The Alabama Crimson Tide earned what may have been the biggest victory yet in the Kalen DeBoer era on the road in Athens against the Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 24-21.

Since the season opening loss on the road against Florida State, DeBoer has been the subject of tons of criticism due to the fact that since taking over, his teams were 2-5 when playing away from Bryant-Denny Stadium. This week offered a chance to change the entire perception of his tenure thus far, and the Tide took advantage.

It was as tremendous a start as could realistically be asked for in the first quarter for Alabama as Ty Simpson carved up the Bulldog defense with surgical precision for touchdowns on the first two drives of the game. Converting their first eight consecutive third down attempts, it was two Ty Simpson touchdowns which got the game going.

The first went to Germie Bernard on an absolute strike over the middle:

The second score saw Simpson roll out to his right and just rip it back over the middle at cannon speed to find Isaiah Horton in the end zone:

Georgia would answer with a long touchdown of their own and get the ball back, but a forced fumble by Bray Hubbard gave the Tide another three points and a 17-7 lead in the second quarter.

It was Alabama’s final possession of the half that will stick in the memory banks of fans though, and not just because it gave them a 10-point lead which they were able to hold onto in the second half. On 1st and 10 from inside the 15 yard line with less than a minute to play in the half, the Tide dialed up a wide receiver screen pass…to 6 foot 7, 365 pound left tackle Kadyn Proctor.

Proctor hauled it in and rumbled his way down to inside the five all the way to the two-yard line. From there, Ty Simpson scored his third touchdown of the half, this time with his legs.

Alabama’s offense largely stalled out in the second half, but Simpson weathered the storm and avoided the turnovers, giving his defense just enough. A touchdown for Georgia midway through the third quarter meant the battle was on at Sanford Stadium, but several huge plays allowed the Tide to come out on top.

Defensively, it was a stand early in the fourth quarter on 4th and 1 with the Bulldogs seemingly about to grab the lead before LT Overton was able to trip Cash Jones up in the backfield to get his team the ball back.

Alabama would punt on the ensuing possession, but they were able to flip the field back once again due to several lasers from Simpson. After forcing another Bulldog punt from midfield, it was a 3rd and 5 absolutely masterful play call from Ryan Grubb for Simpson to find running back Jam Miller wide open in the flat to effectively put the game on ice.

Simpson finished the night 24 of 38 for 276 yards, two touchdown passes, a rushing score, and perhaps most importantly only one sack taken behind a huge night from the offensive line. Horton was the leading receiver with five catches for 65 yards and the score while Ryan Williams added five of his own for 43 yards.

In his season debut, Jam Miller had just 46 rushing yards as the run game couldn’t get going most of the night, but he made big plays when he needed to especially late.

Up next for the Tide is another home game with revenge on their mind against the undefeated Vanderbilt Commodores, who won’t be catching anyone by surprise this time.