Georgia ends Alabama’s SEC title run, eyes playoff bye week

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton is off to a much faster start against Alabama in Saturday’s SEC Championship than he was against in-state rival Georgia Tech last week.

Stockton capped off the Bulldogs’ dominant 28-7 victory over the Crimson Tide at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with three touchdown passes, securing Georgia’s berth in the College Football Playoff (CFP).

Winning the SEC championship put Georgia (12-1) in a first-round playoff position, while Alabama (10-3) suffered its third loss of the year. The Tide is now in danger of missing out on one of the 12 CFB postseason berths.

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The win for head coach Kirby Smart and Georgia also ended Alabama’s dominance in recent dual meets between the schools.

The Tide had won each of the last four meetings in the SEC Championship Game, and Smart was just 1-7 overall against Alabama. Before Saturday, the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship was Smart’s only victory over an in-state school.

Smart has now coached Georgia to four conference titles.

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The Crimson Tide was believed to be in good position when it moved up to ninth in last week’s CFP rankings, but the lopsided loss to the Bulldogs renewed concerns that Alabama could miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season under head coach Kalen DeBoer.

After the loss, DeBoer maintained that the ninth-seeded Crimson Tide would not fall out of CFP contention.

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen Deboer watches the SEC Championship game against Georgia on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

“I think you look at the games we’ve played throughout the season, but if you really look at this game, it was a 14-point game with seven and a half minutes left and we had the ball,” DeBoer said. “You look at the things that didn’t go well; we gave them four shortstops. And again, I don’t want to take anything away from what Georgia did.

“The battle for field position is part of it. But we gave them four short fields. So that’s a testament to the resilience of our defense.”

Late in the first quarter, Daylen Everette’s interception on Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson’s pass deflected by KJ Bolden gave the Bulldogs the ball near midfield. Stockton’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Bell gave Georgia a 14-0 lead.

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson throws against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday in Atlanta. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

A block by London Humphreys easily scored on a 9-yard run by Nate Frazier, capping Georgia’s first possession of the second half and extending the lead to three touchdowns.

In 2018, Alabama pulled off the biggest comeback in SEC Championship Game history, beating Georgia 35-28 after trailing by 14 points.

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The latest CFP rankings and first-round matchups will be released on Sunday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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