Physicality wasn't the problem for Alabama football defense vs Georgia

When asked about Alabama football's defensive performance in its 20-17 loss to Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 10, coach Kalen DeBoer talked about Gunner Stockton .

The Georgia quarterback was clutch, DeBoer said. Stockton was in control and efficient. Combining that with a Bulldogs run game that had 206 rushing yards and averaged 5.3 yards per carry, "it's tough to stop."

Alabama forced four fumbles, none of which were secured by the Crimson Tide defense. The Crimson Tide had a Bray Hubbard interception and another by QB Reese that was later overturned by the officiating crew.

"You make your own breaks," DeBoer said. "You make your own breaks."

But it's not that Alabama played poorly defensively. Alabama allowed 455 yards and 20 points to the top scoring offense in the country. The approach was the same too, using turnovers and attempted pressure to try and beat the Bulldogs.

Alabama defensive back Keon Sabb saw a unit that didn't live up to "the standard" on its opportunities to get off the field, whether it be on third down or "bang-bang plays."

But neither he nor defensive back Bray Hubbard doubted Alabama's "physicality."

"Physicality was there," Sabb said. "They made plays, we made plays. But our physicality was there for sure."

"We played physical all night," Hubbard added. "I'm not going to ever say we didn't play physical, because that's a physical team. We matched their physicality and brought it to a higher level."

Alabama hustled. Alabama gave "everything" against Georgia. The effort was there.

"There's just some execution errors or just us being a step slow or just short of getting the football," DeBoer said. "That's the difference in the game."

Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram @colingaytnews .