The Georgia Bulldogs (12-1) earned the No. 3 spot in the College Football Playoff after taking down the Alabama Crimson Tide (10-3) in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday in Atlanta. UGA didn’t just snap the Crimson Tide curse but released years of demons, absolutely steamrolling their tormentor, 28-7. Georgia will have a first-round bye and will play the winner of Ole Miss (No. 6 seed) vs. Tulane (No. 11 seed) in the quarterfinals.
Georgia got its retribution with an astonishing achievement not seen in 85 years. Glenn Schumann’s defense held its bitter foe to a level it hadn’t reached since World War II.
In Saturday’s SEC championship, Alabama finished with -3 rushing yards, its lowest single-game total since 1940, as Georgia completely smothered the Tide’s ground attack.
UGA’s smothering defense was reminiscent of the back-to-back national championship teams. Behind unrelenting pressure on every snap, Alabama’s offense fell stagnant from start to finish. The Dawgs’ D only gave up 206 total yards and held the Tide to 3 conversions in 14 attempts on third down. A massive improvement from the first matchup, where Kalen DeBoer’s offense converted 13 of 18 on third down.
One-time Heisman hopeful Ty Simpson struggled immensely, facing constant pressure, going 19-of-39 through the air. While the quarterback did not play his best Saturday, he was not helped by several costly drops by Bama’s receivers. Simpson finished the game with 212 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception.
After the game, Simpson, understanding that Alabama was going to need to do everything it could to convince the committee to let it into the CFP, made a comment that stood out to Georgia fans:
“In general, we think that, actually, we know we have the best offense in the country,” Simpson said of the Crimson Tide’s offense.
I’m sorry, did Simpson say Alabama has the ‘BEST’ offense in the country?
Regardless, it must have worked. Alabama ended up getting the No. 9 seed in the CFP and will play Oklahoma in Norman in the first round. Those two teams met on Nov. 15, and Oklahoma handed the Tide their second loss of the season, winning 23-21. And that game took place in Tuscaloosa.
But since I’ve got you here, let’s fact-check Simpson real fast. According to the numbers, Alabama actually has the 69th-best offense in the country in terms of yards per game, averaging 389.4 yards per game.
Here’s how Alabama’s offense actually ranks in the FBS heading into the CFP:
- Scoring offense: 41st, 31.2 points per game
- Total offense: 69th, 389.4 total YPG
- Rushing offense: 117th, 116.2 rushing YPG
- Passing offense: 23rd, 273.2 passing YPG
- First downs: 47th, 21.7 first downs per game
- Third down conversions: 35th, 44.44%
Here’s the rest of his quote:
“And then when we don’t show it, right, like it is very frustrating,” Simpson added. “Especially times when, you know, we’re just a couple of things away. So, you know, like I said, credit to Georgia’s defense. They had a good plan. It is pretty much as simple as that.”
Georgia fans, of course, got ahold of this quote and made their thoughts crystal clear:
“A team with -3 yards has the best offense in the country despite getting owned by Georgia?? Okay Ty, keep crying,” wrote one fan.
“Wow, best offense in the country when he himself bailed out on a couple runs bc he was scared to get hit again by the UGA defense? Sure, dude,” added another.
“What did he smoke after that game, cause I didn’t see the same thing he’s talking about!” another said.
A Bama fan even chimed in:
“I’m a die hard Bama fan and I laughed out loud when he said this. Earlier in the year, he had a case. Since the Oklahoma game, the offense has been ass. Not even average. There are some key injuries, but that’s no excuse.”
The Tide’s finally turned:
Going into championship weekend, Georgia was 1-10 in their last 11 against the Tide and 1-7 (12.5%) under Kirby Smart. UGA is 115-13 (89.8%) against everyone else during Smart’s tenure. The Dawgs have no doubt had an Alabama issue, only beating them once in the last 18 years.
Georgia, no doubt, looked like the stronger team as the regular season came to a close, but fans had seen this story too many times before. Bama always seemed to find a way, no matter the “better” team on paper.
Not this time.
It almost feels impossible for any UGA fan to see the Crimson Tide fall, but a win in such dominant fashion is something that no one predicted. The Bulldogs were a -1.5 favorite per ESPN.
From the moment the ball went in the air at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Georgia dominated the Tide in every aspect of the game. Georgia’s offense started the game with 21 unanswered points. Quarterback Gunner Stockton completed 20 of 26 passes and scored 3 touchdowns. The scoring party got kicked off by a huge first-quarter special teams play. On Alabama’s second drive of the game, senior Cole Speer blocked Alabama’s punt, giving UGA the ball in the red zone. This morning on ESPN’s College GameDay, Kirby Smart spoke about how important big special teams plays are in this game every year.
