Alabama football dares playoff committee to oust Tide | Goodbread
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
ATLANTA − Alabama football lost the SEC Championship Game to Georgia, 28-7, and looked bad doing it.
The Bulldogs (12-1) avenged a regular-season home loss to the Crimson Tide (10-3) and are all but certain to receive a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. Alabama, meanwhile, will have to wait to hear its postseason fate from the CFP selection show on Sunday, Dec. 7. Here are a few quick thoughts on the game:
Talking points for Alabama football vs Georgia
1) The Alabama offense, which has trended in the wrong direction for several weeks, struggled mightily. The rushing attack that made a sudden, brief appearance in the Iron Bowl returned to its usual stagnant state, putting Ty Simpson in the difficult position of carrying the day. That's a tough ask against the Georgia defense, and Simpson, whose effectiveness has been on the slide of late, was off target with too many throws. The result was a punt-fest, along with a Simpson interception that the Bulldogs capitalized on for a touchdown.
2) Special teams were a major factor, beginning with Georgia's blocked punt that set up a 21-yard touchdown drive for a 7-0 lead. The Bulldogs had already pinned Alabama with a 53-yard punt that bounced out of bounds at the UA 8, which was why the Crimson Tide was punting from poor field position when the block happened. Later, Cole Adams muffed a punt that he shouldn't have fielded, and recovered at his own 4-yard line.
3) With TE Josh Cuevas out with an injury, Alabama couldn't afford another week without production from WR Ryan Williams, who didn't catch a pass last week against Auburn. The sophomore turned his first two receptions into first downs with some nice escape work after the catch, and drew a pass interference call in the fourth quarter. It wouldn't have made a difference in the outcome, but UA needed to get him the ball more.
4) Alabama's play against the Bulldogs has all but dared the College Football Playoff selection committee to leave it out of the 12-team field. The Crimson Tide got some help from Texas Tech's rout of BYU in the Big 12 title game, but its own performance was anything but inspiring. It's possible that the committee will choose not to penalize UA for losing a 13th game that other SEC playoff teams didn't qualify to compete in. But with three losses and a stinker for a final impression, Alabama is putting the committee to quite a test.
Turning point
The first five minutes of the second half. Alabama went nowhere offensively after receiving the second-half kickoff, punted, and Georgia responded with the put-away touchdown. Bulldogs RB Nate Frazier sprung a 9-yard scoring run with 10:47 left in the third quarter to extend the lead to 21-0. Much time still remained, but it was already clear that UA's offense wasn't up to the task of overcoming a three-score deficit.
By the numbers
5 – How dismal was the Alabama running game? Its longest rush from scrimmage was just 5 yards.
What I liked
Pretty much nothing from Alabama's side. The UA defense didn't play poorly in the first half, but Alabama's inability to put a drive together offensively kept the defense on the field for much too long.
What I didn't like
On a day when it couldn't string together first downs, Alabama needed to take some deep shots in the passing game, and didn't. The deep ball isn't Simpson's forte, but with nothing else working, the Crimson Tide would have been well-advised to throw long and hope for a big play. Pass protection was good enough to stretch Georgia's defense vertically, but Alabama waited until the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach to try it.
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football debacle vs Georgia dares CFP committee to oust Tide
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos