Two truths and a lie about Alabama Football following the win over Georgia

Alabama football fans ran the full gambit of emotions on Saturday night against Georgia. From the euphoria of a surprising 28-0 start where the Crimson Tide dominated the game's first 18-minutes like no team has done against Kirby Smart's Bulldogs, to the dismay from surrendering that lead and finding themselves trailing by one point with 2:30 on the gameclock. And then the shock and awe of watching Ryan Williams be Ryan Williams.

It was a rollercoaster of a game, but in the end getting out of there with a win was the mission, no matter how it happened.

Tide fans will fret over the blown lead, the offense's inability to do much of anything in the second half, and some blown coverages in the secondary, but Alabama did what it needed to do to beat one of the best teams in the country.

Let's examine two truths, and one lie, about Alabama Football following the big win:

TRUTH: Ryan Williams is better as a freshman than any WR Alabama has ever had

David Palmer. Julio Jones. Amari Cooper. Calvin Ridley. Jerry Jeudy. DeVonta Smith. Jaylen Waddle. Some truly elite names who went on to be elite WR's at the next level. None of them have been as good, as quickly, as Ryan Williams.

Expectations were high for Williams, but realistic. There's been nothing realistic about his first four games in college. Most thought he would be a factor, but that it would take him some time. He didn't even get to campus until June after graduating early and reclassifying into the 2024 recruiting class.

He was the gem of the 2025 WR class, but a little of an afterthought nationally for 2024 behind Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith and Auburn's Cam Coleman.

There is no logical explanation for what Williams has done at 17-years-old. Other than that maybe he's an alien. His body control and speed shown in the game winning touchdown catch-and-run did little to hide his otherworldly talents:

Calvin Ridley set the Alabama freshman record for receiving yards in 2015 with 1045. Williams is 44% of the way there in just four games, with a bare minimum of nine games to play if he stays healthy.

A true freshman has never won the Biletnikoff Award. Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree won it as a redshirt freshman in 2007, but never has a true freshman.

This is the worst Ryan Williams will ever be at football during his playing career. He's a special talent, but what happens once he refines his skills? What happens when he becomes an above-average route-runner?

TRUTH: Alabama still needs to get the running backs more involved

Two games in a row now the Tide running back duo of Jam Miller and Justice Haynes have been a bit of an afterthought offensively. Miller obviously caught a touchdown pass on a wheel route, but the duo combined for 11 carries against Georgia. Jalen Milroe carried the ball 16 times.

For the season, Milroe has rushed it 52 times, while Jam and Justice have combined for 59 carries. Some of that is just how many read-option/RPO looks Alabama has given defenses this year, and the read has opened it up for Milroe to be the one carrying it.

But Milroe is too important to this offense to keep carrying the load he did against Georgia. Milroe accounted for 89% of Alabama's offensive production. He threw the ball 33 times and ran it 16 more times.

I think part of the offensive issues in the second half was Milroe not fully trusting his running backs to give the ball on the reads. He played a perfect first half with taking what the defense offered, but he missed a few in the second half that could have extended drives a little longer and probably would have prevented Georgia from mounting the big comeback.

Miller and Haynes are talented guys, and they've made the most of their touches. They both are averaging 8.0 yards-per-carry in 2024.

I would expect Alabama to put an emphasis on featuring those two in Nashville against Vanderbilt next week.

The Lie: Georgia, and college football, had a Nick Saban problem, not an Alabama problem.

The chatter has been loud since Nick Saban retired in January. Alabama was going to fall back to the also-ran status they were in for a decade prior to Saban's arrival in Tuscaloosa.

The bad man was gone, and the dynasty was finally over. As my good friend Lee Corso would say, not so fast, my friend!

Alabama proved that they are still Alabama. With a new coach, it was the same result against Georgia, often cited as the new "king" of college football. But Kirby Smart is now 1-6 in seven tries against the Crimson Tide.

I said before the game that I was sick of the "someone has to prove they can beat Georgia" talk. Because Alabama beat Georgia in last season's SEC Championship. The SEC still runs through Tuscaloosa, and if Georgia wants the crown, they've got to consistently prove they can best the Tide.

For now, there's a different boss on the sideline, but the king is still the king.

Alabama is still Alabama