Alabama Football Captures 28th SEC Title, Defeats No. 7 Florida 52-46
ATLANTA — Alabama football picked up its 28th SEC title on Saturday night in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, downing the Florida Gators 52-46 in the SEC Championship Game.
While the Crimson Tide dominated in the first half, the Gators made a comeback attempt in the second half, scoring 14 unanswered points and cutting the Alabama lead to four heading into the fourth quarter.
However, a 17-point fourth quarter for Alabama and several key stops on defense led to the Crimson Tide celebrating in confetti once again.
"Really proud of our team for the way they competed in the game," Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. "I think I'm really proud of our team for the way they competed all year long. This has been a year of lots of disruptions — a lot of abnormal things happening — and the resiliency that our team has shown throughout the season to win 11 games is pretty phenomenal.
"I think it speaks to the togetherness on the team — everybody sort of buying in and trying to do the things they needed to do to contribute to the team."
Crimson Tide quarterback Mac Jones finished his last game before the Heisman Trophy voting, going 33 of 43 for 418 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.
Senior wide receiver DeVonta Smith didn't have too shabby of a night, either, bringing in 15 receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns of his own.
While deadly in the air, Alabama was also just as effective on the ground. Senior running back Najee Harris picked up 178 yards on 31 carries as well as two touchdowns. He was also equally challenging for the Gators defense as a receiver, making five catches for 67 yards and three additional touchdowns.
Harris finished the night with a career total of 3,639, giving him the most rushing yards in Crimson Tide history. The rushing rushing touchdowns brought his career total to 44 also a program record.
"It's an honor to be in that position but I can't thank the line enough for really making this happen," Harris said. "For me, I know my name's going to be on there but just for the o-line to come and make those holes is — really I feel like they should be on there. The all-time leading rusher somewhere up there, too."
Harris scored his first touchdown on the Crimson Tide's opening drive, scurrying eight yards through the line for six points. In the first half, Alabama scored a touchdown on five of its six drives, with Jones' interception being the only drive that didn't result in a score — at least not directly.
With 6:21 remaining in the first quarter, Jones threw over the middle to senior tight end Miller Forristall, who had it taken out of his hands by Gators defensive back Trey Dean. During Dean's return, sophomore wide receiver John Metchie III came flying up from behind jarred the ball loose on his hit, with Smith recovering.
Smith then caught a 31-yard touchdown pass on the next play.
At halftime, Alabama led Florida 35-17.
The Gators came roaring back by putting together a four play, 75-yard drive for a touchdown to open the second half. With Alabama failing to score on its first two drives of the third quarter, Florida was able to narrow the margin down to 35-31.
Alabama was able to put 17 points on the board in the fourth quarter, while Florida was hot on its heels with 14 points of its own.
On Alabama's next-to-last offensive drive of the game, Alabama redshirt-senior center Landon Dickerson went down with a knee injury and was forced to be carted off of the field. When he was lifted onto the cart, the entire Crimson Tide team cleared the sidelines and gathered around him on the cart for a heartwarming farewell from the game. However, Dickerson returned to the field for the postgame ceremony, where he joined the rest of the team on crutches and with his left knee wrapped.
Saban later revealed that Dickerson will undergo an MRI on Sunday to determine the extent of the damage, but he believed it could be serious.
Late in the fourth quarter, Alabama was forced to punt after a three-and-out drive, leaving 16 seconds on the clock for the Gators. With Florida out of timeouts, Crimson Tide linebacker Christian Harris sacked Gators quarterback Kyle Trask on its final play, bringing a hectic game to an end.
"This is the best," Saban told CBS after the game. "This is the absolute best because I absolutely love this team, I love all the adversity that they had to overcome and resiliency that they went through to be able to do this and I appreciate it."
Alabama finished as the only team in college football history to go 11-0 in conference play in a single season.
Alabama and Florida will await the verdict of the College Football Playoff Committee, which is slated to announce the final rankings on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET (ESPN). Should the Crimson Tide hold on to the top seeding as expected, it'll play the No. 4 team in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
