ATLANTA -- Notre Dame, the Tide rolls for thee.
Alabama rallied twice in the second half to down Georgia 32-28 in the SEC Championship game at the Georgia Dome on Saturday, all but assuredly earning a shot at the No. 1 Irish in the BCS title tilt on Jan. 7.
Down three with five and a half minutes to play, Alabama QB AJ McCarron threw a 45-yard pass to Amari Cooper for with 3:15 to play. The drive took four plays.
In what has become two teams swinging anvils at each other all afternoon, Georgia blew an 11-point lead only to restore its advantage early in the fourth quarter, leading Alabama 28-25 as the teams have three 100-yard rushers on the day between them.
The third quarter began as an utter disaster for Alabama, as Georgia seemed poised to vanquish demons after collapsing against LSU in this spot last year. It opened the second half with a 75-yard drive to a Todd Gurley 3-yard touchdown run and a 14-10 lead.
Then the Georgia special teams continued its rout in this affair, blocking an Alabama field goal attempt with Alec Ogletree returning it 55 yards for a stunning score and a 21-10 advantage midway through the third.
From there, the collapse began. Two Georgia penalties propped up Alabama's next drive, with T.J. Yeldon then barreling in from 10 yards out for a score. Yeldon rammed home a two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 21-18.
After a Georgia punt, the Crimson Tide declared a ground assault, with Eddie Lacy and Yeldon carrying on all seven plays of a drive to a Lacy 1-yard score and a 25-21 lead.
Back came the Bulldogs. They moved 75 yards in just five plays, with Aaron Murray's 45-yard pass to Tavarres King setting up Gurley for a 10-yard touchdown run and a 28-25 lead with 12:54 left.
In the first half, McCarron threw two interceptions and the Crimson Tide botched a fake punt that would have earned a first down, but Georgia was unable to take advantage of any gaffes and then melted down before intermission to fall behind.
After the first scoreless first quarter in the history of the SEC championship game, the Bulldogs unleashed their own fake punt on the first snap of the second period. That was followed soon after by a 19-yard Murray touchdown pass to Jay Rome for a 7-0 lead.
Last year, Georgia's lead was 10-0 before LSU ran off 42 unanswered points. The lead wasn't as big in 2012 but the momentum soon followed suit.
First, Alabama drove to a goal-to-go situation only to have McCarron throw a horrible back-shoulder pass for an interception. But Georgia didn't take advantage, and Alabama's next drive was capped by tailback Lacy rumbling in from 41 yards out to tie it at 7-7 with 3:05 left in the half.
Murray got the Bulldogs moving in response but threw a jump ball into double coverage that Crimson Tide safety HaHa Clinton-Dix easily intercepted with 75 seconds left in the half, with Murray missing a wide-open receiver on the play as well.
Curious clock management cost Alabama a shot at a touchdown, but two McCarron scrambles set up a Jeremy Shelley field goal from 22 yards out to make it a 10-7 game at the break.
Lacy finished the first half with 90 yards on nine carries, as Alabama wound up with 152 yards on the ground before the break.
bchamilton@tribune.com
Twitter @ChiTribHamilton
Alabama wins SEC title, will face Notre Dame next
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Alabama wins SEC title, will face Notre Dame next
