Bama’s runners, Saban’s gaffe and a classic SEC title game
Georgia's Marshall Morgan's toe meets leather to start the SEC title game. (AJC photo by Ben Gray)
This post is an adjunct to the game column, which can be found here.
1. Alabama shattered the SEC Championship game record for yards rushing. The Tide ran for 350 yards, with two backs — game MVP Eddie Lacy and backup T.J. Yeldon — each going way over 100. (Lacy had 181, Yeldon 153.) And it was, almost inevitably, the fear of the Alabama ground game that spawned the Tide’s winning touchdown. AJ McCarron threw deep to Amari Cooper, who had run past Damain Swann, for the winning touchdown with 3:15 to play. But Alabama couldn’t run out the clock inside the final two minutes, and it nearly cost the Tide the game.
2. Even the best in the business sometimes whiffs. Alabama coach Nick Saban waited until five seconds remained in the first half to use his first timeout. After converting on third-and-2 at the Georgia 39 with 42 seconds left, the Crimson Tide allowed the clock to tick under 30 seconds before snapping the ball again. AJ McCarron’s 22-yard scramble to the Georgia 5 came too late for the Tide to do anything but kick a field goal, which put Bama ahead — but by three points, not seven.
3. This SEC Championship game matchup was one of the best in the event’s 21-year history. The 1994 pairing of No. 6 Florida versus No. 3 Alabama has always been considered a high point by conference insiders, given that it was the first time the game had been staged in the Georgia Dome and the game itself — Florida won 24-23 — was a stone-cold classic. The two No. 1 against No. 2 games between Alabama and Florida — the Gators won in 2008, the Tide in 2009 — are likewise high points, but this game featured No. 2 against No. 3 in a BCS play-in, and it also featured two storied programs that had never collided in such a setting. No wonder tickets were reselling for crazy money. Gary Stokan of the Chick-fil-A Bowl spoke to an Alabama booster club in Atlanta on Thursday and witnessed four tickets for Saturday’s game auctioned for $7,000. (Oh, and the game itself: The best SEC Championship ever.)
By Mark Bradley
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323 comments Add your comment
Hairy Dawg
December 1st, 2012
8:23 pm
A&M’s going to the Cotton Bowl. We’ll probably be in the Cap One or Outback. That’ll be great consolation after this one. Ugh.
We should’ve spiked the ball at the end, but we should have thrown it on 3rd and 1 instead of running Gurley up the gut. Shawn Williams should have tackled Yeldon instead of letting a freshman punk him for six yards on 3rd and 5. We deserved to lose this game because of how well Bama ran the ball, but we certainly had a chance to win this game. We blew it. Period. End of story.
Buckeye
December 1st, 2012
8:23 pm
dogs,
How bout an SEC! SEC!
Gumby
December 1st, 2012
8:23 pm
Roll Tide Roll!!!! This game was exactly what I expected. I have a lot of respect for the Dawgs and thought this could go either way. Now hopefully we can bring another BCS Championship back to the SEC. Pounding the ball with Bama’s runners was what I thought would get Bama the win. Did I say RTR?
The Hammer
December 1st, 2012
8:23 pm
Vince, you’re my kind of man!
GENIUS!
(Folks, Mark Richt is a LOSER. Face it.)
Keith
December 1st, 2012
8:24 pm
The Hammer, You are a idiot !!! They were not throwing to a guy on the 5 yard line. The ball was tipped and he caught it.
Smitty
December 1st, 2012
8:24 pm
Hammer …you dumba$$ the ball was thrown to end zone just tipped at line of scrimmage
Russa
December 1st, 2012
8:24 pm
“How could we miss on this chance with all this talent on the field?”
coaching ….
Buckeye
December 1st, 2012
8:24 pm
dogs,
Oh well, there’s always basketball NOT
Sharkdawg
December 1st, 2012
8:24 pm
Damn ilove them Dawgs but..what a dumb a__ call not spiking the ball BoBo must go
MTSeats
December 1st, 2012
8:24 pm
That’s coaching Richt! Worth every $.
