ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Ty Simpson passed for 276 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score as No. 17 Alabama held on late to beat No. 5 Georgia 24-21 on Saturday night and hand the Bulldogs their first home loss in six years.
Alabama (3-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) has won three straight since opening the season with a 31-17 loss at Florida State.
“It’s another step in the right direction for our team,” coach Kalen DeBoer said. “They’re already talking, you know, they’re not done with their improvement, and we’ve been really focusing on that ... not getting caught up in anything else other than what we could control. And I’m super proud of them for that.”
Georgia (3-1, 1-1) fell behind 17-7 in the first half and never led. The Bulldogs fell to 1-7 against Alabama under coach Kirby Smart, the Crimson Tide's former defensive coordinator.
Alabama ended Georgia's home winning streak at 33. It was the longest active streak among FBS schools and included 10 wins against Top 25 teams.
“I'm just so proud of the team and Alabama in general,” Simpson said. “I told them before the game, `It's Alabama against the world.'”
With the Crimson Tide leading 24-21 early in the fourth quarter, defensive lineman LT Overton dropped Georgia running back Cash Jones for a 2-yard loss on a fourth-and-1 run from the Alabama 8.
“That play has been really successful for us,” Smart said. “We missed a block that you’ve got to make and they ran through it and made a really good stop.”
After forcing a punt on Georgia's final possession, Alabama held the ball for the final 3 minutes, 19 seconds.
Georgia trailed 21-7 at halftime of its a 44-41 overtime win at Tennessee last week. After falling behind 17-7 against the Crimson Tide, the Bulldogs couldn't complete another comeback.
Freshman Chauncey Bowens, who had 12 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown, took over as Georgia’s go-to running back after starter Nate Frazier’s lost fumble in the second quarter.
“It's not his first one,” said Smart of Frazier's fumble.
“It was more about Chauncey being the hot back than anything Nate was doing.”
Bowens and Dillon Bell each had 43-yard runs as Georgia ran for 227 yards but passed for only 130.
A booth-initiated review resulted in a targeting call against Alabama defensive tackle James Smith on a third-quarter hit on Bowens. Smith was disqualified.
The 33-game home winning streak was a school record. Georgia’s last home loss came on Oct. 12, 2019, a 20-17 loss to South Carolina in double overtime.
Alabama: Following its third consecutive win, Alabama likely will make a big move up in the AP Top 25. Led by Simpson, the Crimson Tide won the game on third downs on both sides of the ball. The offense converted 12 of 19 third downs while holding the Bulldogs to only two successful conversions on eight attempts.
“We did not play well on third down, and it pretty much showed all night,” Smart said.
Georgia: The home loss could send the Bulldogs down at least a few spots in the next Top 25. The Bulldogs struggled again with missed tackles in their first game after giving up 496 yards at Tennessee. The defense gave up 262 yards in the first half as Alabama scored on four of five possessions.
Alabama: The Crimson Tide will host No. 18 Vanderbilt next Saturday. The Commodores improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2008 by beating Utah State 55-35.
Georgia: The Bulldogs host Kentucky, which lost to South Carolina 35-13, in another SEC game next Saturday,
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Georgia running back Chauncey Bowens, left, runs with the ball against Alabama defensive back Bray Hubbard, right, during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”
U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”
Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.
The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.
The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.
The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.
According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Galileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.
As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”
However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.
Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)
