Alabama Limits Brock Bowers, Ladd McConkey En Route to SEC Championship
ATLANTA — Leading up to the game, it was unknown whether or not Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey would suit up for No. 1 Georgia.
Well, sort of.
At least that's what Kirby Smart said. After sitting out of last week's win over Georgia Tech, the college football world knew that the two of them would be on the field for the Bulldogs' biggest game of the season.
"Obviously, Brock Bowers is a really, really good player. Probably the best player at his position in the country. [...] I'm assuming that he will play in the game. I don't know any different than that," head coach Nick Saban said on Monday.
"Both those guys are really good players, so obviously very dynamic. [...] Those two guys are fantastic players in their own right and they're very productive."
As most expected, both Bowers and McConkey played.
Two years ago, despite Alabama winning the game 41-24, Georgia's top two receivers had a huge impact on the 2021 SEC Championship. Bowers caught 10 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown — McConkey also caught a touchdown. Bowers also had a score when the Bulldogs got their revenge a month later in the CFP title game.
This time around, neither had a huge impact on the game. As a result, Alabama defeated top-ranked Georgia, 27-24, to take back the SEC crown.
"I think I couldn't be prouder of a bunch of guys on a team that has come so far from where we were second, third game of the season," Saban said. "I think this is a great example for a lot of people who want to be successful in terms of the perseverance that these guys showed, the character they had to overcome adversity, the resiliency that they played with."
Bowers had five receptions for 53 yards, which, for him, is not a great game. McConkey had just three catches for 38 yards. If you told the Crimson Tide before the game that the two of them would combine for 91 total yards, Alabama would have liked its chances.
"Brock, that's my boy, he's a great player," linebacker Trezmen Marshall, who transferred from Georgia, said. "We just got to stay humble and play ball. Play the next play. We couldn't base our whole scheme on him. He is a great player, and we just came out and executed against him."
For Marshall and wide receiver Jermaine Burton, who also transferred from Athens, Saturday's title game was personal. They couldn't lose to their old team.
"Y'all just don't understand — them Georgia fans [are] crazy," Marshall said. "I'm telling y'all, we just couldn't take that L."
"I didn't want to lose. I ain't care what happened in the game, I just didn't want to lose. I was gonna have to deal with so much trash talk from UGA fans — especially the Facebook fans."
When you beat the No. 1 team in the country to win the SEC championship, usually there isn't much debate on whether or not you'll make the College Football Playoff. However, in its final year of the four-team format, there will be plenty of debate.
If you watched the game that took place in Atlanta, there won't be much of a debate.
