Freshman Ryan Williams steals show in Alabama-Georgia classic

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While you were sleeping No. 25 Boise State handed Washington State its first loss of the season. And No. 10 Utah tripped up in a 23-10 home loss to Arizona.

Tuscaloosa Thriller

The Ryan Williams show

The biggest game of the season DELIVERED last night.

After No. 4 Alabama jumped to a 30-7 halftime lead against No. 2 Georgia, the Bulldogs crafted some fourth-quarter magic to get in position to pull off the biggest comeback in program history. After a tough first half, Georgia QB Carson Beck (27-of-50 passing for the night with three interceptions) connected with Dillon Bell for a 67-yard TD with 2:31 left to give the Dawgs their first lead.

But that lead lasted only 13 seconds. The Crimson Tide, behind an absolutely stunning performance by freshman WR Ryan Williams, responded en route to a 41-34 win.

Now, let’s talk more about Williams. The 17-year-old who reclassified to the 2024 class and should still be in high school had six receptions for 177 yards and one TD against Georgia. Through four games, Williams has accounted for 285 total yards and is averaging 28.5 yards per catch. The catches Williams makes are highlight-worthy alone, but the way he controls his body to advance the play is even more impressive.

Just look at his awareness here:

And then, of course, Williams had the game-winner in a 75-yard connection from Jalen Milroe.

Another stat to know: Milroe improved to 10-0 against the SEC as a starter.

And who said this game “wouldn’t matter” in the expanded College Football Playoff era? The emotional swings in Tuscaloosa gave us one of the best fourth quarters of football I’ve watched in a while.

Most Surprising Unbeatens

UNLV dominates despite drama

Georgia hasn’t recorded a tally in the loss column this early in a season since 2020. Just three times in the past 10 years have the Bulldogs not started 4-0 (2014, 2016 and 2020).

So while it’s a bit of a surprise to see Georgia excluded from the unbeaten ranks at this point in the season, a few undefeated teams are new to this club.

• Even with its starting QB voluntarily benching himself over an NIL dispute, UNLV stretched its undefeated start to 4-0 by blowing out Fresno State 59-14 yesterday. New starter Hajj-Malik Williams, a transfer from FCS Campbell, threw for 182 yards and three TDs while rushing for 119 yards and a score. The Rebels’ Oct. 25 game with Boise State could prove important in the Mountain West title/Playoff race.
• Army and Navy are both 4-0 for the first time since 1945. Army got here with the top defense in the AAC, holding each of its opponents to two touchdowns or less. Meanwhile, Navy has been lighting things up offensively, notably knocking off AAC favorite Memphis 56-44 last week. It’s not too early to start considering the possibility of an Army-Navy AAC championship with the Group of 5 Playoff bid on the line (they’re both 3-0 in the AAC). An interesting wrinkle: The annual Army-Navy game is scheduled for Dec. 14, which is after CFP Selection Day (Sunday, Dec. 8), meaning it won’t count in the committee’s ranking.
• Duke is unbeaten despite losing its coach Mike Elko (Texas A&M) and quarterback Riley Leonard (Notre Dame) during the offseason. Yesterday, the Dukies rallied from a 20-0 deficit against in-state rival North Carolina to win 21-20. Senior RB Star Thomas (great name) had a breakout game with 30 carries for 166 yards and one TD with another 45 yards receiving and an additional score. First-year coach Manny Diaz has the Blue Devils off to a 5-0 start, their best since they started 7-0 in 1994.
• Rutgers is 4-0 for the first time since 2012. The Scarlet Knights got to this point by beating Howard, Akron, Virginia Tech and Washington, the latter two as Rutgers staved off late comeback attempts. Kyle Monangai is a top-three running back in the nation with 589 yards total this season.
• Indiana is 5-0 and off to the best start for a first-year coach in program history under Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers rank third in the Big Ten in total offense (513.8 yards per game) and second in the conference in total defense (199.3 yards per game). Yesterday, IU overcame early mistakes — including two interceptions by QB Kurtis Rouke on the first two drives — to beat Maryland 42-28.
• Meanwhile, Cignetti’s former team, James Madison, hasn’t slipped up either. The Dukes put on another offensive show yesterday against Ball State in a 63-7 win, one week after their record-breaking 70-50 drubbing of North Carolina.
• Undefeated honorary mentions: No. 22 BYU (5-0), Pitt (4-0) and Liberty (4-0).

The MAC and the Pac-2 are the only FBS conferences that don’t have an undefeated team.

Other Scores to Know

Another SEC upset

• Kentucky upset No. 6 Ole Miss 20-17 to claim its highest-ranked road win since 1977. Two weeks after taking Georgia to the brink, the Wildcats (3-2) prevailed as the Rebels (4-1) shanked their score-tying field goal attempt in the final minute.
• No. 13 USC (3-1) used a second-half shutout to rally past Wisconsin (2-2) and get its first Big Ten win by a 38-21 score. The Badgers built a 21-10 halftime lead but couldn’t hold on as Luke Fickell is now 0-4 against ranked teams as the Badgers coach.
• Arch Manning started his second consecutive game for No. 1 Texas (5-0) with starter Quinn Ewers still out with an injury. And in the redshirt freshman’s first SEC test, he completed 26 of his 31 throws en route to a 35-13 Longhorns win against Mississippi State (1-4).
• No. 23 Kansas State (4-1) bounced back from last week’s blowout loss to BYU to beat No. 20 Oklahoma State (3-2) 42-20.
• Ohio State freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith added to his highlight reel in the 4-0 Buckeyes’ 38-7 win against Michigan State (3-2).
• Colorado (4-1) topped UCF (3-1) 48-21 as two-way star Travis Hunter continued to make his Heisman case.
• No. 9 Penn State (4-0) held on against No. 19 Illinois (4-1) for a 21-7 win at Beaver Stadium. But in the win, the Nittany Lions’ issues at kicker became obvious.
• No. 12 Michigan (4-1) held off a fourth-quarter rally by Minnesota (2-3) to avoid disaster and win 27-24.

Quick Snaps

Stewart Mandel shares his thoughts on the Alabama-Georgia classic and much more from Week 5.

The “College GameDay” crew got into the UNLV–Matthew Sluka drama yesterday, and Nick Saban may have taken the wrong approach.

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(Top photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)