Postgame Thread: Alabama likely, meekly, bows out of playoff conversation

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Someone failed to remind Alabama that getting off the bus in Atlanta was necessary to have any chance of winning a SEC Championship, and Georgia laid the wood to them by a score of 28-7.

This one started out terribly and didn’t get any better for the entire first half, as Georgia utterly dominated the action. After both defenses held serve for the first couple possessions, the Bulldogs were able to block a Blake Doud punt deep in Alabama territory. Georgia proceeded to bully the Tide down the field with the run game before QB Gunner Stockton tossed a short TD pass to open the scoring.

On the next possession, Ryan Williams did one of his ballerina things to get the ball across midfield, but Ty Simpson threw an interception on 3rd and long, and Georgia had the ball back. The Dawgs were able to put another drive together, mostly on the ground, and Stockton finished it off with his second touchdown pass of the afternoon. That would close out the scoring in the half.

Alabama’s offense was utterly putrid in the opening half. Simpson’s 5-12 for 53 yards with a pick was no better than his awful line in Auburn. There was, of course, no running game to speak of. The good news is that the defense was quite solid on the rest of Georgia’s possessions, and allowed only 4.3 yards per play. The bad news is that the Tide trailed 14-0 headed into the locker room.

If Alabama was to have any hope of coming back in a game where the offense had been utterly smothered by a Georgia defense that has clearly improved as advertised, they would need to find points on the opening possession out of the locker room. Alas, Simpson looked just as rattled as he did in the first half. On third and long, he bailed the pocket and ran himself into a sack. Doud’s punt wasn’t great and explosive Georgia returner Zachariah Branch returned it 24 yards to set Georgia up in great field position again.

Georgia’s offense smelled blood in the water and punched it in a few plays later. Georgia led 21-0, and it was all over but the crying. Alabama managed to put together a penalty aided touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter, capped off by a beautiful catch and run from seemingly forgotten Germie Bernard, to pull within 14.

Alabama actually forced a punt that Cole Adams muffed then recovered on the 5, but a 4th and 2 pass from the 10 yard line sailed high and wide of Germie Bernard. Georgia WR Zachariah Branch took a screen to the house to push the lead back out to 21. Any hopes of getting back into the game were snuffed out. Simpson was under duress all night, but it was particularly relentless late. And the running game hit a new low with negative rushing yards on the night. Sure, the sacks made a huge impact, but there was no running to be had.

Another late season swoon that very easily could have been complete collapse if not for Auburn’s incompetence is going to put some heat on Kalen DeBoer headed into next season. I say next season because any College Football Playoff hopes should have died on the field. Nobody wants to watch this disgusting offense, that was so much fun to start the season.

We’ll still watch to see what the committee does, of course, but this was total domination of a sort that folks in Tuscaloosa will never get accustomed to.

Ohio State and Indiana should put on a better show tonight, on Fox if you are so inclined.

Roll Tide.

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