Field Street Forum

24

Georgia 3-1 , 3-1

41

 Alabama 4-0 , 4-0

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the 2020 season to the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide, 41-24 Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in front of a crowd of 19,424 and a national-televised audience on CBS.

“I was really pleased with the way our guys competed,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “Frustrated that we couldn’t get anything going in the second half, especially on that opening drive. I thought we would have been able to run down, but we stalled out and lost some momentum.”

Smart added, “Give them [Alabama] credit. We have to get back to the drawing boards because we still have a really good football team and we control what is in front of us by how we play.”

The Bulldogs (3-1) compiled 414 yards on offense, 269 through the air, and 145 on the ground. The defense forced one interception and sacked Alabama quarterback Mac Jones three times.

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Bennett Directs The Offense: Junior Stetson Bennett (18-for-40, 269 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs) directed No. 3 Georgia to a 24-20 half-time advantage but No. 2 UA outscored Georgia 21-0 in the second half for a 41-24 win. The Bulldogs finished with 414 yards of offense on 70 plays. Down 7-0, Bennett led an 8-play, 57-yard TD drive in 2:40 capped by a 10-yard rush by Zamir White, his fifth of the year and eighth of career. Bennett connected on an 82-yard TD to James Cook, career-highs for both, and it makred the longest TD pass by the Bulldogs since a school record 98-yarder in 2013 from Aaron Murray to Reggie Davis versus North Texas. Following the PAT, it made it 14-7 Georgia. With the scored tied at 17, Bennett led a 12 play, 66-yard TD drive in 2:43, converting a 3rd-and-goal to freshman Jermaine Burton with a five-yard TD pass.

A Look At The Defense: Coming in, Georgia led the SEC and ranked fifth nationally in Scoring Defense at 12.3 points per game while Alabama led the nation in Scoring Offense at 51.0 points per game. In the first half today, Georgia held No. 2 Alabama to 20 points on 298 yards of total offense on 41 plays. However in the second half, UA scored 21 points including getting 14 off turnovers and finished the game with 564 yards of total offense on 76 plays. UA hit a 90-yard TD pass to Jaylen Waddle for a 27-24 lead with 4:00 left in the 3rd quarter.

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Game & Broadcast Info

On Saturday, Georgia will make its second of at least three scheduled appearances on CBS this season. The network televised the Bulldogs’ 44-21 win over #14 Tennessee last weekend in Athens. The Bulldogs’ alltime record on CBS is 62-42-1. The Florida contest (Nov. 7, 3:30 p.m.) is also slated to be on the network.

No. 3 Georgia goes on the road to face No. 2 Alabama this Saturday at 8 p.m. ET in a matchup of the SEC division leaders. Under Kirby Smart, the Bulldogs are 9-4 in Top-10 showdowns. Georgia’s last win over a team ranked as high as No. 2 came in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal when the Bulldogs defeated No. 2 Oklahoma 54-48 in overtime in the Rose Bowl Game.

Georgia has faced Alabama twice in the Smart era with the Crimson Tide rallying back both times. No. 4 Alabama won the 2018 CFP National Championship Game 26-23 over No. 3 Georgia in overtime. Then, No. 1 Alabama edged No. 4 Georgia 35-28 during the 2018 SEC Championship Game.

The Bulldogs went 3-1 versus Top-10 teams in 2019. Georgia beat No. 7 Notre Dame in Athens, No. 6 Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., and No. 7 Baylor in the Sugar Bowl. The lone loss came to then No. 2 LSU in the SEC Championship Game.

This Saturday, the Bulldogs will be facing their third Top-15 foe in a row. Georgia dominated No. 7 Auburn 27-6 in Athens on Oct. 3 and then beat No. 14 Tennessee 44-21 at home last weekend. The last time the Bulldogs faced three Top-25 teams in a row in three consecutive weeks came in 2018 when Georgia reeled off victories over No. 9 Florida, No. 9 Kentucky and No. 24 Auburn.

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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — The SEC is adjusting its football schedule following the postponement of two games originally scheduled for October 17 due to positive tests and quarantine of individuals related to COVID-19.

One of the adjustments will move the Saturday,  Oct. 24 Georgia-Kentucky game in Lexington to Saturday, Oct. 31. Kickoff for that game will be 12:00 noon ET on the SEC Network.  The Bulldogs will now be off on Oct. 24.

On Monday it was announced that, due to positive tests and quarantine in the Vanderbilt football program, the Vanderbilt at Missouri game of Oct. 17 is rescheduled for Dec. 12.

On Wednesday it was announced that, due to positive tests and quarantine in the Florida football program, the LSU at Florida game of Oct. 17 is rescheduled for Dec. 12.  In addition, due to an extended pause of team activities for the Florida football program at the advice of health officials, the Missouri at Florida game originally scheduled for Oct. 24 is rescheduled for Oct. 31 and will be televised on the SEC Network Alternate channel at 7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT.

Also, the Kentucky at Missouri game of Oct. 31 is rescheduled for Oct. 24 at 4 pm ET / 3 pm CT on the SEC Network and the Georgia at Kentucky game of Oct. 24 is rescheduled for Oct. 31 at Noon ET / 11 am CT on the SEC Network.

In addition, the South Carolina at LSU game of October 24 will change game times and is now scheduled for 7 pm ET / 6 pm CT on ESPN.

SEC Football Schedule Adjustments:

• Kentucky at Missouri moves from Oct. 31 to Oct. 24 at 4 pm ET/3 pm CT on SEC Network
• South Carolina at LSU remains on Oct. 24, changes game time to 7 pm ET/6 pm CT on ESPN
• Georgia at Kentucky moves from Oct. 24 to Oct. 31 at Noon ET/11 am CT on SEC Network
• Missouri at Florida moves from Oct. 24 to Oct. 31 at 7:30 ET/6:30 CT on SEC Network Alternate
• Vanderbilt at Missouri moves from Oct. 17 to Dec. 12, time and network TBA
• LSU at Florida moves from Oct. 17 to Dec. 12, time and network TBA