckie for an 8-yard TD. Dillon Bell scored on a three-yard run, and Georgia forced a punt with 2:31 remaining trailing 33-28. That set up the most-absurd two-play stretch of the first month of the season. 

Georgia scores go-ahead TD 

Instead of running the two-minute drill, Beck simply lofted a deep pass to Bell, who slipped behind Alabama safety Keon Sabb then broke a tackle. Bell scored on a 67-yard TD that gave Georgia a 34-33 lead. 

The Bulldogs were on the verge of completing the greatest comeback in a top-five matchup in college history. Almost. 

Ryan Williams delivers game-winning TD

Alabama responded in one play with an unforgettable catch by 17-year-old freshman Ryan Williams. Milroe launched a sideline streak to Williams, who caught the ball over Julian Humphrey, then put on a spin move through Humphrey and KJ Bolden. It resulted in a 75-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion gave Alabama a 41-34 lead. 

Beck nearly led a game-tying drive in the final minute, but freshman Zabien Brown ended the comeback – and the game – with an interception in the end zone with 43 seconds left. 

MORE: Meet Ryan Williams, Alabama's star WR who should be in HS

Impact of Alabama-Georgia thriller 

Don't simply dismiss that as, "Oh, we'll see that again later." 

We should want to see that again. 

The stats back that up. Milroe slowed down in the second half, but still finished with 374 passing yards, 117 rushing yards and four total TDs. Williams had six catches for 177 yards. Beck racked up 439 passing yards – including 371 in the second half. The Bulldogs had four turnovers and yet still almost won. 

Was this more dramatic than Tua Tagovailoa hitting DeVonta Smith on second-and-26 for a 26-23 victory in the 2018 CFP championship game? No, but this was a regular-season game. It was more memorable than the last five meetings between Alabama and Georgia, which include three SEC championship games and a CFP championship. The SEC has more top-five matchups coming, too. 

There are regular-season consequences. Georgia has to weave through a schedule that includes Texas – are they still No. 1? – Ole Miss and Tennessee. Alabama might be ranked No. 1, but the Crimson Tide will still have questions after a near second-half collapse. Maybe these teams find a path to a rematch in the SEC championship and/or the CFP playoff. If they do, then it will be worth watching that game, too. 

We said the same thing after the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens 27-20 in the NFL season opener – a rematch of last year's AFC championship game. Games like this are going to feel like that now, and that's OK. 

If Alabama-Georgia was that good, then imagine what the playoff is going to be? 

It might be even better than the September Super Bowl. 

MORE: Grading Arch Manning's first SEC start

Bill Bender

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Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.