Our grades from Alabamaâs SEC championship game win over Georgia
Alabama football beat Georgia Saturday in the SEC championship game. The Crimson Tide kept alive its College Football Playoff hopes with the 27-24 victory, which snapped a 29-game Bulldog win streak.
The Tide will learn its playoff fate on Sunday. Before that, here are our grades from Saturday’s win.
Offense: A-
Alabama had struggles on offense. The offensive line looked shaky at times and the group stalled out on multiple drives where it could have taken the game away from Georgia.
But in the fourth quarter, with the game on the line, the group came though. The Crimson Tide had two crucial drives late, one to score a touchdown, another to run out the clock.
It wasn’t a perfect effort, but against the best team it has played all season, Alabama’s offense got the job done.
Defense: A-
Another not completely perfect performance. At times, it seemed like Georgia was moving the ball at will, especially early.
But once again, the unit came through when it needed to. Even against a UGA offense that clearly wasn’t at full health, that means a lot this time of year.
Special teams: B
James Burnip had a bad punt. Caleb Downs looked a bit shaky in his decision making with regards to which punts to catch.
Will Reichard though, was automatic. He became the NCAA’s all-time leader in points with his first field goal in Saturday’s game.
Coaching: A
Georgia was always going to be Alabama’s toughest test of the season. No team had beaten the Bulldogs since the last time the Crimson Tide did it, in the 2021 SEC title game.
Alabama was ready. Nick Saban and company had a solid game plan, and the players were ready to execute it.
Now we’ll see if Saban and company can convince the CFP selection committee that UA deserves a spot.
Overall: A
There’s not much to discuss here. Alabama beat the No. 1 team in the country and won the SEC title.