ATLANTA — Georgia jumped out to a 14-0 lead on Alabama in the SEC championship game, flipping the script on the teams’ earlier meeting.
The Bulldogs fell behind 14-0 early and was own 24-14 at the half in the teams’ first meeting in Athens, a game the Tide won 24-21 in snapping UGA’s 33-game home win streak.
Kirby Smart is 97-3 when leading by more than 10 points in a game, but the Bulldogs head coach is just 1-3 in such games against the Crimson Tide.
Smart, whose offense has out-rushed Alabama 88-17, holding the Tide to just 70 total yards, said Georgia needs more of the same in the second half to win.
“Play really good defense, hang on to the ball, don’t turn the ball over, they are really good at getting turnovers, and win the line of scrimmage,” Smart said, asked what it would take to finish the game with a win. “You have to win the game up front, and we need to win the game at the line of scrimmage.”
Gunner Stockton has opened the game 12-of-17 passing for 80 yards with 2 TD passes, along with seven carries for 32 yards.
Tide quarterback Ty Simpson is 5-of-12 passing for 53 yards with an interception and has one carry for minus-1 yard.
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said his team needs to execute, from the time it takes the opening kick of the second half.
“There’s a couple of easy plays, we just have to make those …” DeBoer said. “Keep playing, we get the ball at the start of the (second) half, and it’s a four-quarter game for a reason.”
Alabama is trying to keep its 17-game win streak in Atlanta alive. The Tide has not lost in this city since Tim Tebow led Florida to win over a Nick Saban-coached Alabama team in the 2008 SEC championship game.
The Bulldogs capitalized on a blocked punt and a Daylen Everette tipped-pass interception to take charge early at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a game with College Football Playoff-seeding implications.
“Obviously the takeaway was big,” DeBoer said. “We’ve given them field position two times, and that’s where their 14 points come from.”
UGA (11-1) is looking to lock down a top-three seed with a win over the Crimson Tide (10-2), which entered the game No. 9.
Texas Tech, which entered the day ranked a spot behind UGA in the CFP rankings at No. 4, defeated BYU 34-7 earlier on Saturday in the Big 12 championship game.
The Bulldogs showed no signs of losing the momentum they’ve built with eight-consecutive wins dating back to the loss to Alabama.
Georgia tailback Rod Robinson opened the scoring for the Bulldogs with a 1-yard catch from Gunner Stockton on a third-and-goal, play-action pass.
Robinson’s catch came four plays after Cole Speer burst off the edge and blocked Blake Doud’s punt from the 21, and was recovered by Justin Williams at the 25 and returned to the line of scrimmage.
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Georgia made it 14-0 on its next possession when Dillon Bell caught a 5-yard pass from Stockton with 8:43 left in the first half.
Bell’s touchdown catch capped a 14-play, 57-yard drive that started when Daylen Everette intercepted a Ty Simpson pass that was tipped by UGA safety KJ Bolden
