Tide defense wears down

TUSCALOOSA | After being relied upon throughout the game, the Alabama defense finally snapped as the Georgia Bulldogs stunned the Crimson Tide 26-23 in overtime.

When the Alabama offense failed to punch the ball into the end zone and settled for a field goal on its overtime possession, the defense could not muster another stand and the Bulldogs sensed the exhaustion on the field.

Georgia wasted no time and went for the kill on its first play as Matthew Stafford threw a 25-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Mikey Henderson. The play stunned defender Lionel Mitchell, the sellout crowd at Bryant-Denny Stadium and the Tide players that collapsed in the south end zone.

“It was a big game for us and Georgia,” Alabama defensive back Simeon Castille said. “It would have been great to get a win. We came up a little short. But I’m definitely proud of how we fought the whole game.”

In the waning minutes of the fourth quarter with Alabama trailing 20-13, the defense summoned enough strength for a crucial stop and gave the ball back to the offense which responded with a game-tying 88-yard, 10-play drive.

With the score tied at 20, Georgia still had a chance to win the game in regulation. Following the kickoff, the Bulldogs started at their 34 with little more than 1 minute remaining. They drove to the Alabama 30-yard line, before Bulldog kicker Brandon Coutu attempted a 48-yard field goal that sailed wide left and forced overtime.

In the first half, the Alabama defense endured a lopsided time of possession advantage by Georgia. With Stafford throwing for 112 yards and Thomas Brown and Knowshon Moreno rushing for 71 yards, the Bulldogs held the ball for almost 20 minutes in the first half, while Alabama controlled it for just 10 minutes.

“We’ve got to gang tackle better,” Alabama defensive lineman Lorenzo Washington said. “We had Moreno in the backfield for short gains a bunch of times then he broke some tackles when we thought he was going to the ground. We were pursuing the ball and thinking someone else was going to bring him down.”

Despite the time disadvantage, the Crimson Tide defense allowed just one touchdown and one field goal, as the Bulldogs took a 10-3 lead into halftime.

In the opening minutes of the second half, the Alabama defense had two key stops to prevent Georgia from pulling too far away.

After the Crimson Tide fumbled the second-half opening kickoff at its own 27-yard line, the defense swarmed the Bulldogs. Three plays resulted in a 5-yard loss and two incomplete passes. On fourth-and-15, Coutu missed a 50-yard field goal.

On Georgia’s next possession, Crimson Tide defensive back Rashad Johnson provided the key play to ignite a spark in the Alabama offense.

Johnson intercepted Stafford and returned it 26 yards to the Georgia 37. Three plays later, Alabama tied the game at 10 after John Parker Wilson scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

“[Stafford] is a great quarterback,” Johnson said. “If you slow down or show him anything you really have to disguise things. We worked all week on disguising, disguising, disguising.

“We didn’t play up to our potential or very physical in the first half. We got in a deep hole and came back and tried to fight back in the second half. It was just a little too much.”

Reach Michael Southern at Michael.southern@tuscaloosanews.com