TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Ryan Williams gathered Alabama’s receivers together for a little video game Friday night.

He battled against his teammates in EA Sports College Football 25, a way to relax a day before kickoff of college football’s biggest game of the season so far: No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 4 Alabama.

As he often does, Williams, the Tide’s 17-year-old star receiver, played the video game with his own team. While Williams was engaged in a close fight with a teammate, he used his controller to furiously move the pieces on the virtual field until one of his defensive backs, fellow student Zabien Brown, grabbed a ball out of the air, making a game-winning interception.

Williams celebrated the victory and the next day, hours before Alabama played its actual game against Georgia, he delivered a message to Brown: You will make the game-winning choice!

Done.

On Saturday, Alabama beat Georgia 41-34 in front of a rousing crowd at Bryant-Denny Stadium featuring former US President Donald Trump, Kid Rock and Hank Williams Jr.

It was the latest thrilling chapter in a heated series between the SEC’s undisputed dynasties. The Tide blew a 28-0 lead, needing an acrobatic 75-yard touchdown catch from one freshman (Williams) and a last-second interception from another (Brown) to avoid disaster.

On the national stage, the Tide’s two rookies celebrated their coming out party in a top-five duel. Their quarterback Jalen Milroe provided a Heisman Trophy-worthy day. In the end, their defense did enough. And their coach, Kalen DeBoer, not only picked up his first SEC win, but also a victory over a two-time national championship coach and former Alabama assistant in Kirby Smart.

It was exciting. Exciting. Explosive. Emotionally. Also a bit tiring.

DeBoer gave the following description at the start of his postgame press conference: “There’s a lot going on.”

A lot is actually happening.

After leading 28-0 early in the second quarter and trailing 34-33 late in the fourth, DeBoer was three minutes away from a humiliating collapse not long forgotten in these parts. And then, well, then came the rookie duo of Williams and Brown, each wearing the No. 2 jersey. “Two No. 2s,” DeBoer said with a smile.

After Georgia took its first lead of the game with 131 seconds left, Williams grabbed a 75-yarder on the first play of Alabama’s drive. It was special, a back-shoulder fade from Milroe down the sideline that Williams caught, not unlike a returner fending off a punt. What happened next was one of the most incredible plays you’ll see from a player this year. He shocked two defenders with a 360-degree spin and then stormed past them to score.

“I thought, ‘I can’t get tackled!'” Williams said afterward. “I did a spin move. It was like slow motion.”

Later, on the Jumbotron, he saw a repeat of the rotation. It seemed faster. He was sure the field was slow.

No no. There’s nothing slow about Ryan Williams, a unanimous five-star prospect from Mobile who was so good in high school that he reclassified from the 2025 class.

“This man is always playing with the ball,” Milroe said.

Early in the game, he completed a pass to himself – one of six catches for 177 yards. Not bad for a child – yes, child! – who was born in 2007. He won’t be 18 until February.

But after Williams’ acrobatic catch and that nasty spin, Georgia marched straight downfield. The Bulldogs reached the Alabama 20-yard line before Brown kicked toward the corner of the end zone ahead of quarterback Carson Beck’s back-shoulder attempt.

He grabbed the ball out of the air, just as Williams predicted.

“I told you so! I told you so!” Williams barked at him as he returned to the sideline.

On an earlier Georgia back-shoulder touchdown, Brown spun the wrong way. This time he knew that if Beck tried again, he would turn in the right direction.

“It doesn’t even feel real to me,” Brown said afterwards. “I don’t even remember it.”

You won’t forget them here any time soon: the two No. 2s.

The dramatic events in the fourth quarter came after a shocking collapse caused by flooding.

Alabama scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and led 28-0 three minutes into the second quarter. His starting quarterback, Milroe, completed his first 11 passes and ran for more than 100 yards on his first nine carries. The defense intercepted two passes in the first half, forced two punts and secured Georgia at the safety position.

And then, in the second half, everything came to nothing. At one point, Beck completed consecutive passes of 67 yards (touchdown), 47 yards, 30 yards, 8 yards (touchdown), 34 yards and 21 yards. He brought the Bulldogs back from apparent death. He brought her so close to what her coach so desperately wants.

This seemed like the perfect time for Smart to get Alabama, as perfect a time as any.

His team received its annual “wake-up call” two weeks ago against Kentucky; there was a week’s break to put things in order; it faced an Alabama team with a quarterback whose season-long inconsistencies last season actually resulted in him being benched; And, oh, perhaps most importantly: There was no Nick Saban.

Perfect, right? A good time to unleash Saban’s nearly two-decade dominance against UGA on Alabama, show the country who really runs the SEC, illustrate the power of Georgia football and introduce new head coach DeBoer to the league in his first conference game .

Everything here pointed to it. Everything pointed to it. That was Georgia’s night!

And then, in what felt like the blink of an eye, with a snap of his fingers, Smart’s nightmare returned: the bogeyman of Alabama.

This time there is no Nick Saban to blame and no former boss to lord it over him on the other side. Just a 49-year-old first-year Alabama coach who isn’t from here.

We’ve all admittedly wondered whether sporting director Greg Byrne made the right hire, if that’s the case fit would work – a South Dakotan in the Deep South. And even though we’ve only been in charge for four games, the fit seems pretty good, like a fine tailored suit: fresh and cool.

From a 30,000-foot view, the breathtaking sight Saturday in Tuscaloosa is remarkable.

Five years ago, DeBoer was Indiana’s offensive coordinator and experienced a truly meteoric rise that has led to this: He now has a roster that includes some of the most talented players in college football.

Perhaps the most talented is Milroe, the youngest of DeBoer’s latest generation of quarterbacks: Michael Penix at Indiana; Jake Haener in Fresno; Penix again in Washington.

Milroe is improving live before his eyes. That 75-yard fade over the shoulder to Williams? He misplaced that ball earlier this season when the Tide called that play, DeBoer said. Not this evening. Not when Alabama needed it most.

Milroe became the first player in AP Poll history with 300 yards passing, 100 yards rushing and two rushing scores against a top-five opponent. A remarkable statistic perhaps surpassed only by one statement from his coach: DeBoer is 13-1 in his last 14 games against ranked opponents.

“I trust the process,” Milroe said afterwards, echoing his former coach.

Sure, he says, it’s a “cliché,” but it’s true.

The two, DeBoer and Milroe, argued on the sidelines after Georgia took the lead. They talked about how they would never regret it, the coach said. Compete until the end. Fighting through adversity. Jump back.

And then that 75-yarder came to one of those No. 2s.

“A lot of our plays are opportunities where you find a one-on-one matchup and if you like the matchup, you go for it,” DeBoer said.

The coach smiled: “He obviously liked what he saw and got involved with it.”