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dave wilson
Atlanta, Ga. — despite a lost 28-7 at number 3 Georgia In the SEC Championship game on Saturday, alabama Coach Kalen DeBoer said the No. 9 Crimson Tide are deserving of a spot in the College Football Playoff, adding that a loss in the conference title game should not be punishment.
“If this game applies and takes it off our resume, I don’t think that’s right,” DeBoer said. “I really don’t. I think the precedent has been set and I don’t know how you can go into a conference playoff game when you’re the No. 1 seed and have been doing all these things all year — and also playing against one of the top teams in the country in this game — how it can hurt you and keep you out of the playoffs when again, we’ve just done what we’ve done all year.”
The Tide began the season with a 31–17 loss on the road to Florida State, then rattled off eight consecutive wins, including wins over Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Tennessee. Despite a 23–21 loss to then-No. The Tide qualified for a rematch with Georgia in Atlanta on November 15 at home to No. 11 Oklahoma.
The Bulldogs held Alabama to 16 carries for minus-3 yards rushing, marking the second time in school history that the Tide has been held to negative yards rushing, following the 1968 Gator Bowl. According to ESPN Research, they became the first team not to have a rushing touchdown after trailing in the SEC Championship Game. His longest carry of the night was 5 yards.
Still, Alabama remained in striking distance until 8:13, when, trailing 21–7, DeBoer opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the Tide’s 12. quarterback ty simpson threw the ball to the side for jermay bernardBut this went too far and out of bounds. Three games later, the Georgia quarterback gunner stockton threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Zachariah Branch Increased the lead to 28-7.
“If we’re really concerned about the score, you’d probably stick it to your 11,” DeBoer said. “I’m here to win the SEC Championship. If you lose by one or lose by more, it’s still a loss. And that’s all I cared about. We’re here to win the SEC Championship. We can’t be worried about how much we lose.”
DeBoer said Alabama is missing some key players who could have helped against Georgia, all of whom will return before the playoff game, including the running backs. jame miller,
“Two out of three of our losses happen when Jaime doesn’t play,” he said.
Georgia’s first quarter cole spear blocked blake doudpunt of, and it was recovered and returned Justin Williams For Alabama 21. Four games later, Stockton threw his first touchdown pass. Roderick Robinson II to give the Bulldogs a 7–0 lead. DeBoer said the block came from a position typically operated by defensive linemen. LT OvertonWho were out of this game.
“We’ll have to conduct an investigation throughout the season,” DeBoer said. “We missed it, and they got an extra cap that we couldn’t stop.”
DeBoer said that was the story of the game, that the Tide gave the Bulldogs four short fields and they had to hold up against them. But he praised Alabama’s resiliency, the same way he said the team bounced back throughout the season.
“If you really look at the game, I mean it was a 14-point game with seven and a half minutes left and we had the ball,” DeBoer said. “I don’t want to take anything away from what Georgia did.”
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey told ESPN that the loss to Georgia in this game should not be a negative in the eyes of the CFP selection committee.
“This might be the best team in the country right now,” Sankey said of Georgia. “And you have to remember, Alabama went to Athens, won a game, won several other ranked games, played a tough schedule. That’s the reward tonight. It’s not a penalty for playing in that game.”
He said that if the loss causes Alabama to lose a CFP berth, he believes it would call into question the future of championship games in a significant way.
“But this question has been around for decades and Georgia and Alabama played here a few years ago, and Alabama beat an undefeated Georgia team in a four-team playoff [in 2018],” Sankey said. “We still have the championship game intact.”
Simpson completed 19 of 39 passes for 212 yards and one touchdown and one interception, his first start in which he completed less than 50% of his throws. He was pressured all night and said the Georgia defense had a good plan. He also said that regardless of the defeat, his team’s resume is under scrutiny.
“We went through a tough schedule,” Simpson said. “The SEC is the best conference in the country. It’s a really good team, and it’s as simple as that.”
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach contributed to this report.
