Kirk Herbstreit on Alabama getting punished for SEC title game loss: ‘It would have to get really ugly’
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Kirk Herbstreit saw what everybody else in the college football world saw during the first half of Saturday’s SEC Championship Game between Alabama and Georgia.
The ESPN analyst saw the Crimson Tide getting pushed around and playing sloppy football against the Bulldogs, who were more than happy to take advantage of those mistakes on the way to a commanding 14-0 lead in Atlanta. Alabama had just 3 first downs and 70 total yards in the first 30 minutes inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the Tide had the ball for just a hair over 10 minutes.
Having a punt blocked and Ty Simpson throwing an interception didn’t help matters either, as it was an altogether forgettable first half for a team with seemingly everything on the line. Or is everything on the line on Saturday for Alabama as it tries to lock down a College Football Playoff spot?
Herbstreit doesn’t believe so. He thinks the Crimson Tide are OK when it comes to their Playoff status to be announced on Selection Sunday — unless, that is, things really get bad for Bama, and the final score is far worse than the halftime score.
“It would have to get really ugly for Alabama to get punished for playing a bonus round game,” said Herbstreit, according to a social media post by CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford.
It’s not like Herbstreit didn’t know what was taking place so far in Atlanta. He was all over it.
But before he got all over Alabama and its Playoff status, Herbstreit was willing to give the Tide the benefit of the doubt late in the first half.
Of course, that was subject to change by game’s end.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
