RAPID REACTION: Alabama, Refs Fail as Dawgs Best Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The Alabama Crimson Tide fell at home to the Georgia Bulldogs for the first time since 2007. 2007 is also the last time Georgia defeated the Crimson Tide in the regular season.

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Here are three rapid reactions from the Crimson Tide's 20-17 loss to Georgia, as the Bulldogs are now the lone team that is undefeated in conference play after beating the Crimson Tide and Texas's loss to Oklahoma earlier on Saturday.

Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb Aren't Afraid to Get Aggressive

Just before halftime, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb rolled out the starting offense with three seconds remaining in the second quarter, and no timeouts, trailing by three points. The Tide's coaching staff rolled out the offense instead of the field goal unit, knowing the gravity of the situation: a touchdown would result in a lead going into halftime. A failure to score could result in Alabama trailing by 10 again before it ever sees the ball again, as Georgia received the kickoff following halftime.

The Tide rewarded the coaching staff's faith, with freshman running back EJ Crowell bending the corner to the left-side pylon, racing his way into the endzone for an Alabama touchdown to give the Tide a lead heading into halftime.

Georgia was Patient; Alabama was Not with Run Game

Neither run game was consistently putting up gaudy numbers on Saturday night. The Bulldogs had 206 yards and one touchdown on 39 carries, an average of 5.3 yards per carry, while the Crimson Tide totaled 161 rushing yards and a touchdown on 29 carries (an average of 5.6 yards per carry). On the Dawgs' final scoring drive of the game, Georgia had rushes of 22 yards, 37 yards, and six yards. On the final drive of the game, Georgia had a game-sealing run of 17 yards, capped by a bone-headed penalty from sophomore cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. The Dawgs were patient in the run game. Georgia had 49 rushing yards in the first half. In the second half, the Dawgs boasted 157 rushing yards.

Alabama Failed to Capitalize on Georgia Mistakes

Georgia had more penalties, several potential turnovers that were called back due to penalties, and even missed a field goal midway through the fourth quarter to set Alabama up in prime position for a clock-chewing, game-sealing drive as the Tide had against Florida State three weeks ago. What did Alabama do instead?

The Crimson Tide went 31 yards in six plays and had an opportunity on the Georgia side of the field to go for a fourth-and-four to capture momentum. Another mental error by the Tide's offense, this time, a false start by center Racin Delgatty, forced Alex Asparuhov back onto the field for another punt (his fourth of the night). Georgia responded by going on a "squeeze the life out of them" drive. The Dawgs went 84 yards in 10 plays, chewing over five minutes off the clock, and kicked the eventual game-winning field goal with 5:25 left in the contest. The officiating was abysmal tonight, and a blatant missed pass interference call, paired with a missed targeting that knocked Ryan Coleman-Williams out of the game, might have been the difference in a Crimson Tide win versus Alabama walking away with a second consecutive loss to the Dawgs, the first Alabama has lost back-to-back games against Georgia since 2003 (when Alabama lost 37-23 in Athens) and 2007 (when the Tide lost 26-23 in overtime in Tuscaloosa).

Alabama falls to 5-1 (3-1) with the three-point loss the Georgia on Saturday night. The Bulldogs advance to 6-0 (4-0) with the win in Tuscaloosa. Alabama will look to rebound after a disappointing loss when it travels to Knoxville, Tennessee, to face the 15th-ranked Volunteers in Neyland Stadium next Saturday, October 17.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.