The College Football Blog: 2012 SEC and FBS Game of the Year

FBS Game of the Year 

 

SEC Game of the Year

SEC Championship Game: Alabama vs. Georgia (32-28)

Highlights: At stake was not only the conference championship, but also a spot in the national championship game. Both teams came into the game 11-1, with #2 Bama favored by 8.5 over #3 Georgia, despite the location of the game being the Georgia Dome. 

The Dawgs outplayed Bama early on. There was also a point in the 3^rd quarter when it seemed like the makings of an upset falling into place. But by the end of the game, if this was a boxing match, the Dawgs would have needed a final round knockout because Bama would have won any judge’s decision. They had a 26-18 edge in 1^st downs, a 512-394 edge in total yards, and a 15 minute edge in time of possession. Alabama rushed 51 times for 350 yards, averaging 6.9 yards per attempt. Georgia also didn’t get any help from the refs, as Alabama was hit with 2 penalties for 15 yards, while UGA was penalized 7 times for 64 yards. 

Despite all of this, Georgia stayed in the game throughout, and they were 1 play away from winning in the final seconds. They very nearly got that last second knockout. The keys to this were a 2-1 edge in turnovers; a special teams TD; a 4^th down conversion on a fake field goal; and an interception in the end zone. The other key was an intangible but it was none the less real: the Dawgs never gave in. They fought to the very last and nearly pulled it off.  

The first possession for each team resulted in a punt. On Bama’s second possession they faced 3^rd and 4 from their own 42 when Jarvis Jones sacked AJ McCarron and jarred the ball loose. The Dawgs recovered at the Bama 40. Penalties pushed Georgia back to the 49 but they managed to pick up a 1^st down at the 29. On 3^rd and 9 from the 28 Aaron Murray was sacked by Xzavier Dickson for a loss of 5 back at the 33. This meant that Marshall Morgan’s FG try would be of the 50-yard variety. He missed terribly and Bama took over. 

The Tide moved to the Georgia 44 before punting. The Dawgs moved into Alabama territory as the 1^st quarter came to an end with the game still scoreless. The 2^nd quarter began with UGA lined up to punt on 4^th and 6 from the Alabama 36. The ball was snapped to TE Arthur Lynch who was lined up as the up back, and Lynch hit CB Sanders Commings for a pickup of 16 yards and a 1^st down at the 20. Two plays later Murray hit Jay Rome on a 19-yard TD to give Georgia a 7-0 lead. 

After a 13-play, 87-yard drive, the Dawgs went back on defense and forced a 3-and-out. Georgia took over on offense in Alabama territory at the 49. Just when it looked like the Dawgs had all the momentum, Bama’s defense stepped up, forcing a 3-and-out. Now Bama’s offensive machine got rolling, as the Tide drove inside the UGA 10 from their own 18. 

On 3^rd and 6 from the 8 McCarron ran up near the line of scrimmage and fired high and out of the back of the end zone. This should have brought up 4^th and 6 from the 8 but the officials called Alec Ogletree for roughing the passer. Ogletree did not hit the QB in the head and if the contact did come after McCarron released the ball it was virtually simultaneous. In any case, it certainly would not have been physically possible for Ogletree to do anything to stop himself in time. But the flag gave Bama a 1^st and goal. 

It seemed a foregone conclusion that the Tide would score, but on 2^nd and goal from the 1 Eddy Lacy was destroyed right at the goal line and fumbled. McCarron recovered back at the 5 for Alabama but now the Dawgs had a decent chance at forcing a FG attempt. They did even better. On 3^rd down, Sanders Commings stepped in front of McCarron’s pass in the left side of the end zone and intercepted. Georgia still led 7-0 more than halfway through the 2^nd quarter. 