BamaStan
December 1st, 2012
8:24 pm
No blackout? I was disappointed.
Whiznot
December 1st, 2012
8:24 pm
Gross incompetence on a national stage. Way to go, idiots. A bunch of inbred fools could have handled the last 15 seconds better than Richt and Murray.
Buckeye
December 1st, 2012
8:24 pm
dogs,
There’s the Lady gym dogs!
The Hammer
December 1st, 2012
8:25 pm
Keith, keep telling yourself that.
Rick
December 1st, 2012
8:25 pm
What sort of leadership is that? Seems that Richt was not sure what to do at the end of the game. Why spike the ball and then actually coach when you can let 20-year-old kids freelance the championship play away? I’m not from GA and don’t care who won, but that was the dumbest coaching decision I have ever seen in my life at any level? Did he think he could really run four plays in ten seconds? UGA’s defense is trash, but Richt did not even live up to his own players’ efforts.
You can say that there were many plays in the game, but you can’t argue that everything rode on that single play when it took place. What a disgrace. It must hurt bad to be a UGA fan. A BCS birth is not certain now. You lost the SEC, a place in the title game, and possibly a BCS birth. But, on a positive note, the nation was hoping for ND and BAMA–the two most historic teams will face off. You made many people happy with your loss.
S Spurrier
December 1st, 2012
8:25 pm
All those recruits….same results.
ApppleCEO
December 1st, 2012
8:25 pm
Great game thuga. Could have gone either way. Bama screwed up end of 1st half with time outs and thuga should have spiked the ball at the end of the game. Was fun to watch and Auburn did not lose today! War Eagle! SEC is tough…..
Ha ha
December 1st, 2012
8:25 pm
Georgia, where teams are known as losers, Failcants, dawgs, tech, braves, hawks,
Buckeye
December 1st, 2012
8:25 pm
dogs,
Even Stafford continues to lose
Smitty
December 1st, 2012
8:25 pm
Hammer the loser is you….with comments like yours…
We (did) Run The East
December 1st, 2012
8:25 pm
UGA played only 3 decent teams all year. got blown out by one (SC), got one given to them by FL, and lost to AL. Nice rush defense, NOT. UGA not as good as you think. 3rd in East and 5th in SEC.
See ya’ll next year in Sanford Stadium for SC 4th win in a row over UGA. Me and Clowney will be there. Lattimore will be waiting in 2014.
Big Gator
December 1st, 2012
8:25 pm
Here we go with the UGA played a good game again, here we go with, we should of could of, Mark R. would have been gone long ago at any other school, but UGA rewards him for being east champs.
Once again this is what happens when you run from Ala, LSU during the season, Ala broke a rushing record on the puppies, and this was there worst game.
Steve
December 1st, 2012
8:25 pm
No Doubtful Dawg, you will never win the big one. Back to being a top 20 team. Maybe………
LifetimeTider
December 1st, 2012
8:26 pm
I told you mutts that there is only one Alabama, and It’s us, and it sure as hell ain’t yall. Roll Tide, you sons a’ beeches.
BamaStan
December 1st, 2012
8:26 pm
Cheer up, there’s always hoops…oh, never mind.
idaho Bulldog
December 1st, 2012
8:26 pm
to the blind morons who thought the pass was intended for Conley I guess you didn’t notice the ball was freakin’ tipped stop hating and appreciate the effort that was given by this team! Go dawgs!
Midway Ga Dawg
December 1st, 2012
8:26 pm
Proud of you Georgia bulldogs, you could have quit after the sc game. hats off. good game, proud that you fought to the end! take this into the off season and grow!
Go dawgs, still better than TECH!
Buckeye
December 1st, 2012
8:26 pm
dogs,
It’s gonna be another 30 years.
JSS
December 1st, 2012
8:27 pm
@ Hillbilly D…
That is because you’re not a delusional person (which is proven time-and-time again)!
1980 was a long time ago
December 1st, 2012
8:27 pm
UGA = 2nd tier program….always have been, always will be….well on your way to your 3rd bowl loss in a row – suck it…….UCF says hi.
