College Football Old School Game of the Week: Dawgs Prove They Are "Man Enough" To Beat Bama

Georgia quarterback David Greene would throw two touchdown passes in leading the Bulldogs a 27-25 win over Alabama in 2002.

There are times in a college football season when a team is at a crossroads or its character gets questioned.

For the 2002 Georgia Bulldogs, that came went traveled to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Bulldogs entered the game ranked #7 with a 4-0 record under second-year head coach Mark Richt.

Despite the fact they were undefeated, the Dawgs had looked sluggish through September, with their offense failing to gain over 300 yards in three of their four wins, including a 13-7 win over South Carolina which featured David Pollack's incredible pick-six in the end zone.

This led former Auburn head coach and Georgia offensive lineman Pat Dye to say that the Dawgs were not "man enough" to beat Alabama.

Alabama entered the Georgia game ranked #22 with a 4-1 record with their only loss coming to Oklahoma 37-27 in the second week of the season.

The Tide would bounce back from the Oklahoma loss with a three-game winning streak as they held their next three opponents to a combined 26 points.

They was also the fact that the game was being played in Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, a place Georgia had never won in seven tries, though they had beaten the Tide a number of times in Birmingham.

With their manhood questioned and history going against them, the Alabama game was a gutcheck game for the Dawgs.

The Tide would get the ball to start the game but would be forced to punt the back to Georgia who took over at their 18-yard-line.

The Dawgs would drive to the Bama 25-yard-line when disaster appear to strike when quarterback David Greene fumbled the snap, which was recovered by Alabama linebacker Derrick Pope, who returned all the way to the Georgia one-yard-line, only to have it called back because Georgia was called for a false start nullifying the fumble and meaning Georgia would keep the football.

Then after wide receiver Fred Gibson drew a pass interference penalty to give Georgia a 1st down at the Tide 15-yard-line, running back Musa Smith took a toss sweep and ran to the left side for the 15-yard touchdown to give the Dawgs a 7-0 lead with 9:04 left in the first quarter.

Musa Smith carried the ball 21 times for 126 yards and scored a touchdown.

Following the Smith touchdown, the Tide got the ball at their 29-yard-line and proceeded to drive to the Georgia 31-yard-line thanks to two completions by Croyle, one to running back Shaud Williams for 14 yards and the other to Dre Fulgham for 27 yards.

However, the Tide would pick up only one more yard on the next three plays, forcing them to settle for a 47-yard field goal by Michael Ziifle to cut the Dawgs' lead to 7-3 with 5:16 left in the opening quarter.

The Dawgs seemed to poise to score again after Terrence Edwards returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to the Bama 42-yard-line, only to have Greene be intercepted by cornerback Gerald Dixon to give the Tide the ball back at their 36-yard-line.

After both teams punted on their ensuing possessions, the Tide  had the ball at their 24-yard-line with 14:10 left in the second quarter.

Ray Hudson's 28-yard-run on the second play of the drive put the Tide in Georgia territory at the Dawgs' 42-yard-line as Bama would drive to the Georgia 10-yard-line before having to call on Ziifle to attempt a 28-yard field goal.

That is when David Pollack struck again as he blocked the field goal, which was picked up by defensive back Bruce Thornton, whose 15-yard return gave the Dawgs the ball at their 24-yard-line.

From there, the Dawgs would drive 76 yards in seven plays, culminating in a spectacular 42-yard touchdown catch by Gibson from a Greene pass which extended the Georgia lead to 14-3 midway through the second quarter.

Both teams would trade punts until the Tide got the ball in Georgia territory at the Dawgs 38-yard-lien with just over two minutes to go in the first half.

After two passes picked up eight yards, Croyle went deep and found Fulgham for a 30-yard touchdown to make it 14-9 as Brian Bostick missed the extra point.

Georgia would run out the clock as the first half came to an end with the Dawgs on top 14-9.

The Dawgs got the ball to start the second half but on the second play of the drive gave it right back to the Tide as Greene fumbled the football which was recovered by Alabama cornerback HIchel Bolden, whose five-yard return set up the Bama offense at the Georgia 16-yard-line.

But on the very next play, Croyle fumbled the football right back, which was recovered by Georgia defensive tackle Darrius Swain to give the Dawgs the ball back at thier 22-yard-line.

