ATLANTA – Gunner Stockton threw for 156 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 3 Georgia to a stifling 28-7 win over No. 9 Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday.
Stockton was a surgical 20-of-26 passing (76.9%), earning the Most Valuable Player award.
Nate Frazier rushed for 52 yards and a score, while Zachariah Branch had five catches for 53 yards and a touchdown for Georgia (12-1), which won its second straight conference title and clinched a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.
“To win back-to-back SEC championships, it’s every kid in this footprint’s dream, and it’s an honor to be at Georgia and to be the head coach here and win games like this,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said.
The Bulldogs held Alabama to minus-3 rushing yards, avenging their 24-21 home loss to the Crimson Tide on Sept. 27.
“It was a huge difference,” Smart said of his defense’s physicality and aggressive play on Saturday. “It was domination on that side of the ball. A lot of it came with a chip on their shoulder from the last (time playing Alabama). (Alabama) outplayed us (on Sept. 27). They out-executed us. They probably out-coached us. We weren’t going to let that happen again in terms of the way we played.”
Ty Simpson completed 19 of 39 passes for 212 yards, throwing a touchdown and an interception for Alabama (10-3), which awaits its CFP fate on Sunday. The Crimson Tide were previously 4-0 against Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and had won 10 of the last 11 meetings.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “I’ll never question the heart, the fight, what these guys bring. You can see at the end of the game these guys still giving everything they got, both sides of the ball, all phases. Fell short today, but proud of the season, getting to an SEC Championship, getting to this spot. A lot to build off of.”
After punting on each of its first two drives, Georgia made the game’s first momentum-swinging play, as Cole Speer blocked Blake Doud’s punt, which was recovered at Alabama’s 21-yard line. Following three rushes, Stockton found Roderick Robinson II for a 1-yard passing score, giving the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 4:36 left in the first quarter.
On Alabama’s ensuing drive, Simpson’s pass skipped off Isaiah Horton’s hands and was intercepted by Daylen Everette. Georgia then doubled its lead as Stockton’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Bell stamped a 14-play, nearly-eight-minute drive with 8:43 left in the second quarter.
Georgia outgained Alabama 168-70 in the opening half, including an 88-17 advantage on the ground.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 21-0 on Frazier’s 9-yard touchdown rush with 10:47 left in the third quarter.
Alabama’s offensive implosion continued as it was forced to punt three straight times to begin the second half. The Crimson Tide didn’t eclipse 100 total yards until Simpson’s 21-yard pass to Kaleb Edwards on the final play of the third.
Georgia’s Demello Jones committed a pass interference on the possession, extending Alabama’s drive to the Bulldogs’ 23. Alabama then found the end zone on Simpson’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Germie Bernard with 12:33 left in the fourth.
After Alabama forced a Georgia punt, Simpson’s pass to Bernard sailed on fourth-and-2, turning the ball over on the Crimson Tide’s 12-yard line with 8:13 remaining.
Stockton’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Branch three plays later iced the victory.
Alabama’s Simpson said the team belongs in the College Football Playoff.
“I’m not nervous at all,” Simpson said about Sunday’s playoff brackets announcement. “It’s not up to me. I think that our resume speaks for itself. We went through a gauntlet of a schedule. SEC is the best conference in the country. That’s a really good team (Georgia). That’s pretty much simple as that.”
–Jack Batten, Field Level Media