Unfortunately, the Dawgs were hurt by a holding penalty on the first play of their next offensive series. They ended up going 3-and-out and punting it right back to Alabama. It was at this point that Georgia’s defense began to lose the physical battle against the Alabama offense. TJ Yeldon rushed 3 times for 26 yards, as Bama moved from their own 30 to the UGA 41. Then on 2^nd and 10 from the 41 Lacy busted loose for a 41-yard TD, tying the game at 7-7 with just under 2 minutes to go in the 1^st half. 

With the defense looking a bit winded, it might have made sense for the Dawgs to be conservative on their next possession and just take the game into halftime if they could. On the other hand, the Dawgs stood to get the ball first in the 2^nd half, so if they could get any kind of score here late in the 1^st half they would have a chance to take a 2-score lead without Bama getting a real offensive possession. 

It looked like the first part of that scenario might play out, as the Dawgs picked up 24 yards on their first 2 plays of the drive, moving to the 49. But on the next play Murray fired deep down the left seam and overshot his man. Ha’Sean Clinton-Dix ran up to make the interception like a line-drive kick and returned it from the 18 to the 47. 

Now UGA’s defense had to come back onto the field and Bama had all 3 timeouts and 1:15 to work with. They should have been forced to start from their own 38 rather than the UGA 47. This was because an Alabama player took a free shot on Murray after the interception, jumping up and blasting, and catching him unprepared. Luckily for the Dawgs, Murray was able to gather himself on the sidelines. Unfortunately, the refs missed the hit, so Bama got the ball at the Georgia 47. 

Yeldon picked up 8 to the 39 on 1^st down before McCarron threw incomplete to bring up 3^rd and 2. The clock was stopped with 42 seconds left but the Dawgs called timeout, knowing this was a big play. Yeldon rushed for 3 yards on 3^rd and 2 to give Bama another 1^st down at the 36. Going without a huddle, Bama lined up on 1^st down and McCarron scrambled for 9 yards to the 25. 

At this point Bama really mismanaged the time situation. They had all 3 timeouts, and with so little time on the clock it was not worth it to keep the clock running just so that the defense would be on its heels. But Bama lined up again without calling time for 2^nd and 1 from the 25. McCarron took off again and ran forever over the middle, but by the time he got down at the 5-yard line and called timeout there was only 5 seconds left in the half. Bama couldn’t afford to run another play; they had to settle for the short field goal attempt. Jeremy Shelly was good from 22 yards out to give Bama a 10-7 halftime lead. 

Even though the Dawgs were somewhat fortunate to be down 3 instead of 7, and even though Dawg fans would probably have taken a 3-point halftime deficit before the game, there was still a sense that the Dawgs had missed an opportunity. Perhaps more worrisome, it did appear that Georgia’s defense had started to wear down late in the 1^st half and that wasn’t a good sign with 30 more minutes to go against Alabama. Now Georgia’s first possession of the 3^rd quarter loomed large. 

On that first possession of the 2^nd half the Dawgs sent a message that they were not prepared to go away. Going without a huddle, the Dawgs marched 75 yards on 9 plays in less than 3 minutes to score a TD and retake the lead, 14-10. 

On Bama’s first possession of the 2^nd half they converted on a 3^rd and 13 and then moved into UGA territory. The Tide had a 1^st and 10 at the 34 but Georgia held and forced a 49-yard FG try. Alabama sent on Cade Foster to try the longer FG and Cornelius Washington got a paw up and blocked it. Ogletree then scooped the ball up and ran 55 yards for a touchdown. The Georgia fans in attendance went berserk. There was still a long way to go, but with a 21-10 lead in the 2^nd half, it looked like the Dawgs could be on their way to one of the great victories in team history. 

The downside of the special teams TD was that Alabama got the ball right back, and more importantly, Georgia’s defense went right back on the field. A 15-yard personal foul penalty on the kickoff gave Bama the ball at their own 38. TJ Yeldon carried on 3 consecutive plays for 37 yards. A pass interference penalty gave Bama a 1^st down at the 10, and on the next play Yeldon ran in for a touchdown. 

