ATHENS – The SEC Championship matchup between No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 Alabama is set. It has been for a while, but the dynamic feels just a tad bit different after the Crimson Tide’s struggle against Auburn on Saturday night.

Alabama won, as expected, but it took four overtimes to do it. Twenty-point favorites going in, the Crimson Tide (11-1, 7-1 SEC) could have lost in regulation. However, Auburn’s Tank Bigsby running out of bounds with a 10-3 lead inside the final two minutes left Alabama and quarterback Bryce Young just enough time to execute a 97-yard game-tying touchdown drive. The Crimson Tide won it on a two-point conversion pass to John Metchie in the fourth extra period.

“We know it’s a big one coming up,” coach Kirby Smart said shortly after the Bulldogs wrapped up their first 12-0 regular season in school history on Saturday in Atlanta. “Everyone’s kind of had it circled and seen it out there. We’ve really tried to work hard on getting better. That’s been the emphasis: What can we improve on? The last two weeks we’ve been trying to be ascending.”

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