From there, the Dawgs traveled 54 yards in 11 plays, with the drive capped off with a 43-yard field goal by Billy Bennett which extended Georgia's lead to 17-9 with 10:14 to go in the third quarter.

After another exchange of punts, the Tide got the ball at their 27-yard-line and ran the ball six straight times, picking up 28 yards until Croyle fired a 24-yard pass to Zach Fletcher to give Bama a 1st down at the Georgia 21-yard-line.

But the Dawgs defense would stiffen, allowing only two more yards on the next three plays to force the Tide to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Ziifle to make a five point game at 17-12 with just 18 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Dawgs would begin their next drive at their 28-yard-line when Greene caught fire as he completed back-to-back passes to Gibson to begin the drive, first connecting with Gibson for 17 yards on the final play of the third quarter, then hitting him again for 16 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Then on 3rd & 10 from the Bama 39-yard-line, Greene would hit Damien Gary for 17 yards and a 1st down, only to have Gary be called for taunting after the catch, meaning the Dawgs got a new set of downs, but only picking up two yards instead of 17 yards.

The penalty would not haunt the Dawgs as on the next play, Greene went deep to throw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Edwards to increase the Georgia lead to 24-12 with 13:32 left in the 4th quarter.

Alabama quarterback Brodie Croyle dives for a touchdown early in the 4th quarter.

Desperately needing a touchdown, the Tide would drive 68 yards in nine plays, capped with Croyle diving for a one-yard touchdown which trimmed the Dawgs' lead to 24-19 with 9:27 left in the 4th quarter.

Then on the Dawgs' second play from scrimmage after Croyle's touchdown, Greene threw a pass to Gibson, which bobbled off his hands and into the arms of cornerback Charlie Peprah, whose returned it 35 yards for a pick-six which gave Alabama its first lead of the game at 25-24.

The Tide offense came on for a two-point conversion in an attempt to make a three-point game, but Croyle was stopped short of the end zone, keeping the score 25-24 with 8:24 left in regulation.

After a 42-yard return by Gibson on the ensuing kickoff, the Dawgs had the ball at their 42-yard-line and drove to the Bama 38-yard-line until Greene was sacked by Alabama free safety Charles Jones, dropping him for a seven-yard-loss and forcing Georgia to punt the ball back to Bama who took over at their 13-yard-line with 5:27 to go in the game.

The Dawgs defensewould force a three-and-out to give the ball back to their offense, who took over at the Alabama 34-yard-line following a 15-yard punt return by Gary.

With 3:45 left on the clock, Richt decided to call on the running game to drain as much time off the clock while giving Bennett a better chance at making the field goal with a closer field.

Greene handed the ball off to Smith five straight times, who picked up 18 yards, which was followed by an one-yard run by Greene to put the ball in the middle of the field for Bennett's 32-yard field goal attempt with 42 seconds left.

Bennett came on and calmly drilled the 32-yard kick to give the Dawgs a 27-25 lead with 38 seconds left.

Billy Bennett(30) and JT Wall(49) celebrate after Bennett's 32-yard field goal with 38 seconds left gave Georgia a 27-25 lead.

Any chances of the Tide driving down the field for a potential game-winning field goal died on the first play after the field goal as Georgia safety Thomas Davis picked off a Croyle pass, allowing for Greene to come onto the field and take a knee to run out the clock in the Dawgs' 27-25 win, their first ever win in Tuscaloosa.

The Tide would finish the season with a 10-3 record, which was good enough for best in the SEC West Division, but the Tide were in the first season of a two-year postseason ban meaning they were ineligible to play in the SEC Championship Game.

After the season, Dennis Franchione shockingly left Tuscaloosa to become the head coach at Texas A&M after just two seasons at Alabama.

Franchione would be replaced by former Alabama quarterback Mike Shula who lead the Tide to a 26-23 record over four seasons before he was fired and replaced by Nick Saban, who would bring in the most dominant era of Alabama football.

As for the Dawgs, their win over Alabama would help propel them to their first SEC championship in 20 years as they defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks 30-3 in the SEC Title game, then defeated Florida State 26-13 in the Sugar Bowl to finish the season with a 13-1 record and #3 final ranking.

Even though they did not play for a national title, the 2002 Georgia Bulldogs proved they were "man enough".