At this point, Nick Saban made one of the underappreciated decisions of the game, keeping the offense on the field to go for 2, knowing that Georgia’s defense was tired. Yeldon scored the 2-point conversion easily to make it a 3-point game. Conventional wisdom holds that you don’t go for 2 until you have to, and with nearly 19 minutes remaining in the game, this wouldn’t usually qualify. But in this case there was very little risk in going for 2 because the Dawgs were not in any position to stop a run play short of 3 yards. 

With Georgia’s defense in rough shape, the offense at the very least needed to pick up a couple of first downs on the next drive in order to give the defense a breather. This did not occur, as the offense went 3-and-out and punted back to Bama. The Tide took over at their 26 and this time it was Eddy Lacy’s turn to gash Georgia. Lacy went for gains of 32, 15, and 14 yards to move Bama to the UGA 13 before the Dawgs finally stopped him for a 2-yard loss. But then Yeldon came back in and picked up 13 yards for 1^st and goal at the 2. 

The 3^rd quarter came to an end with Georgia still in the lead but Bama in control of the action on the field. On the final play of the 3^rd quarter the Dawgs had stopped Yeldon at the 1-yard line. This didn’t figure to make much deference on the scoreboard, and it didn’t, as Bama scored on the first play of the 4^th quarter to take a 25-21 lead. 

However, the defense did get the break between the 3^rd and 4^th quarters, and then they got another break after the touchdown. The offense would now have the ball, and if the Dawgs could drive for a touchdown, the defense would get another break after the score, and then they might be rested enough to get a stop. That may sound like too much emphasis being placed on a defense getting rest, but at this point it didn’t look like Georgia was capable of stopping Bama.  

For the second time in the game the Dawgs had allowed 10 straight points to lose a lead. Once again, Georgia’s offense struck back. The Dawgs marched 75 yards in just 5 plays to retake the lead, 31-28. The only drawback was that they had only taken 2:03 off the clock. Now the defense would have to find a way to stop Bama. 

On the kickoff, the Dawgs very nearly got the break that might have delivered the upset. Amarlo Herrera tackled Cyrus Jones at the 21 and knocked the ball loose. The ball was on the turf and Alec Ogletree had a clean shot at it but couldn’t corral it. Jones himself somehow ended up recovering the fumble. 

The Dawgs had missed their chance but they still had a great opportunity to stop Bama, as a penalty backed the Tide up to their 11, but on the first play of the drive McCarron threw a 10-yard completion for a 1^st down. Yeldon carried 3 straight times for 2 more 1^st downs. Lacy then came into the game and the Dawgs stopped him for 2 yards on consecutive plays, bringing up 3^rd and 6 from the Alabama 48. This was the first time in forever that the Dawgs had even forced a 3^rd down. Bama tried to pass for the 1^st down and McCarron took off running and was dropped a midfield, brining up 4^th and 4. Amazingly, the Georgia defense had come up with a stop. 

Bama pinned the Dawgs at their 8 with the punt. With 7:14 to go, the Georgia defense had given the Dawgs a chance, and now it was up to the offense to take advantage. The Dawgs didn’t necessarily have to score a touchdown or even a FG, but they did need to get a couple of 1^st downs just to take some time off the clock, give the defense a breather, and change field position. But they couldn’t do it. On 3^rd and 1 from the 19 Todd Gurley was stuffed for no gain and the Dawgs had to punt after a 3-and-out. 

Georgia’s defense had just come up with a stop on Bama’s last possession, but it seemed unlikely they could do so again. 1,000 times out of 1,000, every coach in the world would have punted in this situation, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it wouldn’t have made more sense to go for it. The worst thing that could happen is they get stopped and Bama scores a touchdown.  If they pick up the 1^st down they run off more clock and maybe go on a long drive. Punting was more than likely going to give Bama the ball in good field position, and there was a good chance that they would score the TD any way, with the only difference being less time remaining on the clock with which to answer the score. 

