Tide Snaps Records Against Gators, Claim SEC Title

ATLANTA, GA. — The Alabama Crimson Tide showed out with 35 points in the first half of Saturday night's SEC Championship game in Atlanta, before a late surge by the Florida Gators closed the gap ahead of an eventual 52-46 Tide victory. The win, which was the second-highest scoring SEC Championship game in the contest's history, marks Alabama's sixth conference title in a decade and its seventh during the Nick Saban era.

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Despite the Alabama defense having a difficult time wrangling Florida quarterback Kyle Trask and receivers Kadarius Toney and Kyle Pitts, it would be Tide linebacker Christian Harris who slammed the door in the final seconds, taking the Heisman Trophy candidate to the turf for his second sack of the night.

While the game did see anchor center Landon Dickerson go down with a knee injury late in the fourth quarter, the SEC Championship stayed a tale of two quarterbacks. Bama signal-caller Mac Jones broke the SEC Championship game passing yard record, tossing for 418 yards, while Trask threw for the second-most yards in the game's history at 408 and three scores.

In an offensive showcase, Alabama running back Najee Harris would be named the game's MVP after putting in a yeoman's performance on the ground, carrying the ball 31 times for 172 yards and two touchdowns. The performance would also see Harris break the school's record for career rushing touchdowns, along with topping the mark for the most touchdowns in SEC Championship game history.

Harris contributed in the passing game as well, catching five passes for 67 yards and three scores.

Another crucial performance came from receiver DeVonta Smith, just one of the multiple Heisman favorites playing in the game. Smith snagged a stunning 15 catches, two for touchdowns, finishing with 184 yards as Jones threw for another school record-tying five scores through the air.

The Alabama offensive firepower was needed as the Tide defense gave up 462 total yards to the Gators and failed to force a turnover in the passing game.

Alabama will now be in the presumed No. 1 spot going into the College Football Playoff semifinals, likely to be joined by No. 3 Clemson, who defeated unbeaten No. 2 Notre Dame on Saturday, along with No. 4 Ohio State, who is 6-0 and likely to be selected based on strength of schedule during the truncated season.

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