Why Germie Bernard Had 'Green Light' to Score Game-Winning Touchdown

COLUMBIA, S.C. –– No. 4 Alabama took down South Carolina 29-22 on the road on Saturday, and as the final score suggests, it came down to the wire.

The Gamecocks had the ball with the game tied at 22 with two minutes remaining in regulation. The student section migrated down to the field level, anticipating a win and a field storming. But, Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson forced a fumble and defensive tackle Tim Keenan III recovered to give the Crimson Tide the ball in scoring range.

On the fourth play, wide receiver Germie Bernard was in the shotgun and took the direct snap 25 yards into the end zone with 34 seconds remaining. Bernard walked through the play call after the game, as he commended offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb for drawing it up.

"We've been repping that play all throughout the week," Bernard said. "Coach Grubb said he'd call it in a crucial moment, he called it and we just had to execute...I think coach Grubb dialed up a good play call and we executed it to the best of our abilities. Coach said 'We're gonna make sure that we score,' so that's what I was focused on."

"I believe in coach Grubb 1,000 percent," Bernard said. He puts in relentless hours putting in plays for us so we could go out there and execute. Whatever play he calls, we just go out there with no questions asked...He wants to be the best that he can and he shows it every Saturday. He shows it every Saturday...We've got a bunch and we just continue to rep them. Coach trusts us, and whenever he calls them, we just try our best to make the play happen."

Bernard could've went down near the goal line and Alabama would've attempted a chip-shot field goal as time expired, and he admitted that it was "easy" to score because the South Carolina defense wanted its offense to get the ball back. Nevertheless, Bernard got the green light to score, and DeBoer evaluated the play.

"We got all the trust in the world," DeBoer said during the postgame press conference. "You've seen us every week have different things that we do where he's lined up in a Wildcat and get him out of the backfield, throw him the ball, double pass opportunities. Guys who are disciplined, the game slows down for them. You give them the opportunities as much as possible in critical moments to go make plays for you."

This was one of numerous trick plays that Grubb called on Saturday. DeBoer is a big fan of them and wants designs for these plays to keep on coming,

"Well, it keeps building because our staff is crazy sometimes," DeBoer said. "They just every week are adding to it. What I like to see is I like to see us work on plays, and a lot of times they don't get called that week. Which you start banking reps of each concept or each play. As you become more and more comfortable, the right opportunity pops up that's on the call sheet.

"You let it fly. I want our guys not flinching when those type of things come up. Let's just go do what we do. Again, you put it in the guys' hands that you trust and put the pressure on the other team by doing that."