Georgia football was more able to be more explosive than Alabama on Monday night down the stretch, which helped the Dawgs win their first national championship in 41 years.
Alabama is notorious for making big plays and having moments of greatness because they’ve done it so many times in the past, but it was Georgia’s turn this time around.
Instead of the Tide having those big fourth-quarter explosive moments that put them in either the lead or tied the ball game, the Dawgs did.
The Dawgs may have recorded less explosive plays than the Tide did, but Georgia was able to score more off those explosive plays. Alabama scored one touchdown all night, and it wasn’t on an explosive catch or run.
Georgia football was more explosive than the Tide when it mattered.
A flip switched after Stetson Bennett fumbled the ball early on in the fourth quarter, and those late explosive plays are what elevated the Dawgs to claim their title.
According to Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken, he defines an explosive play is a run of 12-plus yards or a pass of 16-plus yards.
Alabama finished the game with seven explosive plays, three in the second quarter, one in the third and three in the fourth. Six of the seven came through the air, and after playing the Tide in December, the Dawgs knew this is how they won ballgames.
When Alabama is able to score on those big explosive plays, they are able to run the game how they want. On Monday, while there were 40 and 61-yard receptions, Georgia was able to run down Cameron Latu and keep him from scoring.
Jameson Williams’ 40-yarder was the toughest break because he hurt his knee. Williams is a game changer so it stunk not having him finish out the game. After those two passes, though, the four other explosive plays weren’t as meaningful.
Alabama just didn’t have those big plays when they needed them to, and more importantly, they didn’t score on them.
In Atlanta, the Tide finished with 12 explosive plays, including nine in the second quarter alone. Georgia also saw 12 explosive plays but didn’t score off them like Alabama did.
This second matchup saw fewer explosive moments out of Georgia, but when they did happen, they made them count. The Dawgs finished with six explosive plays, so one fewer than the Tide, but two of the six resulted in touchdowns.
Georgia recorded one in the first quarter, two in the third and three in the fourth. Those three in the fourth quarter are what usually happens to Alabama, and instead, the football Gods blessed the Dawgs with them.
In the first quarter, George Pickens caught a 52-yarder that helped starting quarterback Stetson Bennett settle down some. Then the two starting running backs had big runs each in the third quarter to begin wearing down Alabama’s defense.
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Jermaine Burton caught the first big play in the fourth quarter on an 18-yard reception. This catch started the first drive after the fumble, which in our opinion, helped Bennett settle even more. He targeted Burton again, and it would have resulted in the seventh explosive play, but a pass interference from Alabama because their defensive back got smoked prevented that.
However, that first 18-yard catch to Burton helped get Georgia into a good spot and feel confident. Then Bennett made a great pass to AD Mitchell for a 40-yard touchdown pass and the second explosive play of the drive.
That touchdown was when we all knew Georgia wasn’t going to lay down in the fourth quarter as it had in previous matchups to Alabama.
THE LITERAL MOMENT#GoDawgs#NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/pNiOz2klWv
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) January 11, 2022
The final explosive play of the fourth quarter wasn’t on offense, but to claim it’s not one is flat out silly. Kelee Ringo’s pick-six should be a walking definition of explosive play because the defense can make those happen too.
When he caught that ball and took off, his teammates made sure to block and provide a path to the endzone, and it was a momentum-shifting kind of play that teams sometimes need to win. Anyone who doesn’t count this as an explosive play doesn’t understand why it is.
Georgia finally outscored Alabama in the fourth quarter, as the Dawgs scored 20 unanswered points to win the game.
In the SEC Championship Game, the Tide outscored the Dawgs by three points. In 2020, Alabama held Georgia scoreless in the third and fourth quarters.
Going back to the 2018 SEC title, the Tide outscored the Dawgs 14-0, and in the national title game earlier that year, Alabama went 10-0 in the fourth to send it to overtime. Do you see the trend here? For the first time in the last four meetings, Alabama didn’t have those explosive moments and scored down the stretch.
So the Dawgs had to make sure if they got a shot at an explosive play, they made them count because Alabama doesn’t give away points — teams have to earn them. Georgia earned them alright and won the national championship for it.
Like Alabama head coach Nick Saban told Georgia head coach after the game, “yall kicked our butt in the fourth quarter,” and the Dawgs did just that. Being able to hunker down on defense and prevent Alabama from coming back down the field after their only touchdown was a massive momentum boost for the Dawgs.
It also put the ball in the hands of a ticked-off Bennett, who knew that he had to step up and not be the reason they lost.
Georgia was explosive all year, so it was good to see the Dawgs finally get those big plays to fall in the season’s biggest game.
Tumultuous plays are the norm for Alabama — it’s in their DNA now. Georgia prevented them from scoring on those explosive plays will forever be one of the biggest reasons the Dawgs won it all, along with the Dawgs scoring on their momentum-shifting plays.