Alabama vs. Georgia: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

Not taking too kindly to being an underdog for the first time in five seasons, the Alabama Crimson Tide dominated the Georgia Bulldogs, 38-10, in a critical SEC showdown for both teams Saturday. 

The college football world has been so accustomed to seeing the Crimson Tide run their way through the regular season before, in most cases, appearing in the SEC Championship Game. There has been a different feel to start 2015, thanks largely to a 43-37 loss against Mississippi two weeks ago. 

It was an ugly day at Sanford Stadium, not just because of the final score. The weather conditions were dreadful, with rain falling from the opening kickoff that got progressively worse as things went on. Georgia can't use that as an excuse, since Alabama didn't seem to be fazed, as CBS Sports put it:

Quarterback has been the biggest question mark for Bama, as Jake Coker came into the game with a completion percentage of just 55.3, eight touchdowns and four interceptions. 

Coker's head coach, Nick Saban, did not waver in his confidence about what the senior can do, per Marq Burnett of the Ledger-Enquirer, but wanted to see smarter decision-making. 

"He's very capable of making all the plays he needs to make," Saban said. "So it comes down to mindset and focus, staying focused on the right stuff so he can make the right reads, the right plays, the right throws, and he's very capable of doing that."

One way to help Coker shine without letting some of his flaws get exposed is limit the number of times he throws while still allowing him to go down the field. Alabama's run-heavy game plan helped Coker shine, as he finished 11-of-16 for 190 yards and two touchdowns (one rushing).

Stellar running back Derrick Henry continued to exert his will over anyone who stands in his way. The junior standout had 148 yards and one touchdown on 26 carries, setting a new Alabama rushing touchdown record in the process, via Alabama Football on Twitter:

Georgia was only down by seven with under five minutes to play in the first half, but the wind went out of the Bulldogs' sails following this special teams play, via CBS Sports:

Georgia followed that up with a quick three-and-out, leading to a Coker 45-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley on Alabama's first play of the ensuing drive. The Tide grabbed a three-touchdown advantage with 14 points in the span of 60 seconds. 

Ridley, per ESPN Stats & Info, nearly equaled his receiving totals through the first four games in the first 30 minutes against Georgia:

Things got so bad for Georgia early in the third quarter, with Alabama scoring two more touchdowns in less than five minutes, even Uga couldn't bear to watch anymore, via SEC on CBS:

Georgia starting quarterback Greyson Lambert was briefly benched late in the first half after going 7-of-17 for 70 yards, though that line looks Aaron Rodgers-esque compared to Brice Ramsey's. The sophomore was 1-of-6 with one particularly bad two-play stretch, per Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde:

Lambert did return to the game late in the third quarter but ended up limping off the field after trying to make a tackle following an interception. He would finish 10-of-24 with 86 yards and the pick. 

The most alarming thing about Georgia's quarterback ineptitude against Alabama is how soft the Crimson Tide have looked defending the pass this season. They came into the game 59th in passing yards allowed per game. 

Two weeks ago, Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly torched the Crimson Tide with 341 yards and three touchdowns. Rainy weather can alter a game plan, but Coker was able to create big plays for Alabama, while Georgia's passing offense couldn't. 

One of Georgia's only bright spots was running back Nick Chubb. He broke the 100-yard barrier for the 13th consecutive game on an 83-yard touchdown run, passing Herschel Walker in the Georgia record books, per ESPN Stats & Info:

"

Nick Chubb: 13th straight game with 100+ rush yards breaks school record previously held by Herschel Walker pic.twitter.com/pVHtipdS3w

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 3, 2015"

That's a small silver lining for the Bulldogs coming out of this game. Head coach Mark Richt's teams have a tendency to start the year with high expectations, only to stumble in marquee matchups. This is one of those disappointing losses that can linger, though the schedule does ease up with Florida as the only ranked team left on the schedule. 

For Saban, this was a statement game to make sure everyone who questioned Alabama's status as one of the nation's elite teams in 2015 knew his team was not going gently into that good night. 

Coker will ultimately determine how high the Crimson Tide's ceiling is, but with Henry running over everyone and a talented defense starting to jell, the rest of the SEC will be on high alert. 

Postgame Reaction

In typical Saban fashion, he didn't seem to get too enthusiastic about a single win after it was over. 

Per Marq Burnett of the Anniston Star, Saban started the game in a foul mood because of what he saw from his team during warm-ups:

Most coaches would like seeing the fire and passion before a big game, but Saban apparently wants to make sure his players have all of their energy channeled where it needs to be after kickoff. 

Also from Burnett, Saban noted that there was only so far the game plan coming into the game could get the Crimson Tide:

There were a lot of factors at play in Alabama's win, but Coker started everything. Quarterbacks are too important in football today, whether it's at the college or pro level, and Saban was pleased with what his signal-caller was able to do, via Rachel Baribeau of SiriusXM's College Sports Nation:

Things were not as cheerful on the Richt side of things, per Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News:

That's about as apt a description of what happened, as four of Alabama's five touchdowns came in about a nine-minute span from the end of the second quarter to the start of the third quarter. 

As far as what to say after a loss like this in the locker room, via Hurt, Richt laid it all out there as bluntly as possible: