Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

With their backs against the wall after what would have been the biggest collapse in a game involving top-5 teams, Alabama called on the youngest players on the entire field to throw two thunderous counter punches against the second biggest bullies of the past decade. .

And tuGeorgia.

Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium was a heavyweight title fight in the truest sense of the word. Ever since Ali and Frazier threw hands in Manila, two entities so rich in pedigree, talent and moxie have not delivered the kind of football that everyone who saw it will remember for a very long time.

Final score: No. 2 Alabama 41, No. 4 Georgia 34.

But that doesn’t even scratch the surface of the storyline on a cool fall evening in Tuscaloosa. In front of a crazy 100,000 plus, including former President Donald Trump, Alabama jumped out to a ridiculous 30-7 lead in the first half and then had to somehow engineer a late comeback to hang on by their pinky nails.

In a world of instant gratification that seemingly breathlessly anoints ‘Game of the Century’ titles every other week, this was a bona fide instant classic.

For the first 30 minutes, it was legitimately all Alabama. Quarterback Jalen Milroe sliced ​​the Bulldogs for 199 passing yards, 106 rushing yards and a 30-7 lead, allowing bar stool-sitting observers in Iowa to let their eyes wander elsewhere.

This was the best Joyless Murderball, the kind that Alabama made its mark under former coach Nick Saban. It brought back memories of Georgia’s instantly forgettable “Black Out” game against Alabama at Sanford Stadium in 2008 — a game in which the Tide stripped the home team between its own hedges so deftly that Georgia didn’t unpack those black uniform tops again. decades.

“We haven’t had an answer for Milroe,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said at halftime, which was also a remarkable – and true – statement from a coach who was 1-5 against Saban and is now 0-1 against new Tide coach Kalen DeBoer .

But just when you thought Georgia was ready to return to Athens with its 42-game regular season winning streak, the Bulldogs woke up. Quarterback Carson Beck, who saw ghosts all over Bryant-Denny Stadium, suddenly gained 20/20 field vision: He threw three touchdown passes in the final 30 minutes to lead his team out of the darkness.

A 12-yard Beck TD dart to Arian Smith in the third quarter had the Tide faithful thinking, “Okay, at least they’re trying.” And when Beck Lawson hit Luckie for an eight-yard score with 9:46 to play to make it 33-21, the thought had to be, “Okay, boy, enough is enough.”

But while Milroe and Alabama were sputtering, Beck and Georgia were drinking methanol and galloping up and down Saban Field. Dillon Bell’s 3-yard touchdown run with 5:39 left brought the Dawgs to within 5 points. And Bell then somehow got open behind the Tide secondary for a 67-yard TD reception with 2:21 left to make it 34-33 Georgia.

That lead? It took exactly 13 seconds.

His team absorbed all of Georgia’s best punches and was now behind on the judges’ scorecards. It was time for Alabama’s youngest player on the field to make his presence felt. Just 17 years old, but with the precociousness of youth on his side, Ryan “Hollywood” Williams hauled in a thrilling 75-yard touchdown pass from Milroe – a play in which he literally tied two Bulldogs defenders into such knots that they crashed into each other walked. at one point he tried to lay land on him.

However, Williams wasn’t the only freshman who ultimately made a difference for the Tide. Cornerback Zabien Brown, who along with the rest of the Tide defense was scorched for most of the second half of the game, stepped in front of a Beck pass in the end zone for the game-clinching turnover that also avoided several thousand implanted defibrillators . is needed everywhere in Alabama.

“We knew we were going to get that push back from them, but our guys came back with a little firepower of their own to make the play when we needed them most,” DeBoer said after the game as the entire Tide Nation exhaled.

“The biggest thing we have on our team is grit, determination and commitment from everyone on our team,” Milroe added as “Yea Alabama” echoed through the night. “We have confidence in each other, confidence in our training. We just kept attacking.”

The victim was once again the burly guy under the crosshairs on the other side. At this rate, on the silent flight back to Athens, Smart had to wonder exactly what path he should take to the top of college football to solve Alabama 2.0.

In addition to one of the most exciting games in recent history, Saturday evening was confirmation for Alabama. Confirmation that athletics director Greg Byrne made the right move by signing DeBoer from Washington. Confirmation that the Southeastern Conference still passes through Tuscaloosa. Confirmation that Saban’s legacy – for at least another year – will not go quietly into the good night.

Yes, this was one game, as humiliating as it ultimately was for the Bulldogs. Yes, it’s still September and only Week 4. And yes, Georgia is in both the SEC Championship picture and the College Football Playoff conversation.

No, Alabama hasn’t won anything other than a conference game in September. No, Alabama won’t be happy with the second-half disappointment on both sides of the ball. And no, DeBoer won’t be posing for a new bronze statue to match those of Wade, Thomas, Bryant, Stallings and Saban anytime soon.

But for 60 minutes on one of college football’s most hallowed grounds, a statement was made very clearly by the home team. In the opening stanza of the DeBoer era, the Alabama Crimson Tide hasn’t budged an inch in the national consciousness.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.