Film Room: Eight Moments that Put Alabama Back On Top of the Southeastern Conference
ATLANTA — The Alabama Crimson Tide will be one of four teams to have a chance to play for a national championship.
For the Crimson Tide, the only way to get to the College Football Playoff was to go through Georgia, the back-to-back national champions, in Atlanta.
It wasn't easy, but Alabama prevailed down the stretch to put its name back on the SEC championship trophy, after just one year off.
There were plenty of moments throughout the high-speed, physical collision — here are several that stood out to me on Saturday. Roll the tape.
Malachi Moore Wakes Up the Alabama Defense
Georgia came out fast, scoring quickly and easily on its first possession of the game. After two scoreless trips for the Crimson Tide, the defense needed a stop.
Malachi Moore, the veteran defensive back, made the first statement play for Alabama in this game, bringing down Brock Bowers behind the line of scrimmage:
It's a nice play design from Mike Bobo, but look how fast Moore picks it up. He realizes it's a pass before Carson Beck even pulls the ball out of his running back's chest.
Then, he sheds the initial block and gets to Bowers. It was not easy for him to bring down Bowers alone — like a lion taking down a buffalo in the grasslands.
This play gave Alabama its first momentum of the game.
Jam Miller Scores the First Touchdown
Tommy Rees has been a fan of the wheel routes for a little while now. This time, he dials it up on first-and-20, and it goes for a 28-yard touchdown for Jam Miller:
Miller leaves the backfield and nobody picks him up, whatsoever. No. 24 in white initially has his eye on Miller, but gets distracted by the CJ Dippre eye candy. When Dippre turns upfield as a receiver, that's where the attention goes.
No. 3 in the back end was the Bulldogs' only safety valve, and he couldn't get there fast enough. Throw six points on the board.
Georgia Doinks a Field Goal
Kickers, especially college kickers, have a tough job. Their job is very mental, and any little thing that goes wrong can completely scrap their ability to execute.
That includes things like penalties. The Bulldogs pick up a false start on the initial try, and so that backed up the attempt five yards. With the flag also came some extra noise from the Crimson Tide fans.
Before the kick, I turned to the person next to me and said, 'He is definitely missing this kick now.' I was right. Everyone can laugh at a doink, unless it's your team, I suppose. Enjoy this one, Alabama fans:
Nick Saban Shows Some Guts Early
To beat Georgia, you can't play not to lose. You have to take everything, and sometimes go out of your way to make winning plays. This is a winning play:
The Crimson Tide had a few choices here. Will Reichard could have tried a 54-yard field goal. If he misses, the Bulldogs get great field position to go score before the half. You could punt, but that still gives Georgia an opportunity before the break.
More likely than not, the punt would have been a touchback. So you're deciding between the 20-yard line or the 37-yard line, if you fail to pick up the first down.
For Saban, that was a risk worth taking.
Jermaine Burton Barks Back at His Old Team
After Saban went for it on fourth down, Alabama had no choice but to score a touchdown. So that's exactly what it did:
The Crimson Tide executed time and time again on Saturday. This was another example of that. The Bulldogs dropped back in coverage, so it was going to take a perfect throw and a great catch from Burton. And that's what happened.
Back to Saban's decision to leave the offense on the field — this may have been the single-most important sequence of the game. Saban's gutsy decision put Alabama up two scores at the break, and that gave his team plenty of belief the rest of the way.
Trezmen Marshall Jumps on the Loose Ball
Every now and then, teams will hand you one. Georgia hasn't been keen to doing things like that over the last three years, but if you get one, you better take it:
In my opinion, the Bulldogs were getting a little too cute with the football here. It's already first-and-15, they just needed to make a simple play to make the first down more manageable. Instead, Georgia goes with a fake-counter into a pitch, and Beck's toss bounces off the hands of No. 86
Like I said, you have to take it. That's what Trezmen Marshall did. No. 53 gave some effort, but Marshall wanted the football more, so he got it. A huge mistake for the Bulldogs, however, the Crimson Tide only got three points out of it.
A Much-Needed Response
Georgia wasn't going away. The Bulldogs grabbed all of the momentum in the game back after they went down the field and scored a touchdown, leaving Alabama ahead by just three points with over 10 minutes to play.
I mentioned the sequence at the end of the half as perhaps the biggest of the game — this is the other. Watch Alabama march it down:
Last week, when the Crimson Tide needed someone to step up, it was Isaiah Bond that did so. He did it again on this drive, reeling in four passes to set Alabama up.
Then, Roydell Williams gets his well-deserved moment.
Jalen Milroe Finishes the Job
Georgia still didn't go away. After the Crimson Tide's drive, Carson Beck led the Bulldogs down the field quickly. All Georgia needed was a quick stop. Jalen Milroe didn't allow it, putting his foot down on the Bulldogs, ending the game with his legs:
Something I didn't notice in Atlanta — Milroe actually fumbled the ball on the final first down run. If he doesn't land on top of it, Georgia would have been in a good spot to get three points and send the game to overtime. Truly a game of inches.
Enjoy your time off, and get ready for more Film Room in 2024 after the Rose Bowl.
