SEC Championship: 5 things Alabama does better than Georgia
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Two days. That’s all that separates us from college football’s most important conference championship game.
No. 1 Alabama is set to face No. 4 Georgia on Saturday in the SEC Championship Game. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on CBS.
Wednesday we looked at some of the biggest concerns Alabama has about Georgia. Today we flip the script with a look at five advantages the Crimson Tide has over the Bulldogs.
1. Pass rush
Alabama has an elite pass rush when it comes to putting up sack numbers while Georgia is the exact opposite.
Alabama leads the SEC and is No. 5 in the nation with 40 sacks. Georgia is tied for 12th in the league with just 20. Only South Carolina has fewer with 19 — and the Gamecocks have played one fewer game.
Alabama’s Isaiah Buggs (9.5 sacks), Christian Miller (7.5) and Quinnen Williams (7) have more than Georgia’s entire team. It’s crazy to think that a team with as much talent as Georgia would have such a low sack total. That lack of pass rush could be a big factor in the game because Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will carve teams up if given time.
Notably, Georgia’s best sack performances have come against running quarterbacks. The Bulldogs had 3.0 sacks vs. Georgia Tech, 4.0 vs. Kentucky and 3 vs. LSU.
Tagovailoa obviously can run, but he much prefers to move around to set up better passing opportunities.
2. Interceptions and pick-6s
It’s hazardous to build interceptions into the game plan, but Alabama is second in the SEC and ranks in the top-20 nationally with 14 interceptions. Even better, Alabama has returned four of those for touchdowns. That’s No. 1 in the SEC and tied for third in the country.
Georgia is near the bottom of the SEC with only 6 interceptions this season. Only Texas A&M and Arkansas have fewer picks with 6 each. Georgia has only returned one interception for a touchdown.
Similar to the sack total, that feels like an unusually low interception number for a top-5 team.
Tagovailoa has only thrown 2 interceptions all season, but Georgia did pick him off once in last season’s national title game.
Jake Fromm typically is careful with the ball, and he’s better than the last time Alabama saw him as a freshman. He threw 2 interceptions in the title game last year.
Interestingly, he has thrown 5 combined interceptions in his past 3 games against SEC West teams.
3. Quarterback play
This one is pretty simple. Tua Tagovailoa is a better quarterback that Jake Fromm in every way, but that’s going to be true of almost every QB the Tide face.
Tagovailoa leads the nation in passer efficiency at 212.5 and his 146.5 NFL passer rating ranks first among all FBS quarterbacks with at least 230 attempts. The sophomore is No. 2 in ESPN’s Total QBR metric at 94.7 (out of 100). Tagovailoa has thrown for 3,189 yards on 189-of-269 passing (70.3 percent) with a school-record 36 touchdowns and 2 interceptions while rushing 45 times for 211 yards and 2 scores.
Tagovailoa is one pace to clean up on the national award circuit. The Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and the Maxwell Award are just a few Tagovailoa could take him. Fromm is a really good quarterback who is playing well at Georgia. But everyone in the country knows Tagovailoa is a special player doing something we’ve never seen done at the quarterback position in Alabama history.
Fromm is better than most think. He’s not flashy and rarely makes risky throws, so he gives the appearance of a game-manager. Anybody who remembers the 80-yard strike he threw to Mecole Hardman in last year’s title game knows better.
No, he’s not Tagovailoa, but he’s clearly one of the best QBs the Tide have seen this season.
4. Stop the run
Alabama is stout against the run, holding teams to 3.3 yards per carry and an SEC-best just 6 rushing touchdowns.
Georgia’s run defense isn’t bad, but they’ve allowed 12 touchdowns. Something must give Saturday.
Georgia is one of the best rushing teams in the country. Junior Elijah Holyfield has rushed for 896 yards and sophomore D’Andre Swift has run for 962 yards. Swift has had 100-yard games in four of Georgia’s past five games.
If Alabama is able to bottle up Holyfield and Swift, it could be a long day for Fromm and Georgia’s offensive line because Alabama is at its best when there are opportunities to rush the passer.
5. Put up points and yards
Alabama’s offense is as explosive as any in the country. You can seriously make the case that Alabama’s offense is better than Oklahoma’s which has a slightly higher scoring average because its games are usually closer and more competitive late while Alabama lets up in most fourth quarters.
Alabama averages 49 points per game which is No. 2 in the country (Oklahoma – 50.3).
Georgia is high-powered as well, averaging 40.1 points per game.
Alabama is also one of two teams averaging over 8 yards per play (Oklahoma). Georgia is close at 7.4, but the Bulldogs haven’t seen a defense as good as Alabama’s and its defense hasn’t faced an offense as good as Alabama’s.
