Alabama 2.0 delivers a classic instant message to Kirby Smart

Meet the new boss, just like the old boss.

With its back against the wall after what would have been its biggest collapse in a game involving top-five teams, Alabama asked the youngest players on the entire field to deliver two resounding counterpunches against the second-biggest bullies on the block of the last decade .

Et doGeorgia.

Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium was a heavyweight title fight in every sense of the word. Not since Ali and Frazier shook hands in Manila have two entities as rich in pedigree, talent and moxie delivered the kind of football that everyone who saw it will remember for a long, long time.

Final score: No. 2 Alabama 41, No. 4 Georgia 34.

But that doesn’t even scratch the surface of the plot on a chilly early fall night in Tuscaloosa. In front of more than 100,000 enthusiastic spectators, which included former President Donald Trump, Alabama built a ridiculous 30-7 lead in the first half and then had to somehow mount a late comeback to hang on by its little fingernails.

In a world of instant gratification where the title of Game of the Century is seemingly breathlessly announced every two weeks, this was a true instant classic.

It was all Alabama in the first 30 minutes. Quarterback Jalen Milroe pounded the Bulldogs with 199 passing yards, 106 rushing yards and a 30-7 margin that might have caused Iowa’s bar stool observers to take their eyes elsewhere.

This was first-class “Joyless Murderball,” as Alabama famously did under former coach Nick Saban. It brought back memories of Georgia’s instantly memorable “Black Out” game against Alabama at Sanford Stadium in 2008 – a game in which the Tide so deftly stripped the home team between its own hedgerows that Georgia didn’t unpack the black jerseys again for a dozen years .

“We had no answer for Milroe,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said at halftime, which was also a remarkable — and true — statement from a coach who was 1-5 against Saban and now 0-1 against new Tide coach Kalen DeBoer stands .

But just when you thought Georgia was ready to return to Athens after its 42-game regular-season winning streak faded into the background, the Bulldogs woke up. Quarterback Carson Beck, who was seeing ghosts all over Bryant-Denny Stadium, suddenly had 20/20 field vision — throwing three touchdown passes in the final 30 minutes to lead his team out of obscurity.

A 12-yard TD dart from Beck to Arian Smith in the 3rd quarter had the Tide faithful thinking, “Okay, at least they’re trying.” And when Beck hit Lawson Luckie for an 8-yard score with 9:46 to play When the score hit 33:21, the thought had to be, “Okay, boy, enough is enough.”

But while Milroe and Alabama sputtered, Beck and Georgia guzzled methanol and galloped up and down Saban Field. Dillon Bell’s 3-yard touchdown run with 5:39 remaining brought the Dawgs within 5 points. And then Bell somehow got behind the Tide secondary for a 67-yard TD reception with 2:21 left to make it 34-33 for Georgia.

This clue? It took exactly 13 seconds.

With his team taking the best hits in Georgia and now trailing on the judges’ scorecard, it was time for Alabama’s youngest player to make his presence known on the field. Just 17 years old, but with the precocity of youth on his side, Ryan “Hollywood” Williams hauled in an electrifying 75-yard touchdown pass from Milroe – a play that literally involved two Bulldogs defenders that they bumped into each other. At some point he tried to put land on him.

However, Williams wasn’t the only rookie who ended up making a difference for the Tide. Cornerback Zabien Brown, who along with the rest of the Tide defense was under pressure for most of the game’s second 30 minutes, stepped in front of a Beck pass in the end zone for the game-winning turnover that also avoided several thousand implanted defibrillators in necessary throughout Alabama.

“We knew we were going to get pushed back by them, but our guys came back with a little firepower of their own to make the plays when we needed them most,” DeBoer said after the game as all of Tide Nation breathed a sigh of relief.

“The greatest thing we have on our team is the courage, determination and commitment of everyone on our team,” Milroe added as “Yea Alabama” echoed through the night. “We have trust in each other, trust in our training. We just kept attacking.”

The victim was once again the burly guy under the visor on the other sideline. At this rate, on the quiet flight home to Athens, Smart had to ask himself exactly what path he needs to take to the pinnacle of college football to solve Alabama 2.0.

In addition to one of the most exciting games in recent memory, Saturday night was a testament to Alabama. Confirmation that athletic director Greg Byrne made the right move in bringing DeBoer from Washington. Confirmation that the Southeastern Conference still runs through Tuscaloosa. Confirmation that Saban’s legacy – for at least another year – will not go quietly into the good night.

Yes, that was a game, as humiliating as it was for the Bulldogs in the end. Yes, it’s still September and only Week 4. And yes, Georgia is in both the SEC Championship Game picture and the College Football Playoff conversation.

No, Alabama didn’t win anything other than a conference game in September. No, Alabama won’t be happy about the disappointment on both sides of the ball in the second half. And no, DeBoer won’t be posing for another bronze statue to match those of Wade, Thomas, Bryant, Stallings and Saban any time soon.

But for 60 minutes, the home team made a clear statement on one of college football’s most hallowed grounds. In the opening stanza of the DeBoer era, the Alabama Crimson Tide has not retreated an inch in the national consciousness.

Meet the new boss, just like the old boss.