Georgia Bulldogs take control in 4th quarter, win rematch vs. Alabama Crimson

INDIANAPOLIS — Georgia‘s 41-year wait is over.

With 54 seconds left in Monday night’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game Presented by AT&T, Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo intercepted Alabama quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and returned it 79 yards for a touchdown — the longest pick-six in championship game history — cementing the Bulldogs’ 33-18 win over the Crimson Tide and the program’s first national championship since 1980.

As the clock expired, the Georgia assistant coaches bolted to the elevators in the shaking press box at Lucas Oil Stadium, with one yelling, “Hell yeah!” as they thundered out cheering together.

While it was a familiar matchup featuring two teams that faced each other in the 2018 national title game and again in this year’s SEC Championship Game — both Alabama wins — it was a wildly different outcome before an announced crowd of 68,311. In the 2018 national championship, Alabama beat Georgia in overtime 26-23.

Some things do change.

Alabama’s streak of seven wins in the series — a streak that began in 2008 — was broken. Alabama coach Nick Saban is now 25-2 against his former assistants, with both losses coming this season — Monday night against Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who served under him at Alabama, and during the regular season against Texas A&M‘s Jimbo Fisher, who was Saban’s offensive coordinator at LSU.

In spite of the critics who lamented the rematch, there was no shortage of drama or entertainment between the all-too familiar foes. What began as a defensive slugfest with no touchdowns in the first half evolved into a showcase of big plays, with both teams trading touchdowns and missing two-point conversions in the fourth quarter. They delivered a thriller that was 180 degrees different from their game a month ago in the SEC championship, when Alabama manhandled Georgia up front for a resounding 41-24 win.

Monday’s title game was littered with costly penalties, and one bizarre ruling on the field that led to an 18-13 Alabama lead. With 11:35 remaining, the officials ruled that Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett fumbled the ball when he was sacked by Christian Harris, and that Alabama’s Brian Branch recovered it just before he ran out of bounds, landing the Tide on Georgia’s 16-yard line.

At first glance it looked like it was an incomplete pass, but the ball bounced before it went out of bounds, and Branch snagged it, with replay video showing his foot still inbounds. A few plays later, Young eluded the rush and found Cameron Latu for a 3-yard touchdown that put Alabama up 18-13 with 10:14 left in the fourth.

It began as a difficult night for Bennett, who was sacked four times, flagged for intentional grounding twice and had the fumble. In the end, though, the former walk-on continued to do what he’s done his entire career: overcome obstacles and naysayers.

With 8:09 remaining, Bennett found Adonai Mitchell for a 40-yard touchdown pass that gave the Bulldogs a precarious 19-18 lead. Georgia, which had a stagnant passing game for most of the night, covered 75 yards in four plays on that drive, but came up short on the two-point conversion.

With 3:33 to play, Bennett…