No. 2 Georgia and No. 4 Alabama played a classic Saturday night, a wild affair that included a 28-0 run by the Crimson Tide to start the game, a resilient comeback by the Bulldogs and 142 yards worth of touchdown passes in a 13-second span of the fourth quarter.
When it was done, Carson Beck and Jalen Milroe had combined for 939 total yards and seven touchdowns in a thriller between Southeastern Conference superpowers.
“Obviously, a lot happening there,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer told reporters in a contender for understatement of the year.
Yes, Alabama and Georgia could meet again, and again, in this new age of college football. Both likely will be part of the first 12-team playoff.
But nothing about the new postseason diminished a breathtaking spectacle in Tuscaloosa.
Georgia-Alabama, played seven days after the end of summer, in front of 100,000 fans and a former U.S. president, is the reason why the CFP can expand and the regular season will be just fine.
It still felt like an event, dripping with compelling storylines and epic performances.
DeBoer won his first SEC game since replacing Nick Saban, who was watching from a luxury suite instead of stalking the sideline.
Georgia's Kirby Smart fell to 1-6 against the Crimson Tide, the only team Georgia has lost to since 2021.
Beck played one of the worst games of his career, and then one of his best, wiping out a 28-point deficit for the Bulldogs.
Milroe stamped himself as maybe the Heisman Trophy favorite, becoming the first player with 300 yards passing, 100 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns against an AP top-five opponent, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Ryan Williams, the spectacular 17-year-old Alabama receiver, made a spinning catch-and-run to score the winning touchdown.
And when it was over, everyone involved felt both exhilarated and exhausted.
Don't let anybody tell you that game didn't matter.
