Georgia's Stetson Bennett celebrates after the College Football Playoff championship football game against Alabama Tuesday in Indianapolis. Georgia won 33-18.
Darron Cummings/APINDIANAPOLIS — Stetson Bennett delivered the biggest throws of his storybook career and Georgia's defense sealed the sweetest victory in program history, vanquishing rival Alabama 33-18 in the College Football Playoff title Monday night for its first national title in 41 years.
Bennett connected with Adonai Mitchell on a 40-yard touchdown to give No. 3 Georgia a 19-18 lead with 8:09 left and then hooked up with Brock Bowers for a 15-yard TD on a screen to put the Bulldogs up eight with with 3:33 left.
The final blow came from Georgia's dominant defense. Kelee Ringo intercepted an underthrown deep ball down the sideline by Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young. Instead of going down with a little over a minute left, Ringo took off and behind a convoy of blockers and went 79 yards for a touchdown that set off a wild celebration by the Georgia fans who packed Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Bulldogs (14-1) hadn't won a national title since freshman Herschel Walker led them there in 1980. If simply snapping the drought wasn't good enough, doing so against No. 1 Alabama (13-2) had to make it feel even better.
Nick Saban's Crimson Tide had won seven straight against the Bulldogs, including the last four against Georgia coach Kirby Smart, Saban's longtime assistant.
Bennett, the former walk-on turned starter, finished 17 for 26 for 224 yards and no interceptions.
For most of the first three quarters, the first CFP title game to be a rematch of a regular-season game was an ol' fashion Southeastern Conference defensive struggle.
The first touchdown of the game came with 1:20 left in the third quarter. After James Cook broke a 67-yard run to get the Bulldogs into the red zone, three more running plays — a facemask penalty by Alabama — got them into the end zone. Zamir White went in standing up from a yard out with massive defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis leading the way as blockers. The Bulldogs led for the first time, 13-9.
After Alabama added another field goal, the Tide caught a break on strange looking turnover by the Bulldogs.
As Bennett was being taken down deep in Georgia territory, he tried to throw the ball away. The ball slipped loose, and bounced toward the sideline, seemingly harmlessly. Alabama's Drew Sanders casually caught the ball as he was jogging out of bounds.
Surprisingly, the ruling on the field was a fumble, recovered by the Tide and replay upheld the call, giving the Tide the ball in the red zone. A few plays later, Young eluded the rush and found Cameron Latu for a 3-yard touchdown that put Alabama up 18-13 with 10:14 left in the fourth.
It felt again that Georgia would not be able to break whatever spell Alabama seemingly had on the Bulldogs.
Bennett was 13 for 22 for 141 yards as the next drive started, and you could practically hear all skeptical Georgia fans wondering why Smart didn't turn to his four-star back-up QB, J.T. Daniels, for a spark.
As he has done so many times during a career that started on the scout team and took a detour through junior college in Mississippi, the small-town Georgia kid nicknamed Mailman came through.
Bennett completed all three of his passes for 68 yards, including a long strike to Mitchell for a touchdown with 8:09 left that gave the Bulldogs a 19-18 lead after a failed 2-point conversion.
The Bulldogs' defense clamped down on Young, forcing a three-and-out on the Tide's next drive, and then Georgia went to work on sealing a long-awaited championship.
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Final: No. 3 Alabama 41, No. 1 Georgia 24
In a spot where few gave it a chance, Alabama not only wins but wins authoritatively against the only team in college football that had looked dominant all season long. It's clear now that the SEC has not one, but two, national title contenders. The health of John Metchie looms large, but if the Crimson Tide can do THAT against a vaunted Georgia defense, look out. Incredible offensive performance to give the program its seventh SEC championship in the last 10 years and establish it as a threat to win back-to-back national championships.
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Alabama quarterback Bryce Young has set the SEC Championship Game record for total offense (461 yards) and passing yards (421) in today's game vs. Georgia. He entered Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, and they better start etching his name on the front plate. It'd be a massive upset if this performance doesn't lock it up for the redshirt freshman.
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Alabama is putting it away with a couple of first downs on this drive, the latest coming via penalty. Seeing some UGA fans heading toward the exits. Can't help but wonder if there'll be a rematch and how this outcome will fuel the Bulldogs if that comes to fruition.
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The Crimson Tide haven't run more than five plays on any of their last three drives, all of which have resulted in punts. A first down or two here would go a long way toward bleeding the remaining clock. Hard not to blame 'em for going conservative. But the inability to move the chains has let Georgia stay in this thing.
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Brock Bowers has set the SEC Championship Game record for receptions and yards by a tight end. He has nine catches and 130 yards, with one of those catches going for a touchdown. He has been targeted 14 times by quarterback Stetson Bennett IV on the afternoon.
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The Bulldogs got the benefit of a VERY generous spot on third down on what looked like a first down from Slade Bolden. It wasn't reviewed (for some reason), and Georgia has the ball at its own 21-yard line down two touchdowns. Stetson Bennett IV is going to have to start taking some big risks here, because the Bulldogs rushing game has been pretty brutal.
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This is where Alabama's ability to run the football against Georgia's defensive front will be huge. They've run it well in spurts, but only as a function of their throw game opening up the field. Now, you would imagine Bama will try and bleed some clock? Will Georgia load the box and force the Tide to keep airing it out?
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The Crimson Tide defense has been on the field a ton in the second half, and they finally ceded a touchdown. Big answer for Georgia, which clings to some hope now with 9:42 remaining after Bennett finds Bowers for an 18-yard score on a little TE screen.
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