Alabama hands No.1 Georgia its first loss to win SEC Title By DJ Hamilton

 

    It seems like the Crimson’s Tide’s run will never end, as No.3 Alabama (12-1) defeated No.1 Georgia Bulldogs (12-1) in a 41-24 beatdown to hand them their first loss of the season. This win not only makes Alabama the SEC champions, but also helps them solidify a spot in the College Football Playoffs.

Hesiman candidate and Alabama’s sophomore quarterback Bryce Young had a marvelous game, throwing for a whopping 421 yards for three touchdowns on 26-of 44 completions! Talk about production and getting the job done against the best defense in the country at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Alabama (12-1) won for the seventh straight time over Georgia, with four of those wins coming right here in Atlanta either in the SEC championship game or national championship game. 

Alabama coach Nick Saban moved to 4-0 against his former assistant, Kirby Smart, whose Bulldogs never had any answers for Young and an Alabama offense that rolled up 536 total yards. Georgia’s defense, which has multiple projected future first round NFL Draft picks in players such as nose guard Jordan Davis, inside linebacker Nakobe Dean and safety Lewis Cine, just to name a few, in what is considered the best defense in recent memory, allowing just seven touchdowns in 44 quarters entering the game. 

    But that would be the total opposite in this game as Alabama showed why they’re the best football program in College Football by scoring three touchdowns in the first half and would take a 24-17 lead heading into the half. The lead would only grow from there with Alabama pushing it to 38-17 early in the fourth quarter when Alabama safety Jordan Battle took a Stetson Bennett interception 42 yards to the house for a touchdown!

    The win for Alabama made a lot of history as the SEC title was Alabama's sixth in the past eight years, and the Crimson Tide will be heading back to the College Football Playoff for the seventh time in eight years, potentially as the No. 1 seed. This was the first time Alabama had been an underdog in 92 straight games, dating back to a 38-10 win over Georgia in 2015.

    The win also gave Saban his eighth win over a No. 1-ranked team, the most by any coach in the AP poll era, which dates back to 1936. Young also set an SEC championship game record with 461 yards of total offense, passing for 286 of his 421 yards in the first half, helping Alabama explode for 24 points in the second quarter-the most points scored in any quarter in an SEC championship game after Georgia got off to a 10-0 lead early. 

    Alabama’s offensive line did a tremendous job in protecting Young so he could work his magic in the passing game, and he also had help from wide receiver Jameson Williams who shredded the Georgia secondaries for 184 yards on seven catches and two touchdowns with one of their top receivers John Metchie III, who suffered what Tide officials believes to be a torn ACL in the left knee in the first half and will miss the College Football Playoffs.

    Bennett finished with 340 passing yards and three touchdowns but was intercepted twice. Any chance the Dawgs had of mounting a comeback was snatched out of their hands in the third quarter when they made two red-zone trips and came away empty. Georgia had not been in a close game all season and it showed in tight situations when they were unable to get stops against Young and the Tide’s offense and failed to finish vital drives on offense.

As disappointing as the loss was for Georgia, the Bulldogs will still be a part of the College Football Playoffs, but it is Alabama who are the SEC Champions.

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