The monkey is finally off of Kirby Smart’s back, as he can lay claim to a SEC Championship victory over Alabama. The Bulldogs were previously 0-4 against the Crimson Tide in conference title games, but now that’s over, and the Bulldogs have secured a first-round bye in this year’s college football playoffs. Here’s how the game unfolded.
Georgia Tops Bama for the SEC Championship
Georgia’s defense took the game over
The story of this game was Georgia’s defense resembling the dominant unit we’ve seen on past national championship teams, dominant on the line of scrimmage and aggressive in pursuing the quarterback and receivers. It made Alabama QB Ty Simpson look uncomfortable all game. Simpson completed 19 of 39 passes for 212 yards, throwing one touchdown and one interception. Georgia’s coverage was exceptional, making Simpson indecisive and hesitant in the pocket.
The most impressive aspect of this performance from the Georgia defense was that they held the Crimson Tide’s rushing attack to just -3 rushing yards on 16 carries for the entire game. Alabama’s rushing offense hasn’t been potent this season, but to hold them to less than zero rushing yards is incredible. The Alabama run game averaged -0.2 yards per carry, with a longest rush of just five yards.
Georgia created short fields for itself that set up its success, especially in the first half. Special teams played a factor early as the Bulldogs blocked a punt in Alabama territory mid-way through the first quarter, immediately leading to Georgia’s first touchdown of the game.
Simpsons’ subpar play continues
Since Alabama’s second loss of the season against Oklahoma, Simpson hasn’t played to the Heisman level that he had in the middle of the season. He added to his interception total in the Georgia game, throwing his fifth of the year in the SEC Championship. Simpson also finished the game with -28 rushing yards, as he was sacked three times. Before the Oklahoma game, Simpson had thrown only one interception all year. Since then, he has thrown four picks in four games, totaling five turnovers with a fumble lost as well.
Simpson finished his first conference title start with a QBR rating of 19.9, which is by far the worst QBR of his season. Before last night’s demolition, Simpson’s lowest QBR this season was in his first career start, against Florida State, posting a 41.1 QBR in what was also a blowout loss.
College Football Playoff implications
There was much debate throughout the weekend on whether Alabama would still qualify for the College Football Playoff if it had lost for a third time this year. With the loss coming in dominant fashion, many thought there was a real chance the Crimson Tide would be left out and jumped by teams like Notre Dame or Miami. The argument against the Crimson Tide couldn’t hold up, though. The Tide defeated Georgia earlier this season in Athens, which might be the best win in college football this season. Even though last night didn’t go their way, they’re still 1-1 against the Bulldogs this season
The rankings were revealed this morning, and the committee did the right thing by not penalizing Alabama for playing in a conference championship game. Alabama stays at no. 9 in the rankings and will now travel to Norman, Oklahoma, where they’ll face the no. 8-ranked Sooners in a rematch of their week 12 contest, where the Sooners escaped Bryant Denny with a 23-21 win.
For the Georgia Bulldogs, they stay at no. 3 in the country and will have a first-round bye. They’ll wait to see who they face off against in the CFP quarterfinals, playing the winner of No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 11 Tulane.
Main Image: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
