TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Georgia and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Carson Beck put on quite a show, even with another Crimson Tide coach roaming the sidelines.

Ryan Williams caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Milroe with 2:18 left and No. 4 Alabama defeated No. 2 Georgia 41-34 on Saturday night in a wild Southeastern Conference debut for Tide coach Kalen DeBoer.

Then Alabama’s other rookie wearing jersey No. 2, defensive back Zabien Brown, intercepted Carson Beck’s pass in the end zone to secure the victory.

“We pushed each other until the end,” DeBoer said.

That’s no surprise considering two teams battle for SEC and even national supremacy almost annually. It was DeBoer’s entry into a compelling rivalry between SEC powers that added another memorable chapter, even without Nick Saban on the sideline opposite Georgia protégé Kirby Smart.

The postgame message from DeBoer wasn’t much different.

“We expect to win these games,” he said. “Obviously the locker room is full of excitement, but I also want to make sure they understand that that is the expectation. There is still a lot of time ahead of us.”

The dynamic 17-year-old Williams pivoted, grabbed Milroe’s deep pass in tight coverage, pivoted quickly and sprinted down the right sideline. Milroe then found Germie Bernard for the two-pointer for the Tide (4-0, 1-0).

“I did a spin move and it was like slow motion,” Williams said. “It looked faster on the screen.”

It was fast enough.

The long TD pass came one play and 13 seconds after Carson Beck’s 67-yard bomb to Dillon Bell gave the Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1) their first lead of the game.

A rematch of last season’s SEC championship game, also won by Alabama, turned into a thrilling quarterback duel.

Milroe completed 27 of 33 passes for 374 yards with two touchdowns and an interception that bounced off the receiver. He also ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Williams had six catches for 177 yards.

Beck was 27 of 50 passing for 439 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw three interceptions in the first multi-interception game of his career, but put on a show in the second half.

As a starter, Beck is 16-2, with both losses coming at the hands of the Tide.

The Bulldogs scored three touchdowns in 9:46 in the final. Alabama got the only one it needed.

Milroe led Alabama to touchdowns on its first four drives against a defense that was the only one in the FBS to not allow a single one into the game.

“Obviously we weren’t really prepared, and that’s what I noticed in the first half,” said Smart, who is just 1-6 against Alabama while dominating almost everyone else.

The Bulldogs trailed 28-0 minutes into the second quarter, their streak of 42 straight regular-season wins and 28 straight SEC regular-season victories seemingly all but over at halftime.

Georgia and Beck fought their way back instead of dropping out.

“We played terribly in the first half,” said Beck. “I don’t think we need to watch the film to see that we didn’t do our best.” You know, that starts with me. I have to get better.

“But I’m happy with the way we fought. We made it to the end and took the lead, but couldn’t finish it.”

The takeaway food

Georgia: Looked vulnerable for a program that has won two of the last three national titles, including a 13-12 victory over Kentucky. But the Bulldogs showed with their dominant second half that they haven’t achieved anything yet.

Alabama: The Tide have shown no signs of weakness under DeBoer so far, especially on offense, as they faced Wisconsin on the road and survived at home against their recent SEC nemesis.

Impact on the survey

Alabama will move up at least one spot in the AP poll. The Bulldogs’ second-half play likely means they won’t fall far behind.

Trump’s visit

Former President Donald Trump, the current Republican nominee, was in attendance at the game. Trump was introduced at the start of the second quarter, prompting chants of “USA!” USA!” and waved to the crowd from a luxury box.

Fourth downs

Georgia tried five times on fourth down and made them all. That helped offset the 3-of-15 performance on third down.

Next

Alabama: At Vanderbilt on Saturday in its first SEC road game.

Georgia: The hosts battle Auburn on Saturday.

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