Alabama’s 41-34 victory over Georgia on Saturday night likely doesn’t happen without one of the most amazingly athletic plays in Crimson Tide football history.
Ryan Williams’ 75-yard catch and run put Alabama on top to stay with 2:18 to play, just 13 seconds after the Bulldogs had taken their first lead of the game at 34-33. The freshman from Saraland leaped to catch an underthrown pass from Jalen Milroe, somehow stayed in bounds, spun between two Georgia defenders and was off to the end zone.
Considering the stakes of the game (No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 4 Alabama), the game situation (the Crimson Tide trailed after blowing a 28-0 lead) and the pure athleticism on display (off the charts), Williams’ touchdown has to rank among the greatest in program history.
But just how high on the list is it?
Here’s our Top 6, at least from the televised era Alabama football:
6. Tyrone Prothro’s catch vs. Southern Miss (Sept. 10, 2005)
Prothro’s incredible play to reach behind the back of Golden Eagles defender Jasper Faulk and somehow secure control of the ball is one of the most unbelievable plays you’ll ever see. In fact, it won an ESPY for College Football Play of the Year. The 42-yard grab also came on fourth-and-12 and helped Alabama overcome a 21-10 deficit in a game it would go on to win 30-21. It was originally ruled a touchdown before replay overturned the call and gave the Crimson Tide the ball on the Southern Miss 1 (Alabama scored on the next play).
4. The Goal Line Stand vs. Penn State (Jan. 1, 1979)
Perhaps the iconic play (or series of plays) of the Paul “Bear” Bryant era of Alabama football, the Crimson Tide stopped No. 1 Penn State at the 1-yard line on three straight plays to preserve a 14-7 victory in the Sugar Bowl. Don McNeal’s second-down tackle of Scott Fitzkee on the 1 is largely forgotten, but was just as fantastic as the third- and fourth-down stops of running backs Matt Suhey and Mike Guman. Alabama linebacker Barry Krauss was at the center of the action, meeting Guman at the top of the pile to stonewall him short of the end zone on fourth down. No. 2 Alabama held on to win the game and claimed the fifth of six national titles under Bryant.
3. Second-and-26 vs. Georgia (Jan. 8, 2018)
In terms of pure significance of the moment, it doesn’t get much bigger than a touchdown to win in overtime in the national championship game when your team is down by three. Tua Tagovailoa’s 41-yard touchdown pass to Devonta Smith — a play after he’d been sacked for a 16-yard loss — gave Alabama the walk-off victory and the fifth of six titles under Nick Saban. The only points you might deduct from this one would be because it wasn’t an especially difficult or athletic play by the quarterback or receiver. Georgia blew the coverage so badly that Smith was essentially wide open and Tagovailoa only had to get the ball near him.
3. Ryan Williams vs. Georgia (Sept. 28, 2024)
Maybe it’s recency bias, but Williams’ game-winning touchdown vs. the Bulldogs on Saturday night merits this spot in our opinion. Alabama had just fallen behind after leading by four touchdowns, but Jalen Milroe went right to the air for his fantastic freshman. Williams outleaped Georgia’s Julian Humphrey for the ball, landed on one foot near the sideline to regain his balance, and then somehow burst between Humphrey and fellow defender KJ Bolden to shake loose on his way to the end zone. It was just an unbelievable play at an incredibly crucial moment for the Crimson Tide in a game that looked (at least temporarily) like it might be slipping away.
2. 4th & 31/Gravedigger vs. Auburn (Nov. 25, 2023)
So much was at stake here — a spot in the national championship race, a three-game winning streak over Auburn, and (even though we didn’t know it at the time) Nick Saban’s legacy. All that came together for perhaps the most-improbable win in recent Alabama history. The Crimson Tide had first-and-goal at the Auburn 8, but lost 18 yards on a bad snap, then five more when Milroe was called for an illegal forward pass. Backed up to the 31, the Alabama quarterback found a leaping Isaiah Bond in the back corner of the end zone with 32 seconds remaining for the winning touchdown of a 27-24 victory. The Crimson Tide went on to beat Georgia in the SEC championship game the following week before losing to Michigan in the Rose Bowl, which turned out to be Saban’s final game. If you’re going to deduct anything from this play, it’s that Auburn’s coverage was inexplicably soft.
1. George Teague’s strip vs. Miami (Jan. 1, 1993)
Yes, we know Alabama was offsides and this play didn’t actually count (because Miami accepted the penalty). It doesn’t matter. Teague’s phenomenal recovery and hustle to run down Miami’s Lamar Thomas and save what looked like a sure touchdown ended up being the signature moment of Crimson Tide football between the Bryant and Saban eras. It’s a play like few had ever seen before — and no one has seen since; not only that Teague caught Thomas, but that he ripped the ball out and hung onto it, all in one motion. Alabama already led 28-6 at the time, but any chances Miami might mount a comeback were gone at that point. Alabama ended up winning 34-13 and was national champions for the first time in 13 years.
So that’s our list. What did we leave off? Send us an email and let us know.
Creg Stephenson has worked for AL.com since 2010 and has covered college football for a variety of publications since 1994. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on X at @CregStephenson.