But of course the Dawgs did punt and Bama got the ball back at their 45 with 5:24 to play. Moments later the Dawgs called their first timeout with 4:01 to play and Bama facing a 3^rd and 5 from the 50. After the timeout, Yeldon carried the ball and got just enough for the 1^st down at the 45. On the next play Bama came with a play-action fake and McCarron through a bomb deep down the left sideline. Amari Cooper burned Damian Swann on the play and made the catch as he crossed into the end zone for a touchdown. Bama retook the lead, 32-28, with just 3:15 remaining. Cooper was the X-factor in this game, catching 8 passes for 128 yards and the eventual game-winning TD. 

Now that 2-point conversion loomed large, as a FG would do Georgia no good. On the first play of the ensuing UGA possession Adrian Hubbard busted in and sacked Murray for a loss of 8 back at the 17. This was devastating. 2 incomplete passes later and the Dawgs were facing 4^th and 18 from their own 17.

Although it felt like giving the game away, Georgia had no choice but to punt and hope a defense that had given up over 300 yards on the ground could somehow keep Bama from picking up a 1^st down. And if they did that, they’d still have to go the length of the field for a TD without a timeout. The odds of all of that happening didn’t seem high, but apparently they were still high enough for the Dawgs to punt and give Bama the ball at their 36 with 2:17 to go. Georgia had only 2 timeouts left. 

Yeldon rushed for 2 on 1^st down and the Dawgs called timeout. He rushed for 3 on 2^nd down and the Dawgs called their final timeout. On 3^rd and 5 from the 41 Yeldon carried again and the Dawgs stopped him at the 44 after a gain of 3. Bama let as much time off as possible and called timeout with 1:16 on the clock. The Dawgs were still in bad shape, but the hard part was over, as the defense had come up with a 3-and-out. On 4^th down Cody Mandell punted and Malcolm Mitchell made the fair catch for Georgia at their own 15 with just 1:08 on the clock. They had to have a touchdown and they had no timeouts. 

On the first play Murray fired complete to Arthur Lynch, who got 9 yards and then got out of bounds at the 24. On the next play Lynch was wide open for a 1^st down but he dropped the pass. That meant the Dawgs had to risk a run. On 3^rd and 1 Gurley carried for 4 yards and a 1^st down at the 28. 

Murray then dropped back to pass and fired over the middle of the field for Chris Conley. There was a collision and the ball was batted away and caught on a dive by an Alabama DB. The Dawgs wanted a pass interference call but none came. It looked over. The play was reviewed, but at first it didn’t look like there was anything to overturn it. But the longer the replay took, the more likely it seemed like it might be overturned. After a long review, the officials ruled that the ground had aided the catch and that it was an incomplete pass. 

The Dawgs were alive, but they still had 72 yards to go with 45 seconds and no timeouts. On the next play after the review Murray hit Lynch for 15 yards and a 1^st down, out of bounds at the 43. The play took only 7 seconds. On the next play Murray fired over the middle to Tavarus King for 23 yards and a 1^st down, all the way to the Bama 34. The Dawgs hustled to the line and Murray snapped the ball with 22 seconds on the clock. He fired down the middle for Lynch who made the catch and barreled his way for 26 yards, all the way to the Bama 8. 

Suddenly it looked like the Dawgs might pull this thing off. The clock was stopped as the chains were reset. If the Dawgs spiked the ball they would have around 14 seconds; time for 3 shots at the end zone as long as Murray avoided a sack. 

However, Georgia decided that their best chance to score was to get to the line and run a play while the Alabama defense was on its heels. By the time Murray got the play called and got the ball snapped there was only 9 seconds on the clock. Murray fired out to the right and his pass was tipped in the air by a blitzing LB. The ball ended up coming right to Conley who instinctively caught the ball at the 4-yard line while slipping and was brought down immediately. As soon as he went down it was clear the game was over. There was no way for Georgia to stop the clock and there was no chance to get off another play. Bama was the winner, 32-28.