Alabama beats Georgia in overtime thriller to win another college football national title

Alabama beats Georgia for college football title
(Image credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Alabama, down 13-0 at the end of the first half, scored 20 points in the second half of Monday night's College Football Playoff championship game in Atlanta and another 6 points in overtime to beat the Georgia Bulldogs, 26-23, for the national title. This is the Crimson Tide's 17th national championship overall and its fifth since 2009 under head coach Nick Saban, who is now tied with Paul "Bear" Bryant as the winningest head coach in college football.

The game went into overtime when Alabama missed a 37-yard field goal at the end of regulation time. Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, a true freshman who replaced starting quarterback Jalen Hurts at halftime, threw the winning 41-yard touchdown to another freshman, DeVonta Smith, negating a 51-yard overtime field goal from Georgia's Rodrigo Blankenship.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.