Jermaine Burton, Isaiah Bond make huge plays to build double-digit lead for Alabama

Jermaine Burton and Isaiah Bond came up with some huge catches as Alabama built a 17-7 lead over Georgia to end the half. As a result, the Crimson Tide are sitting pretty heading into halftime of the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.

The first big play of the drive came on 3rd-and-21 with a 17-yard pickup from Jalen Milroe to Amari Niblack. That set up a 4th-and-4 play, setting up a crucial decision for Nick Saban.

After Georgia and Alabama exchanged timeouts, the Tide went for it. The blocking set up beautifully for Alabama with Milroe finding Isaiah Bond on a brilliant 22-yard gain.

The play for Bond was ruled a catch and was not reviewed though some felt the ball might have been juggled while going to the ground:

damn that Isaiah Bond catch should have been reviewed? might have been incomplete pic.twitter.com/mM3cEEa2BS

— GC (@ValverdeSZN) December 2, 2023

After a run for no gain on 1st down, Alabama went back to the air. Once again, Milroe was protected, and he was able to step into a throw to Burton in the back of the end zone.

It was a perfect pitch-and-catch for the Tide to punctuate a remarkable first half:

Jermaine Burton doing it against his former team. @AlabamaFTBL extends the lead. pic.twitter.com/9uZzz1O73Z

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) December 2, 2023

Can Alabama finish off the upset in the second half? Tune to CBS for the rest of the SEC Championship action.

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.