Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer compared Saturday night’s 24-21 victory at Georgia to an classic championship boxing match, while quarterback Ty Simpson went even farther back in history.

The Crimson Tide led 24-14 at halftime, then made several defensive stops in the second half to pull out their 10th win in their last 11 games vs. the Bulldogs. Alabama improves to 3-1 this season, 1-0 in the SEC.

“We talked about the old-school, 15-round heavyweight fight, and that’s what it turned out to be,” DeBoer said in his post-game comments to ABC’s Laura Rutledge. “I’m proud of the fight these guys have. We took some punches now and then, but we just kept punching back. These guys just keep getting better and better as we see today. That’s a heck of a team we just faced right there, especially on the road in this environment.”

Simpson also won in his first career SEC road start, snapping Georgia’s 33-game home winning streak. The redshirt junior completed 24 of 38 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for a score.

“My teammates stepped up,” Simpson said. “I couldn’t do it without them. I’m just so proud of this team. I told them before the game, when we walk out there, we’re gladiators. This is the Colosseum and they played like.”

DeBoer is now 7-1 vs. Top 10 opponents in his head-coaching career. He’s also 2-0 vs. Georgia’s Kirby Smart, who falls to 1-7 vs. Alabama.

“We’ve got great people around us,” DeBoer said. “Keep them believing, keep them fighting, keep getting better. When you find a way to find an edge, be sure you use it.”

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