B&S SEC Championship Game Preview 2023
Familiar foes meet in Atlanta. Can Georgia exorcise the Alabama demons in ATL and get their 30th straight win? Or will the Tide spoil the party?
By: Bossman Slim, Hammer
Championship Week is here, which is hard to believe. Every year we get so geared up for the season, only for it to be gone in what feels like the blink of an eye. But this weekend will be fun as we sort out what the College Football Playoff picture looks like, starting tonight with Oregon vs. Washington (8:00 ET on ABC).
It’s been another incredible year for the Bulldogs, who have run the table in the regular season for the third straight year and are chasing their 30th straight win. To do that, they’ll have to get through the Crimson Tide, who are have never lost to Georgia in Atlanta, and who have never lost a game in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium (7-0).
So, who’s going to come out on top?
Bossman Slim: I’ve analyzed this one until I’m blue in the face. Georgia fans for much of the season have been predicting that if they face Bama in the SEC Championship Game, that the Dawgs with route the Tide. And after watching Alabama struggle mightily against middling Auburn last week, you might think that’s exactly what will happen. I’m not so sure. Georgia has not faced a team all season with an athlete at QB the caliber of Jalen Milroe. I’m really interested to see how Alabama uses Milroe’s legs against the Georgia defense in order to open things up on the backend. The Tide win games when Milroe gets things going on the ground and can then hit a few deep shots. On the other side, Georgia is the most complete team in the country. I don’t take too much stock in them sleepwalking through three quarters against Georgia Tech last week, to me that more seems like they were looking ahead to Alabama. The Dawgs can beat you in a myriad of ways. Want to stuff the run? Fine, Carson Beck will pick you apart. Take away Brock Bowers? Good luck with that, but no problem, Beck will spread the wealth. Offense has a down game? Fine, you’ll hardly score as the defense goes to work. This is the difference in the game to me: the offensive lines. Alabama has been getting by on getting by this season and have benefitted from having Milroe bail them out with his legs. The Tide have given up 39 sacks this season, averaging 3.25 per game. That is utter madness for the amount of talent that Alabama possesses on the O-line. Georgia’s defense has been stellar yet again this season, but are only averaging two sacks a game, good for just 64th in the NCAA. I do think Georgia will apply pressure and be able to go over their average sack total, but where it really matters is the Georgia offensive line. This is a unit that’s up for a Joe Moore Award and ranks sixth in the NCAA in sacks allowed. They’re going up against a vaunted Alabama pass rush that has notched 36 sacks on the season, good for ninth in the country. Georgia’s offensive line has held up well against some impressive pass rushes this season, including Tennessee’s and Ole Miss’s. They allowed just one sack in each of those games, though they did give up four TFLs against Tennessee. I think this offensive line for the Dawgs is the difference maker and allows clean pockets for Carson Beck much of the night and gets the Dawgs over the 100-yard rushing mark. Because of that, I’m taking the Dawgs to win and cover.
#1 Georgia 27
#8 Alabama 20
Hammer: It’s here. One of the games everyone in college football hopes to see each year. Georgia against Alabama in Atlanta for the SEC Title and a CFP berth on the line. It does not get any bigger than this one. These two teams are built for one another. Georgia is a five-point favorite and that’s too rich for my blood. We have seen this movie before, and Alabama losing by more than five on a neutral field in a game of this magnitude seems unlikely. I expect a closer game than that, and the Tide could win outright. This game comes down to the QB play to me. I trust both defenses to play well. Nothing will come easy for the opposing offense, so who can make more throws and hit big shots downfield? Does Carson Beck rebound from his mediocre performance last week? Alabama is the best defense Georgia has seen all season. Beck will have to be sharp for Georgia to win. I know Auburn just ran the ball really effectively on Alabama, but I don’t expect a repeat of that this week. Georgia will be able to get some yardage on the ground, but not enough to win without Beck having a great game. Same goes for Milroe. He needs to be sharp. No turnovers, no lapses in judgment. He is as lethal a playmaker as any player in the country, but he’s had plenty of head-scratching plays as well. Can’t happen here. Plus, his legs need to be a big factor. Milroe is the most athletic QB Georgia has seen, so he needs to exploit that and make plays running with his legs, and escape the pocket to create more time for off-script shot plays downfield. That’s how you beat a secondary as talented as Georgia. If you can’t tell, I am chomping at the bit for this game. I expect both teams to play really solid games and this one to come down to the wire. I lean Georgia to win a close one, letting Kirby finally slay the Alabama SEC title dragon. I just think they’ve been the better team overall, and I’m sticking with that thought process here, even though it means I’m picking against the greatest coach of all time.
#1 Georgia 31
#8 Alabama 30