Phewww, the Alabama-Georgia game Saturday in Tuscaloosa surprised pretty much everyone because perhaps the most anticipated game of the week was ridiculously lopsided in the first half, especially the first quarter.
The No. 4 Crimson Tide came out on fire, eating almost five minutes on their opening drive before quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Jalen Milroe ran for a seven-yard touchdown. They followed that up with two quick touchdowns at the end of the quarter, and early in the second, Milroe broke free again with a 36-yard touchdown run. Just like that, Alabama quickly had a 28-0 lead.
Milroe finished the first half throwing 18-for-21 for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception while also rushing for 106 yards and two touchdowns.
The No. 2 Bulldogs, meanwhile, couldn’t get much going on offense, and quarterback Carson Beck threw a first-quarter interception — his first of two in the first half — that Alabama later capitalized on.
Georgia finally got on the board with a seven-yard touchdown run from Trevor Etienne, but overall, it wasn’t great.
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CARSON BECK THROWS A PICK FOR GEORGIA'S FIRST TURNOVER OF THE SEASON😳 pic.twitter.com/hIv2XMPQW8
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 29, 2024
And then, to top it all off, Alabama got two more points with a safety with less than two minutes left in the half.
With a 30-7 lead at halftime, Bryant-Denny Stadium was rocking — even if Nick Saban in a suite wasn’t — and the stat lines tell a stunning story of how the Crimson Tide absolutely rocked Georgia in the first half. So here are five absurdly lopsided stats from Alabama’s dominant first 30 minutes.
1. First half total yards: Alabama 355 Georgia 153
Nick Saban reacts to Alabama's 30-7 halftime lead over Georgia:
"Jalen Milroe had more yards himself than the entire Georgia team." 😂 pic.twitter.com/VEmVNLD8pc
— ESPN (@espn) September 29, 2024
Alabama had 198 total yards in the first quarter alone compared with Georgia’s 27.
2. First half first downs: Alabama 16 Georgia 9
Thankfully for the Bulldogs, they began accumulating most of these in the second quarter after finishing with one in the first.
3. First half average yards per play: Alabama 9.1 Georgia 5.5
JALEN MILROE DOES IT HIMSELF FOR THE 36-YARD SCORE 😤
THE TIDE ARE ROLLING AGAINST GEORGIA 👀 pic.twitter.com/VQkdRSxeXt
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 29, 2024
4. First half passing yards: Alabama 199 Georgia 100
BAMA TAKES A QUICK TWO POSSESSION LEAD VS. GEORGIA 👀
JALEN MILROE IS DOING IT ALL EARLY ON 🔥 pic.twitter.com/MJ3lJXLRjQ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 29, 2024
This was all Jalen Milroe for Bama.
5. First half rushing yards: Alabama 156 Georgia 53
ALABAMA GOES UP 21-0 ON GEORGIA IN THE FIRST QUARTER 😳 pic.twitter.com/Y3B62yCTXP
— ESPN (@espn) September 29, 2024
This was mostly Jalen Milroe.
If you’re a Georgia fan, you’re probably less than thrilled about how the first half against Alabama went.
UPDATE: Georgia came back, but Alabama ultimately won, 41-34.