Buckeye
December 1st, 2012
8:27 pm
dogs,
Still better than Tech.
SEC! SEC!
The Scribe
December 1st, 2012
8:27 pm
you absolutely have to spike the ball, you then have two throws into the end zone to win in the last 15 seconds- how could that not have happened ?
LifetimeTider
December 1st, 2012
8:27 pm
Thug ball rarely wins. Roll Tide, and to hell with Georgia!!!
Black Reality and Ala and Miss close bye
December 1st, 2012
8:27 pm
If I could curse half you Maggots out I would, But I’ll stay classy. Congrats Ala, and for you bandwagon DAWG LOVERS, KISS OUR …….. Alabama we’ll see you next year
BamaStan
December 1st, 2012
8:27 pm
Nice 3 game season. Went 1-2.
The Tide is Rolling and Nothing can stop it
December 1st, 2012
8:27 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHA
Screw off Inbreds
December 1st, 2012
8:27 pm
Good game Inbreds, nice late hit on our QB. If that was one of the UGA players on Alabama they would have been kicked out of the game. One sided officiated game. Nothing New!
Hold up fellas
December 1st, 2012
8:27 pm
1st things first. To Big Gator: get used to being on the outside looking in for a long time to come with Muschump. As hard as this loss was, knowing we beat you guys helps make up for it. As for the last play, I don’t care what anyone says that was a bad call. Spike the ball, get two plays. That gives you time to tell the receivers if the ball is caught outside of the endzone bat it down. Still might not have won but at least we would have had a shot. And please get a new kicker for next year. I know Murray has the stats, he doesn’t have the “it” factor like Greene, Shockley, Stafford, etc. He seems to panic in big moments. My fear is he will be back next year and unfortunately we don’t have a soft schedule to hide it.
D?
December 1st, 2012
8:28 pm
Nice work Grantham…..only 500+ yards given up AGAIN!
dave
December 1st, 2012
8:28 pm
Love how the haters crawl out of the wood work after a loss. Great game, almost pulled it out, yes he should have spiked it but anyone who thinks he was throwing to Conley is a idiot, it was tipped. He was going to Mitchell in the corner.
Buckeye
December 1st, 2012
8:28 pm
dogs,
Shoulda Woulda Coulda
1980 was a long time ago
December 1st, 2012
8:28 pm
Cue the officals-hate-us bs…..you lost, you should be used to it by now.
HeyJay
December 1st, 2012
8:28 pm
Good game dawgs. bs we have to play in the cotton/peach bowl.
good luck bama
Dawghater
December 1st, 2012
8:28 pm
Lets start to hear from the “whiners”, not the “winners”. Superior teams play for the National Championship. The runner-ups get to sit back and watch Florida go to a BCS bowl game. Excuses will rain from the heavens tonight.
MTSeats
December 1st, 2012
8:28 pm
@LifetimeTider, where’s Alabama’s NFL, MLB, or NBA team?
jbdawg80
December 1st, 2012
8:29 pm
Great Game. My team did not win but my aggrevation is with the BCS. Ga should get a better bowl than anybody else in the SEC with regards to Alabama. Just Sayin!!!!
DP
December 1st, 2012
8:29 pm
That was a spectacular game. This was not the Georgia team of the last few years that nearly always folded in the big game. Even with Alabama’s offensive line and running backs pounding them they hung in and didn’t quit. It was like a great heavyweight fight. As an Alabama grad and fan I was happy to see Alabama finally get back to a smash mouth running game circa 2008-09 even if it took not being able to handle the Georgia pass rush early in the game to get them to do it.
Buckeye
December 1st, 2012
8:29 pm
dogs,
HA!
Sunbury Ga dawg
December 1st, 2012
8:29 pm
Proud of you dawgs! i am……….you fought and i know it hurts but you fought! many said this game would be over by halftime. it was over in the 4th qrt! good game bama, keep your heads up dawgs!
MR is a hypocrite
December 1st, 2012
8:29 pm
Enjoy the Champs Bowl, boys!