2023 SEC Championship game set with Georgia vs Alabama matchup

With two weeks left in the regular season, the SEC Championship is set. It will be Alabama vs. Georgia for the third time in six years.

Alabama locked up a spot in the game with a victory over Kentucky on Saturday — the Crimson Tide’s eighth consecutive victory. Georgia, meanwhile, clinched an appearance with Tennessee’s loss to Missouri prior to kickoff against Ole Miss. Because the Bulldogs beat Mizzou last week, they’d own the tiebreaker.

Alabama and Georgia previously met in Atlanta in 2021 as part of the Bulldogs’ run to the national championship. In fact, that was the last time UGA lost a game as the Crimson Tide pulled off a 41-24 victory in a thriller at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That was the first of two postseason meetings between the programs, as they later met in the national championship. Kirby Smart got the better of Nick Saban in that one, though, as UGA won its first national title in 40 years.

Now, they’ll square off again in the 2023 SEC Championship on Dec. 2 in Atlanta.

The matchup was locked in just ahead of kickoff between Georgia and Ole Miss, meaning it’s no longer a “must-win” for the Bulldogs. Alabama, however, already played to clinch its spot in the game, and Nick Saban addressed it afterward.

“Obviously it’s great that we won the West and gonna have an opportunity to play in the SEC Championship Game, which I’m very happy for this team that they were able to accomplish that,” Saban said.

Georgia remains undefeated this season entering Saturday’s game against Ole Miss at Sanford Stadium, getting an important ranked win last week over Missouri. The Bulldogs bring a 9-0 record into Saturday’s game, which had College GameDay in attendance with the No. 9-ranked Rebels coming to town.

Nick Saban: Alabama has ‘come a long ways’ to clinch spot in SEC Championship

Alabama’s start to the year was a bit up-and-down, starting with a victory over Middle Tennessee State in the opener and a loss to Texas a week later. But the Crimson Tide have rattled off eight wins since, including a resounding 49-21 win over Kentucky at Kroger Field on Saturday.

Saban noted his team’s turnaround afterward and the strides the Crimson Tide have made.

“This team’s come a long ways. They’ve worked hard,” Saban said. “There’s great togetherness, good leadership on the team. A lot of guys have made significant improvement because they’ve stayed positive and stayed the course in terms of listening to what the coaches had to say about what they needed to improve.”