Alabama's dominance in Atlanta and other SECCG notes to keep in mind

No. 8 Alabama (11-1, 8-0 SEC) will face No. 1 Georgia (12-0, 8-0) in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 2. The highly-anticipated matchup is set to kick off at 3 p.m. CT and air on CBS, which will mark the final SEC game that the national network will broadcast.

The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs will play in Atlanta, more specifically Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which has been a home away from home for the former. Alabama enters the conference title game with an overall 17-1 record in games played in the Peach State’s capital city since head coach Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2007. That includes 16 straight wins.

The Tide is 7-0 in Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games, 8-1 in SEC Championship Games, 1-0 in the Peach Bowl and 1-0 in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game during that span. After losing to Florida in 2008, Alabama has won eight straight SEC title games and has claimed eight wins over top-10 teams and seven over programs in the top five.

Of UA’s 16 consecutive wins, Saban’s squads have won 12 of them by double-digits. 

The Crimson Tide will look to continue that trend when it faces Georgia this weekend. Here are some other points from Alabama’s game notes to keep in mind before the SEC title game.

Tide-Dawgs SECCG meetings

Alabama and Georgia will meet for the fourth time in SEC Championship Game history on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta. The previous three contests between the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs came in 2012 (32-28), 2018 (35- 28) and 2021 (41-24) with UA coming out on top all three times. Saturday’s matchup will also be Saban’s fifth pairing with UGA in the SEC title game, as Saban and his LSU Tigers downed Georgia, 34-14, in 2003. 

Alabama seeks 30th SEC championship

Alabama is attempting to win what would be an SEC-leading 30th conference championship. The Crimson Tide has more SEC championships than any other school and is seeking its eighth conference title in the last 12 seasons. Alabama won the first SEC championship during the 1933 campaign as head coach Frank Thomas led the Crimson Tide to a 5-0-1 conference record. Thomas guided Alabama to four SEC titles. Paul “Bear” Bryant directed the Crimson Tide to 13 SEC titles during his 25-year run in Tuscaloosa. Alabama won five straight SEC championships from 1971-75 and captured eight of the 10 SEC championships from 1970-79. In addition to Thomas and Bryant, Alabama has had five other coaches win SEC championships, including Harold “Red” Drew (1953), Bill Curry (1989), Gene Stallings (1992), Mike DuBose (1999) and Saban (2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021). 

In addition to its 29 SEC championships, Alabama also won four Southern Conference titles (1924, 1925, 1926 and 1930), giving the school 33 conference football championships.

Tide making 15th SECCG appearance

Alabama will be playing in its 15th SEC Championship Game on Saturday as the 2023 SEC Western Division champion. The Crimson Tide won the SEC Western Division title with an 8-0 league record as part of an 11-1 overall record during the regular season. Alabama enters Saturday’s contest with Georgia having won eight straight SEC Championship matchups dating back to a win over Florida in the 2009 game. During the eight-game stretch, the Crimson Tide is averaging 39.6 points per game and outscoring the opposition, 317-182.

Fifteen SEC Championship Game appearances are the most of any team in the conference title game since it began in 1932. Florida is second at 13; Georgia is third with 10 appearances.

Saban vs. former assistants, Smart

Saban is 30-3 all-time against his former staffers during his tenure at the Capstone. The Crimson Tide head coach’s most wins against a former assistant is six against Jimbo Fisher (6-1). Saban is 4-1 against Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.

Tough to get Saban’s Tide twice

During his tenure at Alabama, Saban has suffered 28 total losses. Of those 28 losses, the Tide has had the opportunity to face the team that beat them at a later date on 24 occasions. In those 24 rematches, Alabama owns a 22-2 mark when avenging its previous loss. The only two times the Crimson Tide has fallen in back-to-back games against the same opponent is LSU (2010-11) and Ole Miss (2014-15). The Crimson Tide has not yet had the opportunity to bounce back from losses against Utah (2009), Clemson (2018), Georgia (2021) and Texas (2023). 

