There's not a more unforgettable play from the 2024 college football season than Ryan Williams' game-winning touchdown reception in the fourth quarter against Georgia.
The emotion that carried with that play was unmatched. Alabama had dominated Georgia for the majority of the night in Tuscaloosa but had just given up the lead to the Bulldogs for the first time.
A triumphant night had turned into a nightmare. Alabama had blown a 30-7 lead and trailed Georgia 34-33 with just 2:31 to play in the 4th quarter. When it needed a play, the Crimson Tide turned to its 17 year old star freshman, and Williams delivered.
You know the rest. Williams made a jumping catch on the sideline, getting both feet inbounds and spinning to maintain his balance. He raced down the sideline, hit another nasty spin move to make two veteran Georgia defenders miss, and then sprinted toward the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown.
If you thought that play couldn't get better, listening to Williams described what actually happened in a conversation with Jon Gruden will change your mind.
Williams ran the incorrect route on his game-winning touchdown reception against Georgia
As you might imagine, football is more nuanced than what you and your friends might talk about. A lot of the times, the routes the receivers run are dependent on the coverage seen post-snap. There are a lot more "option" type routes than just straight "run this" routes.
According to Williams, the route he ran to score the touchdown against Georgia would have been qualified as a missed assignment, had he not scored.
The route Williams ran - typically classified as a "go" or "nine" route - was only supposed to be ran if Georgia responded with a cloud coverage. They did not. Williams ran it anyway, based on a conversation he had with Jalen Milroe on the sideline before the offense went back out on the field.
I assume the conversation went something like this:
"Hey Jalen, I'm better than these dudes. Just throw it up."
You can hear Williams talk about it below with Jon Gruden:
The best part of the interaction is Gruden asking Williams what Kalen DeBoer said to him after on the sideline. Williams responded with "nothing. Touchdown." The only real response DeBoer could give in that situation.
I'm sure on the sideline it was the classic "no, no, no, no... yes!" moment. DeBoer and OC Nick Sheridan undoubtedly clocked that Williams had made the incorrect decision pretty quickly, but sometimes you have to trust your star players to rely on their instincts and go make a play when it matters.
Thankfully for Alabama, Williams ran the wrong route. And thankfully for Williams, his decision to run the wrong route worked out for the Crimson Tide.