A week after Jalen Milroe and Isaiah Bond stole victory from the jaws of defeat in the Iron Bowl, the duo combined for more heroics to give Alabama the SEC title.
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe and wide receiver Isaiah Bond led the Crimson Tide to victory for a second straight week, their heroics resulting in a 27-24 SEC Championship victory over two-time defending national champion Georgia.
Despite Georgia’s 29-game win streak going into Saturday’s game, the opening 30 minutes were all Alabama. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead, forcing a Crimson Tide punt and scoring on the opening drive, but Alabama scored 17 unanswered points to end the first half.
After four straight incompletions to start the game, Milroe completed six of his last eight first-half passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns. With Georgia unable to get pressure past the Alabama offensive line, Milroe ripped the Bulldogs secondary to shreds. He connected with Jamarion Miller for a 28-yard touchdown to take the lead in the opening minutes of the second quarter.
On the next drive, Nick Saban kept his offense on the field for a four-yard fourth-down try. Milroe found an open Isaiah Bond for a diving catch to move the chains, another miraculous play for the duo just a week after their game-winning connection in the Iron Bowl. Two plays later, Jermaine Burton made a great contested catch in the end zone for another touchdown to extend the lead to 10 points. Five of Milroe’s six first-half completions gained at least 15 yards.
Both teams spent the entire third quarter stuck in neutral, trading field goals. It looked like Alabama would have a chance to put the game away when Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck fumbled in his own red zone, putting the Crimson Tide within 20 yards of a 14-point lead, but Alabama could only settle for a field goal.
In the opening minutes of the final quarter, Beck finally drove his offense down the field again. He fired a pass to Ladd McConkey down to the 1-yard line before calling his own number and sneaking in to make it a 20-17 game.
Again, however, Milroe and Bond saved the day for the Crimson Tide. After several good chunk plays got the Tide into Georgia territory, Alabama faced a third down and Milroe couldn’t find a receiver. The sophomore quarterback bought time, dodging and weaving defenders in the pocket before the pressure collapsed in upon him. At the last second, however, Milroe shoveled the ball forward and found Bond blitzing across the middle of the field, gaining 13 yards and keeping the drive alive.
Milroe found Bond again on the next play, who sprinted and juked his way down to the 1-yard line. The Tide pounded the ball into the end zone two plays later to extend the lead back to 27-17 with less than six minutes left. All four of Milroe’s passes on the clinching scoring drive were caught by Bond.
Georgia drove down the field for another touchdown to make it a 3-point game with 2:52 to play, forcing Alabama to pick up one last first down. On the opening play of the final drive, however, Milroe scampered for 30 yards. He scrambled for a first down again two plays later to seal the game and the conference title.
With the win and the conference title, Alabama makes a massive College Football Playoff argument at the buzzer. The SEC conference champion has never been left out of the playoff before, but the Crimson Tide’s loss to Texas earlier in the year could make the debate for the last spot interesting. Should Florida State lose to Louisville later on Saturday, the Tide will surely make the final four, but a Seminoles win could leave Alabama out if the committee honors the head-to-head and the 13-0 Power 5 champions. Georgia, on the other hand, would need to hope for chaos and their reputation to grant them a miracle fourth seed, but it seems like their CFP chances are over.
