The Alabama defense collapsed with a big lead Saturday night in a 41-34 win over Georgia , and Alabama even briefly fell behind 34-33 after the Bulldogs connected on completions of 30, 47 and 67 yards on three consecutive fourth-quarter pass attempts over two possessions, resulting in two very quick touchdowns and a stunned sellout crowd at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Nobody was more bothered by it than Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack. But the former South Alabama coach isn't panicking, and said Monday that playing with a big lead — UA led 30-7 at one point — can be challenging defensively.
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"When you go up 30-7, you're playing a very different style game from a defensive perspective. Now (Georgia) essentially has four downs to get a first down. What they did, and as most teams would do, they're going to be much more aggressive on first and second down. Take more shots downfield knowing that they'll be in a go scenario on fourth down," Wommack said. "It's one of the most challenging things to handle as a defense. It's even different than 2-minute, because you're now defending four downs and they can take their time, they can take those shots downfield."
Georgia kept its offense on the field on five fourth downs and converted them all, which bothered Wommack as much as anything. Had UA gotten a stop on any of those, he believes, the score might not have gotten so tight.
"We needed one more stop, one more takeaway, and certainly we needed to be able to clean up some of the big plays. If we get off the field on fourth down, some of those (big plays) don't happen in the first place," Wommack said.
Georgia targeted UA freshman cornerback Zabien Brown for much of the night, and beat him for multiple explosive plays in the second half that helped the Bulldogs turn a lopsided blowout into a thrilling finish. But it was Brown who came up with a game-clinching interception in the Alabama end zone with under a minute remaining.
"They took shots at him from the second play on, and he navigated that really well. A lot of the downfield throws I thought we did a really nice job on the majority of the night, but when you have 22 or 23 of them, they're going to connect on some, and they did against him in the second half of the game," Wommack said. "For him to stay locked into those moments and not be overwhelmed by the adversity won us the football game ultimately."
Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football DC Wommack explains defensive collapse in Georgia win
