It’s unclear how many Alabama football naysayers are left. The Crimson Tide made a national statement in Atlanta on Saturday night. No. 8 Alabama (12-1, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) scored 17 straight points after falling behind by a touchdown, ultimately capturing the SEC Championship 27-24, over No. 1 Georgia (12-1, 8-0).

UA quarterback Jalen Milroe outplayed his counterpart, Carson Beck. The Tide defense smothered Brock Bowers. Nick Saban took home his first conference title since 2020 and in the process, ended Kirby Smart’s 29-game winning streak. In front of a mostly Bulldog crowd in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Alabama possibly punched a ticket to the College Football Playoff.

Here are our takeaways.

Alabama awaits CFP decision

Begin the stumping. With the win, expect a full-court press by Saban and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey to make their case as to why the Tide, and maybe even Georgia, are worthy of one of the four CFP spots.

They’ll have a good argument. Alabama took Georgia’s best swing early and then punched back. It controlled the pace of the game and made life hard for Beck, who completed 21 of 29 passes. A late score made it close, but Milroe was able to run the clock down with a 30-yard keeper.

Sankey sounded pretty confident that the winner of Saturday’s game would get a spot. After Washington beat Oregon and Texas stomped Oklahoma State, attention turns to Sunday’s selection show at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.

The CFP selection committee would’ve liked to avoid this scenario. It’ll need to choose between a mish-mash of contenders: Pac-12 champion Washington, Big-12 champs Texas, and yet-to-play Michigan and Florida State to see who’ll join Georgia.

Tide defense shows up after sleepy first drive

After forcing a UA three-and-out, Georgia got the ball and traveled 83 yards in 3:50 minutes, churning through the Tide’s defense with some of the injured players whose availability was a question mark. Both Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey caught passes and the game-opening score, a 17-yard run by Kendall Milton, was run behind guard Tate Radledge.

But following that drive, UGA managed 75 yards on 26 plays. Georgia wouldn’t score again until 8:51 remained in the third quarter. The defense, playing without Kool-Aid McKinstry for much of the final frame, forced Beck into short passes and dared him to take a shot over the top. Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint made a 21-yard grab to set up a field goal, but a Georgia side averaging nearly 40 points and 500 yards a game managed 24 points and 321 yards.

Alabama sacked Beck twice and made seven tackles for loss. UGA had more of each, but the Tide had the benefit of three personal fouls by the Georgia defense for 46 yards and two first downs.

Without lead RB, Alabama offensive depth delivers against Georgia

Expectedly, Alabama also broke out designed runs for Milroe. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees called a power runs sparsely utilized by UA in 2023. Some were counters, others involved two lead blockers. Milroe ran for TK yards. While UA totaled just 117 yards on the ground, they managed multiple conversions and set up key passes, notably to Amari Niblack and Isaiah Bond to set up scoring drives.

Alabama running back Jase McClellan traveled with the team, went through warmups and even appeared pregame in full uniform. But once kickoff happened, McClellan had slipped out of his shoulder pads and was supporting teammates. In his stead, senior Roydell Williams and second-year runner Jam Miller managed the bulk of the carries and held up in pass protection.

Williams carried it 16 times for 64 yards, Miller nine rushes for 23. In the second quarter, Milroe dumped it on a wheel route to Miller, who went untouched for 28 yards to give UA a lead. Williams scored the putaway touchdown with a 1-yard lunge over the goal line with six minutes remaining.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].