Georgia is looking for revenge for its only loss of the season. This is the fifth straight season that Georgia will be playing for the SEC Championship, and the third time in five years that they will be facing Alabama in the game. As the Bulldogs look for revenge and their third conference title in five years, it is time to make bold predictions on their game.
The Crimson Tide has been stellar this year, going 10-2 and 7-1 in conference play. The Alabama season started against Florida State, as the team fell 31-7. The team rebounded to win eight straight games. This included a four-game winning streak in four consecutive weeks over ranked opponents, as the Tide beat Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Tennessee. The winning streak came to an end with a two-point loss to Oklahoma. After a victory over Eastern Illinois, they pulled out a tight victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
Georgia is 11-1 on the year, and also went 7-1 in conference play. That put them in a four-way tie for first in the conference, but they won a tie-breaker over Texas A&M and Ole Miss based on strength of schedule. A win in the SEC Championship will likely give them a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. After starting 3-0 with an overtime win over Tennessee, they fell to Alabama. Since then, it has been eight straight wins, with only one game by less than a touchdown.
The pass rush contains Ty Simpson
The Alabama offense has been solid this year, sitting 24th in the nation in points per game and 58th in yards per game. The running game has struggled this year, sitting 114th nationally, but they are 17th in the passing game. This is led by Ty Simpson.
Simpson has passed for 3,056 yards and 25 touchdowns, with just four interceptions. Further, he has run for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Still, Simpson has been sacked 22 times this year. Alabama is 59th in the percentage of dropbacks in which the quarterback is sacked. Georgia has not been great at getting to the quarterback. Chris Cole leads the way with four sacks this season. Still, they are good at containing the quarterback and better recently in rushing the passer.
When Alabama has struggled this year, it has been when Simpson is under pressure. In the loss to Florida State, he was sacked three times and completed just 53.5 percent of his passes while under consistent pressure. Then, against Oklahoma, he was sacked four times, leading to negative-nine yards rushing and an interception as well. They also took just a three-point win over Missouri, in a game in which Simpson was put on his back four times. Georgia is going to put pressure on Simpson in this game, which is going to lead to struggles for the Alabama offense.
Nate Frazier leads the offense
Georgia's offense has been solid this season. They are 22nd in the nation in points per game, while sitting 34th in yards per game. They are 67th in the pass, but 27th in the run. Quarterback Gunner Stockton has been part of the rushing success. He has run for 403 yards and eight touchdowns this season.
Meanwhile, Chauncey Bowens has also been solid. He has run for 493 yards and found the endzone six times. Still, it is going to be Nate Frazier to lead the way in this game. Frazier has run for 809 yards and five touchdowns this year. He has also run for 416 yards and three touchdowns in the last four games. The running back was benched in the first game with Alabama after just four carries. He had been running well, going for 30 yards on four carries, but he fumbled for the second time in the season and was benched. Chauncy Bowens went on to run for 119 yards in the game. Meanwhile, Frazier has not fumbled since.
The Alabama defense is solid, sitting 13th in opponent points per game and 13th in opponent yards per game. Still, the weak spot of the defense is against the run, which ranks 40th, giving up 134.5 yards per game. Frazier is going to be the lead back in this game, running for over 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Peyton Woodring walks off a hero
This is going to be a tight game. Both teams have been similar on offense this year. Georgia has a much better running game, but Alabama has been better at passing. Both teams are similar in the red zone as well. They have identical numbers in redzone defense, while Alabama is fractionally better on offense. Alabama has been better at creating turnovers, but Georgia holds on to the ball well.
The major difference in this game is going to come down to kicking. Alabama converts on just 68.42 percent of its field goal attempts, which is 107th in the nation. Opponents have hit 86.67 percent of their attempts, 111th nationally. Meanwhile, Georgia's kicking game is ranked fourth in FBS.
Peyton Woodring has been fantastic this year. He has converted all 46 extra point attempts this year, while hitting 15 of 16 field goal attempts. He is eight of nine beyond 40 yards as well, with a long of 53 on the season. Georgia is going to be down in the fourth quarter, and Alabama will have the ball. The pass rush will put pressure on Simpson, creating a punt for the Crimson Tide. With time still left on the clock, Georgia is going to use the running game to march the field and drain the clock. As time comes to an end, Woodring is going to hit a field goal, giving the Bulldogs a tight victory.
