TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The defense was the root of Georgia football's problems tonight, but things weren't that great on offense either as Carson Beck got outplayed by Jalen Milroe in what was projected — and turned out — to be a brutal quarterback battle.

As No. 1 Georgia took on No. 4 Alabama under the stars Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium and lost 41-34, the redshirt senior quarterback didn't look like himself.

At least for the first 30 minutes.

In the fourth quarter, Beck managed to throw a massive touchdown pass to Dillon Bell to take the lead — even if said lead was for the first time all night and only for a measly two seconds before Alabama retaliated.

"I don't know that there was a huge difference (between Carson in the halves)," head coach Kirby Smart said. "We had four downs to do everything in the second half, so the four downs made a big difference, because when you've got four, you've got a couple to waste in there. We got to the point where we had to be aggressive and go fast, which opened some things up.

"I'm really proud of the way (Beck) played. One of the interceptions was not his fault. He did what he had to do, but the fumble was probably what he's going to look back on and say, 'Man, it's 1st and 10, just throw it away, we don't have to make a play there.'"

In the first half, Beck completed 8 of 17 passing attempts for an even 100 yards and zero touchdowns, while Milroe completed 18 of 21 for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Milroe's completion rate was almost double Beck's.

Beck came into the evening with zero interceptions on the season. He's actually only recorded eight in his career, two of them in 2021 off 23 passing attempts and the other six as a starter in 2023 off 417 passing attempts.

But Alabama's defense was on another level as they quickly tallied two.

"Can't sit there and hang our head," Beck told other reporters. "When that does happen, we've got to learn how to respond and execute. It is what it is."

The first pass, aimed for Oscar Delp, was snagged by Domani Jackson and returned for seven yards. The second pass wasn't as clear, leaving a question hanging: Who was he aiming for?

It sure didn't do him any justice, the fated drops in the backfield by Delp and the likes. Neither did the fumbles, like the critical one at the start of the fourth quarter that flipped possession back to Alabama, who was up by 18 points.

The game was called, and Milroe took a knee after a brutal, and third, interception in the end zone by Zabien Brown turned the tide with 34 seconds remaining.

By the end of the game, Beck completed 27 of 50 passing attempts for 439 yards, three interceptions and three touchdowns, which were a 12-yard dot to Arian Smith, an 8-yard lob to Lawson Luckie and a 67-yard rocket to Dillon Bell. He set three career-highs, far surpassing his performances in 2023: 439 passing yards previously was 389 at Kentucky; 50 passing attempts was previously 39 at Vanderbilt; and 67 yards is his longest pass since he threw 55 yards at Florida.

Milroe ended the night completing 22 of 26 passing attempts for 267 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

"I think momentum was a huge factor, especially in college football," Beck told other reporters. "We're on the road, they're home, they get going, and their fans were riled up, and that's not easy. It's not easy to try and continuously go and dig yourself out of that hole, but we were able to, and I'm proud of us. There were just too many mistakes.

"You can sit there and said should've, would've, could've, it is what it is. I could sit here and say this would've happened and we won, or this would've happened, and we won, but it really doesn't matter. What happened, happened, and we've got to move on. ... One of our four core DNA traits is this resiliency."

Georgia (3-1, 1-1 SEC) will host Auburn (2-3, 0-2) on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 3:30 p.m. ET, kicking off a two-game homestand.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: UGA QB Carson Beck looked more like himself in second half vs. Alabama