ATLANTA, Ga. — Despite a 28-7 loss to No. 3 Georgia in the SEC championship game Saturday, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said the No. 9 Crimson Tide are deserving of a spot in the College Football Playoff, saying a conference title game loss shouldn’t be punishment.

“If this game applies to and takes away from our resume, I don’t think that’s right,” DeBoer said. “I really don’t. I think the precedent’s been set and I don’t know how you can go into a conference playoff game when you’re the No. 1 seed and did all these things throughout the year — and playing in this game against one of the top teams in the country as well — how that can hurt you and keep you out of the playoff when again, we’ve done what we’ve done all year.”

The Tide opened the season with a 31-17 loss on the road to Florida State, then won eight straight, including victories over Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri and Tennessee. Despite a 23-21 loss to then-No. 11 Oklahoma at home on Nov. 15, the Tide qualified for a rematch with Georgia in Atlanta.

The Bulldogs held Alabama to 16 carries for -3 yards rushing, just the second time in school history the Tide have been held to negative yards rushing, after the 1968 Gator Bowl. They became the first team not to rush for a first down in an SEC championship game, according to ESPN Research. Their longest carry of the night was 5 yards.

Still, Alabama remained in striking distance until 8:13 remained, when, trailing 21-7, DeBoer opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the Tide’s own 12. Quarterback Ty Simpson threw the ball toward the sideline for Germie Bernard, but it sailed high and wide and out of bounds. Three plays later, Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Zachariah Branch to stretch the lead to 28-7.

“If we’re really worried about the score, then you probably punt it on your own 11,” DeBoer said. “I’m here to win an SEC championship. If you lose by one or you lose by more, it’s still a loss. And that’s what I was caring about. We’re here to win an SEC championship. We can’t get worried about how much we lose by.”

DeBoer said Alabama was missing a few key pieces that would have helped against Georgia, all of whom would return before a playoff game, including running back Jam Miller.

“Two of our three losses are when Jam doesn’t play,” he said.

In the first quarter, Georgia’s Cole Speer blocked Blake Doud‘s punt and it was recovered and returned by Justin Williams to the Alabama 21. Four plays later, Stockton threw his first touchdown pass to Roderick Robinson II to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead. DeBoer said the block came from the spot usually manned by defensive lineman LT Overton, who was out for this game.

“There’s a check we’ve got to make we make all season long,” DeBoer said. “We missed it and they got an extra hat that we couldn’t block.”

DeBoer said that was the story of the game, that the Tide gave the Bulldogs four short fields and had to hold up against them. But he touted Alabama’s resilience, the same way he said the team bounced back all season.

“If you’re really looking at this game, I mean it was a 14-point game with 7½ minutes to go 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 a loss to Georgia in this game should not be a negative in the eyes of the CFP selection committee.

“That may be the best team in the country right now,” Sankey said of Georgia. “And you’ve got to remember, Alabama went to Athens, won a game, won a number of other ranked games, played tough schedule. This is a reward tonight. It’s not a penalty for playing in that game.”

He said that if it does cost Alabama a CFP spot, he’s sure it will raise questions about the future of championship games in a significant way.

“But that question’s been there for decades and George and Alabama played here a couple of years ago, and Alabama beat an undefeated Georgia team in the four-team playoff [in 2018],” Sankey said. “We still kept the championship game.”

Simpson finished 19-of-39 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 loss, his team’s resume holds up to scrutiny.

“We went through a gauntlet of the schedule,” Simpson said. “The SEC is the best conference in the country. That’s a really good team, and it’s pretty much as simple as that.”

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach contributed to this report.

ATLANTA — Georgia coach Kirby Smart doesn’t have an Alabama problem anymore.

After Smart’s teams dropped seven of their previous eight games against the Crimson Tide, the No. 3 Bulldogs flipped the script with a dominant 28-7 victory over No. 9 Alabama in Saturday’s SEC championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

By securing their second straight SEC title, the Bulldogs finished 12-1 and likely secured a top-four seed and first-round bye in the upcoming College Football Playoff.

It’s the first time Georgia has won back-to-back SEC championships since tailback Herschel Walker led them to three straight from 1980-82.

The fact the latest one came against Alabama, where Smart worked as an assistant under former coach Nick Saban from 2007 to 2015, made it all that much sweeter. It was Georgia’s most lopsided win against the Tide since a 21-0 victory on Oct. 2, 1976.

“It’s not about redemption; they’ve got a great program, great head coach,” Smart said. “It’s about our team tonight. These guys have been doubted and since that last game — our team was really physical tonight. Played an excellent game. Really proud of them and proud for these Georgia fans.”

In Alabama’s 24-21 victory on Sept. 27, which ended Georgia’s 33-game home winning streak, the Bulldogs trailed 14-0 early and never took the lead.

That wasn’t the case Saturday, as walk-on receiver Cole Speer delivered the first big play, blocking Alabama’s punt from its 21 with 6:31 left in the first quarter. That set up Gunner Stockton’s one-yard touchdown pass to running back Roderick Robinson II for an early 7-0 lead.

The Bulldogs were only getting started.

On the Tide’s next possession, safety KJ Bolden tipped Ty Simpson’s pass, which cornerback Daylen Everette intercepted. Georgia put together a 14-play drive that culminated with Stockton’s 5-yard scoring pass to Dillon Bell to make it 14-0.

Georgia’s defense, which couldn’t get off the field in the teams’ first meeting this season, held the Crimson Tide to minus-3 rushing on 16 attempts. Alabama’s longest run was five yards.

