Instant Analysis: Alabama 27, Georgia 24
ATLANTA — Alabama did its job. Now it has to wait for the College Football Playoff committee to find out its fate.
No. 8 Alabama (12-1) knocked off the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (12-1) in the SEC Championship Game, 27-24, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday.
It wasn't the best game Alabama has played this season, but it came through with clutch performances on offense and defense.
Jalen Milroe passed for 192 yards and two touchdowns, but it was a 30-yard run and a nine-yard run on Alabama's final drive that helped clinch Alabama's 30th SEC championship and ninth straight under Nick Saban.
"The message that I would send is, we won the SEC," Saban said. "We beat the No. 1 team in the country, which everybody thought on the committee was the No. 1 team in the country. They won 29 straight games. If we needed to do something to pass the eye test, I guess that probably contributed to it significantly. If you really want the four best teams to compete, the four most deserving teams that have progressed throughout the season. We're not the same team we were when we played Texas. We're not the same team when we played South Florida."
The defense held Georgia to its lowest rushing total of the season with 78 yards. Georgia was also held to the lowest point total of the season and Alabama's 27 points is the most the Bulldogs allowed this season.
Isaiah Bond led Alabama with 79 receiving yards on five catches. Roydell Williams, Jam Miller and Jermaine Burton each had a touchdown.
