What would the first College Football Playoff look like without Alabama in it? Nobody will ever know as the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide left nothing to chance and dominated Missouri on the way to the SEC Championship on Saturday at the Georgia Dome.
The 42-13 victory gave Alabama its 24th SEC championship in history, its first since 2012 and its third in eight seasons under coach Nick Saban.
Already designated the No. 1 team by the CFP selection committee, the Crimson Tide (12-1) did nothing to devalue that distinction. Depending on how the rest of the games shape up on “Championship Saturday” and how the committee views Bama in comparison with No. 2 Oregon — which won big over Arizona Friday night — the Crimson Tide will play in the national semifinals on Jan. 1 in the Sugar Bowl.
“I’ve never been more anxious for a group to be successful and win the SEC champonship,” Saban said. “I think that everybody sort of minimizes the importance of this game now once you start talking about the playoff. But it’s a significant accomplishment. I’ve been in this league for a long time. It’s tough to win, it’s tough to win your division and it’s tough to win in this game.”
Alabama got monster games from its considerable collection of offensive stars. Quarterback Blake Sims, a fifth-year senior from Gainesville, was 23-of-27 passing for 262 yards and two touchdowns to earn most valuable player honors. Wide receiver Amari Cooper established an SEC championship game record with 12 receptions and added one run for a total of 92 yards. Tailback Derrick Henry got loose for 141 yards on 20 carries and scored two touchdowns. T.J. Yeldon also had two scores as the Tide’s Lane Kiffin-run offense rolled up 504 yards.
Missouri (10-3), the SEC Eastern Division champion, was making its second consecutive appears in the SEC title game in just its third year in the league. But the Tigers still haven’t claimed any sort of championship since 1969 when it shared the Big 8 title with Nebraska.
But give Missouri credit. It rallied to make the game interesting early in the third quarter.
Quarterback Maty Mauk turned into a magician on third down and found Jimmie Hunt on several big plays. None were bigger than their 63-yard hookup on third-and-nine to the Alabama 1. It took four plays, but the Tigers finally punched it in there to make it 21-10 just four minutes into the second half.
The Tigers’ defense finally got a stop and quickly got the ball back. Another third-down conversion pass from Mauk to Hunt — this one for 47 yards — set them up at the Alabama 15. But the Crimson Tide held and Missouri had to settle for a 33-yard field goal and an eight-point deficit with 4:37 remaining in the third quarter.
The Tigers would never get closer. The third quarter ended with Alabama on Missouri’s 1-yard line and the game ended with the Tide taking a knee with their backup quarterback in Missouri territory. In between were three more scores and a ticket punched for the playoffs.
“They answered,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. “They did what they had to do. Those were statement drives.”
Mauk would end up with 272 yards passing but more incompletions (18) than completions (16). Hunt finished with 169 yards receiving on six catches.
Alabama sent a strong message to start the game. It elected to receive after winning the opening coin toss, then set about showing why.
The Tide flew down the field for the game’s first score. The pummeled Missouri’s perimeter with quick-hitch passes to Cooper and the other wideouts, then mixed in a little run for quick measure. Averaging 6.8 yards per play, Bama ran 10 of them and score in 3:36 on Yeldon’s 1-yard run.
Missouri made adjustments and held its own for the next couple of series. Then things took a quick turn for the worst for the Tigers.
First off, Bama struck hard and fast on its fifth offensive possession of the half. On first down, Sims made a play-action fake and threw a strike to DeAndrew White on a deep post for a 58-yard touchdown straight down the middle of the field.
To make matters worst, defensive end Shane Ray slammed into Sims after he’d released the ball, catching the quarterback with helmet-to-helmet hit under the facemask. The vicious temporarily dazed Sims and he stumbled off the field. But he would return to the game.
Ray did not. With 11:48 remaining in the second quarter, Ray was ejected via the targeting rule. He left to a shower of boos as he was escorted off the field by a Missouri aide. Alabama led 14-0.
Missouri responded by mounting its first offensive threat of the day. On third-and-four, Mauk was under heavy pressure and winged a prayerful, high-arcing shot down the left sideline. Jimmie Hunt hauled it in for a 32-gain to the Alabama 15.
But the Tigers’ drive would end right there and they settled for a 33-yard field goal and a 14-3 deficit with 8:30 left in the half.
Bama nearly used up the rest of the half on its next possession. Running the ball on 10 of 14 plays, the Tide used 5:43 to cover 75 yards and Yeldon scored on another short plunge, this one from two yards. Leading 21-3 with 2:47 left in the half, the Alabama rout was on.
