TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Ryan Williams gathered Alabama’s receivers together Friday night to play a little video game.
He competed against his teammates in EA Sports College Football 25. It was a way to relax the day before kickoff, college football’s biggest game of the season: No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 4 Alabama.
As is often the case, Williams, a 17-year-old star receiver for the Tide, played a video game with his team. While engrossed in a close game with his teammates, Williams uses a controller to violently move the pieces around the virtual field, allowing one of his defensive backs, fellow freshman Xavian Brown, to snatch the ball out of the air and end the game. He made the decisive interception.
Williams celebrated the win and texted Brown the next day, hours before Alabama played Georgia.
nailed it.
On Saturday, former President Donald Trump, Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr. and others defeated the University of Alabama 41-34 in front of a shaking crowd at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
It was the latest thrilling chapter in a heated series between the SEC’s unquestioned dynasties. The Tide jumped out to a 28-0 lead, but it took an acrobatic 75-yard touchdown catch by one freshman (Williams) and another freshman (Brown) to avoid disaster. A last-minute interception was needed.
On the national stage, the Tide’s two rookies had a coming-out party in a top-five showdown. Their quarterback, Jalen Milroe, put together a Heisman Trophy-worthy day. Their defense did a good enough job in the end. And their coach, Karen DeBoer, not only picked up her first SEC win, but also a win over two-time national championship-winning coach and former Alabama assistant Kirby Smart.
It was refreshing. exciting. Explosive. Emotional. It can also be a bit tiring.
“There’s a lot going on there,” DeBoer explained at the beginning of his postgame press conference.
In fact, there’s a lot going on.
Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams made one of the most memorable plays in Crimson Tide history Saturday in the win over Georgia. (John David Mercer Iman Images)
Leading 28-0 early in the second quarter and losing 34-33 late in the fourth, DeBoer was three minutes away from a humiliating collapse that will long be remembered in these parts. Then came the rookie duo of Williams and Brown, each wearing a No. 2 jersey. “There are two No. 2s,” DeBoer said with a smile.
After Georgia took its first lead with 131 seconds left, Williams made a 75-yard shot on the first play of Alabama’s drive. Milroe hit a back-shoulder fade along the sideline and Williams brought in no different than a corralled punt returner, which was a sight to behold. What happened next was one of the most incredible moves seen from any player this year. He spun two defenders with a 360-degree spin and outran them to score the goal.
“I was like, ‘I can’t get tackled!'” Williams later said. “I did a spinning motion. It was like slow motion.”
He then caught a replay of the spin on the jumbotron. It seemed faster. He was sure it was slow on the field.
No, no. Ryan Williams is a unanimous five-star prospect out of Mobile who did well enough in high school to reclassify from the 2025 class.
“That guy always makes plays on the ball,” Milroe said.
Early in the game, he tipped a pass to himself and recorded one of his six catches for 177 yards. Not bad for kids—yes, kids! — He was born in 2007. He won’t be 18 until February.
But after Williams’ acrobatic catch and that nasty spin, Georgia marched straight down the field. After the Bulldogs reached the Alabama 20-yard line, Brown stepped in before quarterback Carson Beck made a back-shoulder attempt toward the corner of the end zone.
TUSCALOOSA, AL – SEPTEMBER 28: Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Karen DeBoer reacts during the second quarter of a game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (September 28, 2024) day photography). (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
As expected by Williams, he snatched the ball out of the air.
“I told you so! I told you so!” Williams barked at him as he walked back to the sideline.
During an earlier Georgia back shoulder touchdown, Brown looked the wrong way. This time, he knew that if Beck tried again, he would be on the right track.
“It doesn’t seem realistic to me,” Brown said later. “I don’t remember either.”
They won’t soon forget this: two No. 2s.
The fourth quarter play unfolded after a shocking collapse by the Tide.
Alabama scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and led 28-0 three minutes into the second quarter. Milroe, the starting quarterback, completed his first 11 passes and ran for more than 100 yards on his first nine carries. Georgia’s defense picked off two passes in the first half, forced two punts and forced Georgia into a safety.
Then everything stalled in the second half. At one point, Beck completed consecutive passes of 67 yards (touchdown), 47 yards, 30 yards, 8 yards (touchdown), 34 yards and 21 yards. He saved the Bulldogs from a near-death situation. He brought them very close to what coaches aspire to be.
This seemed like the perfect time for Smart to take on Alabama. It couldn’t have been a more perfect time.
His team received its annual “wake-up call” two weeks ago against Kentucky. It took a week to resolve the issue. His opponent is an Alabama team with a quarterback whose instability throughout the season actually led to him being benched last season. And, oh, perhaps the most important part of all of this is that Nick Saban never existed.
Perfect, right? It’s a good time to break free of Alabama’s nearly 20-year Saban-led reign over UGA, show the nation who really runs the SEC, explain the power of Georgia football, and introduce rookie head coach DeBoer to the league for the first time. in a conference game.
Everything was pointing here. It all showed this. This was Georgia night!
And then, like a blink of an eye and a snap of a finger, Smart’s nightmares returned. Alabama’s boogeyman.
There’s no one to blame Nick Saban this time, and there’s no former coach on the other side to lord it over him. The 49-year-old first-year coach at the University of Alabama is not from here.
All of us honestly wondered if Athletic Director Greg Byrne had made the right hire and if this fit would work out for the Deep South South Dakotan. Only four games into his tenure, he’s extremely comfortable, like a well-tailored suit, crisp and cool.
From a vantage point at 30,000 feet, the shocking sight of Tuscaloosa on Saturday was remarkable.
Five years ago, DeBoer started calling plays as offensive coordinator at Indiana University, where he has enjoyed a truly meteoric rise. Now he has a roster of the most talented players in college football at his disposal.
Milroe is probably the most talented. He is the latest in DeBoer’s recent lineage of great quarterbacks: Indiana University’s Michael Penix. Jake Hayner of Fresno; Penix returns to Washington.
Milroe is improving live right before my eyes. A 75-yard back-shoulder fade to Williams? DeBoer said he misplaced the ball when the Tide called that play earlier this season. Not so tonight. Not when Alabama needed it most.
Milroe became the first player in Associated Press history to have 300 yards passing, 100 yards rushing and two rushing scores against a top-5 ranked opponent. This remarkable performance is perhaps surpassed only by his coaches. DeBoer is 13-1 in his last 14 games against ranked opponents.
“I trust the process,” Milroe said afterward, drawing a line from his former coach.
Sure, it’s a “cliché,” he says, but it’s true.
After Georgia took the lead, DeBoer and Milroe talked on the sideline. They talked about never regretting it, the coach said. Compete to the end. Fight through adversity. rebound.
And then a 75-yarder came to one of those No. 2 players.
“A lot of our plays have one-on-one opportunities. [matchup] And if I like the matchup, I’ll pursue it,” DeBoer said.
Coach smiled. “He obviously liked what he saw and went after it.”
