Alabama came up agonizingly short against Georgia on Saturday night, with the Bulldogs pulling out a 20-17 win with plenty of controversy.
The missed pass interference call in the endzone will live in infamy in Alabama lore forever, but there's nothing to be done about it at this point. The refs blew the call, the Crimson Tide lost, and now we have to move on, and the team has to refocus ahead of a tough matchup in Knoxville next week against Tennessee.
In spite of the loss, Alabama has several players who deserve shoutouts. These four get game balls:
1. Alex Asparuhov
Let's start with the punter. Shoutout to Alex Asparuhov, who continuously put Alabama's defense in advantageous situations by pinning Georgia deep in their own territory.
Georgia's average starting field position was its own 16-yard line. Asparuhov only averaged 38.6 yards per punt, but his job was to pin the Bulldogs deep, and he did that. All five of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard-line.
Unfortunately, the Alabama defense could not take advantage of the field position edge and frequently let Georgia get out of trouble and move the ball down the field.
2. Ryan Coleman-Williams
No, his numbers weren't great, but shoutout to Ryan Coleman-Williams, man. He's an absolute warrior. He came into the game far under 100%, but gave everything he had to this team. That's a leader.
Furthermore, he aggravated his injury before the half and then returned to the game. He was ultimately knocked out of the game by a Georgia DB making forcible contact to his head with the crown of his helmet - totally NOT targeting, evidently - but this is a game he could have probably sat out to begin with. He was banged up enough to, but he was never even on the injury report.
He's a warrior, and his gravity helped open things up for other receivers to make some plays.
3. Trae'shawn Brown
The freshman RB continues to trend toward being Alabama's RB1 at this point in the season. Daniel Hill earned the start, but Brown once again led the Crimson Tide in carries and yards, picking up 90 yards on nine attempts, including a 58-yarder in the second quarter that set up Alabama's first points of the night.
Brown has improved as a pass blocker and is clearly someone the coaching staff has a lot of trust in.
His role should continue to expand, with him and fellow freshman EJ Crowell continuing to take the lion's share of the carries moving forward.
4. Bray Hubbard
Yes, Hubbard had some moments as a pass defender he'd like to have back. But he made several big plays to put Alabama in position to win this game.
He intercepted a Gunner Stockton pass on a perfect read and reaction, tipping the ball in the air and picking it off in the 2nd quarter right after Alabama's first touchdown. That gave the Crimson Tide a chance to tie or take the lead, but unfortunately the offense self-destructed and had to punt after multiple negative plays.
Hubbard also made a heck of a play in the endzone in the fourth quarter with the game tied at 17, playing the ball through the ground and ripping it away from Sacovie White-Helton to force a Georgia field goal.
It wasn't a perfect game for Hubbard, but he did his part on Saturday night.
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