2023 SEC Championship Game: Alabama 27, Georgia 24
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA. December 2, 2023
Nick Saban’s eighth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide pulled off a statement upset of top-ranked Georgia, winning 27 to 24 to end the Bulldogs’ 29-game winning streak and capture the program’s 30th SEC title, dealing a major blow to Georgia’s bid to become the first team in the poll era to win three straight national championships.
Georgia struck first, marching down the field on its opening possession to grab a 7-to-0 lead on the first of two Kendall Milton touchdown runs. Alabama answered with a field goal to make it 7-to-3, then took control in the second quarter. Quarterback Jalen Milroe converted a fourth and 4 with a 22-yard completion to Isaiah Bond during a drive that ended with Jermaine Burton hauling in a touchdown catch in the back of the end zone, sending Alabama to the locker room up 17 to 7, just the fifth time all season Georgia had trailed at halftime.
Alabama extended the lead early in the third quarter on a field goal after a Georgia fumble, pushing the margin to 20- 7, before Georgia answered behind an Arian Smith explosive play to cut it to 20- 10 entering the fourth. Georgia crept closer when a 31-yard punt return by Anthony Evans III set up a Carson Beck touchdown sneak, making it 20- 17. But Milroe and Alabama had an answer ready. Milroe hooked up with Bond on four completions for 56 yards to fuel a scoring drive that ended with Roydell Williams punching in a 1-yard touchdown run to push the lead back to 27- 17 with under six minutes left. Georgia would not go quietly, driving down for a Kendall Milton fourth-and-goal touchdown run from the 1 to cut it to a field goal with 2:52 remaining. Milroe iced it from there, breaking off a 30-yard run and smartly going down inbounds to run out the clock.
Milroe was named the game’s MVP after throwing for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 13 of 23 passing while adding 29 rushing yards, and Alabama’s defense held Georgia to just 78 rushing yards for the day, forcing the Bulldogs to lean heavily on the pass. Saban praised his team’s resolve afterward, saying Georgia had a really good team but that his players proved they could win against anybody. Georgia coach Kirby Smart pointed to the trenches as the difference, noting Alabama had whipped Georgia up front. The win pushed Alabama into playoff contention, though the Crimson Tide would go on to lose to Michigan in the Rose Bowl semifinal, while Georgia’s bid for a three-peat ended in Atlanta.
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