Alabama vs. the SEC East

Since Saban’s arrival, the Crimson Tide owns a 47-5 (.904) record against SEC Eastern Division foes. That record includes an 8-1 (.889) mark in the SEC Championship Game and a 1-1 record in the College Football Playoff National Championship. Alabama’s only two postseason losses to the East during Saban’s tenure are against then-No. 2 Florida on Dec. 6, 2008 (SEC) and against then-No. 3 Georgia on Jan. 10, 2022 (CFP). The only three regular-season losses to Eastern Division foes under Saban are against then-No. 22 Georgia on Sept. 22, 2007, followed by a loss at then-No. 19 South Carolina on Oct. 9, 2010, and finally a last-second loss at then-No. 6 Tennessee on Oct. 15, 2022.

NCAA record against No. 1 teams

Alabama owns the NCAA record for the most wins all-time against the AP Poll’s No. 1 team since the poll was introduced in 1936. The Crimson Tide has compiled 10 wins against the AP’s top-ranked team in program history, most recently against No. 1 Georgia in the 2021 SEC Championship Game. Seven of those 10 wins have come during the Saban era with the first being Alabama’s victory over defending national champion Florida in the 2009 SEC Championship Game to send the Crimson Tide to the BCS National Championship Game against Texas. Three of the next four occurred in national title games, including LSU (2011), Notre Dame (2012) and Clemson (2015). The sixth win during the Saban era came when UA defeated top-ranked Mississippi State at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Nov. 15, 2014.

Milroe vs. ranked opponents

Jalen Milroe has been at his best in the later part of the season, helping the Crimson Tide to three wins over Associated Press Top 25 teams including then-No. 15 Ole Miss, then-No. 17 Tennessee and then-No. 13 LSU. In those three contests, Milroe has completed 70.8 percent (46-65) of his passes for 664 yards while accounting for seven total touchdowns (three passing, four rushing). He has accumulated 850 total yards in those matchups to average 283.3 yards per game.

Big Play Burton

Jermaine Burton has emerged as a big-play threat for the Crimson Tide this season. The senior leads UA with 749 yards and seven touchdowns on 33 catches. A total of 20 of his receptions have converted a first down while Burton averages 22.7 yards per catch to lead the SEC and rank second nationally in that category.

Success after halftime

Alabama’s offense has come out of the halftime break on fire this season. The Crimson Tide has totaled 117 of its 429 points (27.3 percent) in the third quarter of games, its highest point total in any quarter in 2023. The offensive output pairs with a Tide defense that has allowed just 48 points in the third quarter and only 90 total points in the second half of games.

Outside ‘backers wreaking havoc

Alabama outside linebacker Dallas Turner is playing the best football of his career. In addition to his tackle-for-loss and sack totals, he is 10th in total pressures according to Pro Football Focus with 50, including nine sacks, 10 quarterback hits and 31 hurries. Turner has graded out at 10th nationally in pass-rush grade (88.6) and owns a PRP (combines sacks, hits and hurries relative to how many times a player rushes the passer) of 11.7 that is 10th among all Division I defenders. Fellow outside linebacker Chris Braswell is slightly ahead of his counterpart in PRP, ranking third nationally at 12.3.

Cornerbacks locking it down

Alabama cornerbacks Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold are two of the top-graded defensive backs according to Pro Football Focus. Among players who have been in coverage on 80 percent of their snaps in 2023, McKinstry has graded out at ninth nationally with Arnold slightly ahead in fifth. Kool-Aid has been targeted just 37 times in 12 games, allowing 196 total yards receiving and ranks 12th in forced incompletions with nine. Arnold is fifth nationally in forced incompletions (12) with a 50.5 NFL passer rating on his targets.

Reichard needs one more point

Will Reichard is one point away from setting the NCAA’s all-time career points mark. Now in his graduate year, Reichard has accumulated 530 total points to tie quarterback Keenan Reynolds of Navy (2012-15) for the career record.

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