With the SEC Championship game now set and rapidly approaching, we have two seemingly disparate teams ready to square off in Atlanta. Alabama is the favorite, the team everyone expected to be here. Missouri is the team that no one has respected all season, that everyone expected to fall at some point in the last month. The one thing they have in common: veteran coaches who know how to win.

Nick Saban and Gary Pinkel both have excellent track records and championship game experience. Both coaches have led teams to conference championship games, with Saban doing it at two schools and Pinkel in two conferences. Let’s take a look back at how each coach has fared in title games.

Nick Saban

Conference championship game record: 4-1 overall; 2-1 (Alabama), 2-0 (LSU)

  • 2001: Saban’s No. 21 LSU team pulled a major upset, knocking off No. 2 Tennessee to capture the SEC crown. LSU went on to win the BCS championship a few weeks later.
  • 2003: LSU rolled over Georgia, 34-13, for Saban’s second SEC championship. The No. 3 Tigers went on to beat No. 1 Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl for the BCS Championship.
  • 2008: In Saban’s second year at Alabama, he had the Crimson Tide at No. 1 in the polls. They ran into Tim Tebow in the first SEC Championship matchup of BCS Nos. 1 and 2, falling 31-20 to the Gators.
  • 2009: Alabama got revenge for the prior year, repaying the favor of upsetting the No. 1 Gators to move onto the BCS Championship, where Saban captured his first title with the Crimson Tide.
  • 2012: The Crimson Tide narrowly escaped Georgia, with the Bulldogs falling short at the last second. The Tide won their second straight national championship a few weeks later, crushing Notre Dame.

Gary Pinkel

Conference championship game record: 0-3 overall; 0-2 (Big 12), 0-1 (SEC)

  • 2007: The No. 1 Tigers fell to No. 9 Oklahoma, 38-17, as Chase Daniel struggled for Mizzou. The Tigers went on to dominate Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl.
  • 2008: No. 19 Missouri made it back to the Big 12 title game for the second straight season, again running up against No. 4 Oklahoma. This time, the Sooners crushed the Tigers in Kansas City, rolling to a 62-21 victory.
  • 2013: Pinkel led the Tigers to the SEC title game in just their second season in the conference. They ran into a high-powered Auburn offense, falling 59-42 in a shootout.