It was only the second time in school history that Alabama was held to negative rushing yards in a game (it had minus-45 in a 35-10 loss to Missouri in the 1968 Gator Bowl).

“I think that helped a lot,” Everette said. “We just tried to make it one-dimensional. That’s one thing we emphasized coming into this season: we’ve got to do better stopping the run on defense.”

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, who threw for 276 yards with three touchdowns in the earlier meeting, wasn’t nearly as good this time. He completed 19 of 39 passes for 212 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked three times.

Going back to the second half of the September game, Georgia’s defense shut out the Tide in seven straight quarters.

Alabama didn’t find the end zone Saturday until Simpson’s 23-yard touchdown to Germie Bernard with 12:33 left in the fourth quarter.

The Crimson Tide converted only 3 of 13 third downs, after going 13-for-19 in the earlier win at Georgia.

“We told them after that [September] game there wasn’t a lack of execution in that game at home,” Smart said. “They outplayed us. 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.”

Georgia has allowed 10 points or fewer in each of its past four games, the longest streak in a single season since the Bulldogs did it in eight straight games in 1971, according to ESPN Research.

“It was a huge difference,” Smart said. “It was the domination on that side of the ball. A lot of it came with a chip on their shoulder from the last one. It came with a chip on their shoulder from improving.”

Stockton was named the game’s MVP after completing 20 of 26 passes for 156 yards with three touchdowns. He was 8-for-10 for 61 yards with all three scores on third down.

“It’s a great feeling to see him get that,” Everette said of Stockton. “Proud of him for everything he’s done this year. Probably one of the toughest kids on the team. Toughest kid I know. Take all the hits, pop right back up.”

As the SEC’s highest-ranked team, Georgia won’t play again until a CFP quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day (8 p.m. ET, ABC). The Bulldogs won’t learn their place in the 12-team bracket until it’s announced Sunday.

Georgia will be looking for revenge in New Orleans, as well. The Bulldogs fell to Notre Dame 23-10 in a CFP quarterfinal following the 2024 season. That was Stockton’s first start for the Bulldogs after Carson Beck was injured in the SEC championship game.

“We never quit,” Stockton said. “I think we’ve shown that in every game. I think that’s one of the best parts about our team, is we never quit.”

We’re just hours from the announcement of the College Football Playoff field. There’s plenty of drama left to play out on the field.

The committee is gathered at its headquarters in the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas, to watch conference championship games that will impact their final ranking on Selection Day. It was only the beginning of conference championship weekend, but how these games unfolded with the committee watching will determine their five highest-ranked conference champions — and how that order will impact the contenders around them.

We’re tracking all the conference title games and the impact on the CFP field as well as the top plays and highlights from No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Indiana.

Jump to: CFP takeaways

Conference title takeaways

With the win against Alabama, Georgia should lock up a top-four seed and a first-round bye, but that position depends in part on how far the loser of the Big Ten championship game falls. It’s possible Ohio State and Indiana just flip — or stay status quo — but if it’s a lopsided defeat, Georgia can finish anywhere from No. 2 to No. 4.

The bigger question is how far Alabama drops following its decisive third loss. If Alabama sinks to No. 11, it will open the door for both Notre Dame and Miami to finish in the top 10 — regardless of order. Because of how Alabama lost — and the committee hasn’t forgotten their season-opening loss to Florida State — the Crimson Tide could fall out of the field. The committee also will consider that Alabama has a regular-season road win against the SEC champs, though. If Alabama drops only one spot, it could still be a buffer between Miami and Notre Dame — and it could be the last at-large team in at No. 10.

Texas Tech’s win against BYU secured a top-four finish and a first-round bye for the Red Raiders. It also helped Notre Dame’s playoff chances tremendously, as the Irish no longer have to be concerned about being leapfrogged by BYU.

This puzzle is far from complete, though.

It doesn’t matter for BYU if the committee keeps it at No. 11 or drops it to No. 12 (or beyond). Either way BYU would be bumped out during the seeding process to include a conference champion. Where BYU lands, though, will impact Miami.

The selection committee is most likely to do one of two things: drop No. 11 BYU to No. 12 behind Miami, or keep it exactly where it is. If BYU falls below the Canes, the committee could reconsider the tiebreaker between Miami and Notre Dame.

With Tulane’s win against North Texas on Friday, the American champs locked up a spot in the playoff, as they will be the committee’s fourth-highest-ranked conference champion. The Green Wave will earn the No. 11 or No. 12 seed, depending on who wins the ACC championship game. If Tulane gets the No. 11 seed and faces the committee’s No. 6 team on the road in the first round, as things stand now, Tulane will get a rematch against Ole Miss. The Rebels beat Tulane 45-10 on Sept. 20 in Oxford, and they will have home-field advantage again as the higher seed.

With Friday’s win against Troy, JMU‘s path to the playoff is straightforward: Duke needs to beat Virginia and win the ACC. If that happens, the committee will reward JMU with the No. 12 seed as its fifth and final conference champion — and it would come at the expense of the ACC champion, which would be excluded. The question is if the conference will be excluded entirely, though — or if No. 12 Miami will still sneak in, even without playing this weekend. That could happen if BYU loses to Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game and drops behind Miami — putting the Canes right below No. 10 Notre Dame. In that scenario, the committee could look at Miami’s season-opening win against the Irish as one of several tiebreakers it uses to separate comparable teams.