What just happened: Georgia routs Alabama for SEC title

For the third time in the past four years, Georgia has won the SEC.

At Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Bulldogs defeated Alabama 28-7 in a game that was never in doubt. The kill shot came with 6:51 left in the game, when quarterback Gunner Stockton completed a receiver screen to Zachariah Branch, who took the play 13 yards for a touchdown. The victory exacted revenge against Alabama, which defeated the Bulldogs earlier this season.

After a slow start for both offenses, Georgia blocked a punt in the first quarter that set the offense up with the ball at the Alabama 21-yard line. Facing a third-and-goal at the 1-yard line four plays later, Stockton threw his first touchdown of the game to running back Roderick Robinson on a play-action rollout.

Following a Daylen Everette interception on Alabama’s next possession, Georgia scored another touchdown to go up 14-0 in the second quarter on a 5-yard pass to Dillon Bell. Georgia extended its lead to 21-0 in the third quarter with a 9-yard touchdown rush from Nate Frazier.

In the first meeting between the teams, Alabama converted 13 third downs. This time, the Crimson Tide had no such luck, going just 3 of 13 on the ever-important down. The Georgia defense held Alabama to 209 total yards and sacked quarterback Ty Simpson twice.

Stockton finished the game 20-of-26 passing for 156 yards and three touchdowns.

What it means

The win gives head coach Kirby Smart his second victory over Alabama. Long term, perhaps this begins a new trend for the Bulldogs, given the hurdle it has been to defeat the Crimson Tide regardless of the head coach.

More importantly, the Bulldogs will enter the College Football Playoff either as the No. 2 or the No. 3 seed. This will depend on how the Big Ten Championship between Ohio State and Indiana goes. A close game until the end could mean no change with the top two. A two-score or more win by either side could drop the loser to No. 3 or 4, which would propel the Bulldogs to second overall.

A question that needs answering

Will Georgia handle the long layoff better than last year?

Last year, the Bulldogs earned a bye and didn’t play a game until after the New Year. In the second half of the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame, the Bulldogs weren’t competitive, with some folks speculating that the long bye left the program rusty compared to the programs that played a first-round game. Georgia is likely to play in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day, so how it handles the layoff against a team that will play a game beforehand will be key.

Three important plays

Blocked punt: With both teams needing to punt on their first two series, it was Georgia capitalizing with the game’s first play. Alabama lined up for its second punt and didn’t account for the Bulldogs overloading the right side of the line of scrimmage. Making it worse the Crimson Tide, the snap was high, forcing Blake Doud to reach high and delay a potential kick by a second. It may not have mattered as Cole Speer came in untouched and blocked the kick. This set up a short field and a Georgia touchdown just four plays later.

Everette’s interception: Following Georgia’s first touchdown, Alabama faced a third-and-6 at the Georgia 45-yard line. Simpson inexplicably threw the ball in an impossible window, with the pass predictably picked off by Everette This led to Georgia’s second touchdown of the game, a 5-yard pass to Bell.

Setting up the kill shot: Georgia scored its fourth touchdown of the game thanks to a questionable decision from Alabama. Down 21-7 at its own 12-yard line with over eight minutes remaining, the Crimson Tide elected to go for it on fourth-and-2. Simpson threw an incomplete pass, which allowed the Bulldogs an easy touchdown to put the game away.

Grading Georgia

Offense: B

The offense didn’t need to do anything flashy. It did a good job taking advantage of opportunities the defense and special teams provided. The group played mistake-free football and were soundly coached throughout. Strikingly, the offensive line and the running backs were much more physical than Alabama’s defensive front. Georgia Tech was a more physical opponent than the Crimson Tide.

Defense: A

The defensive game-plan was for Georgia to dare Alabama to run the ball. With two safeties back each play, the right thing for any offense to do is to run the ball. The only issue, which has been documented and discussed ad nauseam this week, is the Crimson Tide are not good at running the ball. They were also without their top two running backs. Yet by sitting the safeties back, Alabama went against its offensive strength and continued to hammer the run early in the game. It didn’t work. By the time the Crimson Tide dedicated themselves to throwing the ball, they were down by three scores and getting murdered in time of possession. Remarkably, the Crimson Tide finished with minus-3 rushing yards. Alabama wasn’t too physical in this phase either.

Special teams: A

Georgia is now 18-0 when blocking a kick under Smart’s leadership. That was a wild stat for the ESPN broadcast crew to dig up but it goes to show just how important special teams can be in games like this. Brett Thorson had a good game punting, landing five kicks inside the 20-yard line.

Season grades to date

Offense: B

Defense: C+

Special teams: B+