Stetson Bennett made the biggest throw of his storybook career and Georgia’s defense sealed the sweetest victory in program history, defeating rival Alabama 33-18 for their first national title in 41 years on Monday in the college football playoff title. defeated.
Bennett paired with Adonai Mitchell on a 40-yard touchdown to give No. 3 Georgia a 19-18 lead with 8:09 and then joined with Brock Bowers for a 15-yard TD on screen to put the Bulldogs together . 3:33 left.
The final blow came from the defense. Kelly Ringo throws a deep ball from Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young off the edge. Instead of going down with a little over a minute left, Ringo took off and went for 79 yards for a touchdown behind a convoy of blockers that triggered a wild fire by Georgia fans to pack Lucas Oil Stadium. Celebrations started.
The Bulldogs had not won a national title as they were led by Herschel Walker in 1980. If stopping the drought wasn’t good enough, performing against No. 1 Alabama (13-12) felt even better.
Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide won seven straight against the Bulldogs, including the last four against Georgia coach Kirby Smart, Saban’s longtime assistant.
,
Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com.
,
More Associated Press College Football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
