The 2012

SEC Championship Game The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. The championship game pits the SEC East Division regular season champion against the West Division regula ...

was played on December 1, 2012, in the

Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of the Georgia World Congress Center ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, and determined both the

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champion of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC). The game featured the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

, winners of the SEC Eastern Division versus the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

, the winner of the SEC Western Division. Because Alabama and Georgia were both respectively ranked 2 and 3, the game was considered a de facto semifinal game, as the winner would automatically face the undefeated

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

in the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

with no vote necessary. Georgia was the designated "home" team. The game was televised by

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for the twelfth straight season. Kickoff was scheduled at 4:00 (EST).
2012 SEC Championship Game Alabama won the game 32–28 improving their record to 4–4 in the title game. Alabama's

Eddie Lacy Edward Darwin Lacy Jr. (born June 2, 1990) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Alabama, where he was a member of three BCS National Championship teams in the 2009, 2011, and 2012 seasons. He was drafted by t ...

was named MVP after rushing for 181 yards and two touchdowns. The game at the time was the most watched college football game of the 2012 season (it would be surpassed by the 2013 BCS National Championship Game on January 7, 2013) with the game receiving a 10.1 share or 21.0 million viewers tuned in.

Game summary

After the first-ever scoreless first quarter in this game's history, the teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter. Alabama kicked a field goal as time expired in the first half to take a 10–7 lead. Georgia took the game's largest lead in the third quarter with two touchdowns, the second of which was an

Alec Ogletree Alec Ogletree (born September 25, 1991) is an American football inside linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football for the University of Georgia and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He ha ...

55-yard return of a blocked field goal. Alabama answered with a rushing touchdown and two-point conversion by

T. J. Yeldon Timothy Antonio "T. J." Yeldon Jr. (born October 2, 1993) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at Alabama. Ear ...

's second touchdown of the game put the Tide ahead as the fourth quarter began. These two Alabama running backs each finished the game with over 150 yards; they are the first duo of running backs in SEC championship history to each have even 100 yards. The Bulldogs once again went in front by three on their very next drive, when they took only two minutes to answer with a

Todd Gurley Todd Jerome Gurley II (born August 3, 1994) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at Georgia, where he recei ...

touchdown run. Georgia's defense continued to allow Alabama yardage on the ground, but they forced an Alabama punt with 7:14 remaining, still up by three. Georgia could only keep the ball for four plays and two minutes, though, as they punted back to the Tide with 5:24 left in the game. Georgia's defense was "stacking the line," using an extra defender to prevent gains on the ground. Alabama took advantage: on first down with three minutes left, quarterback

A. J. McCarron Raymond Anthony "A. J." McCarron Jr. (born September 13, 1990) is an American football quarterback for the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL. He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. McCarron played college ...

used play action to free up

Amari Cooper Amari Cooper (born June 17, 1994) is an American football wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he was the Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top receiv ...

for a 45-yard touchdown pass. The Alabama defense forced Georgia to punt with two minutes left. But, Georgia used all of their timeouts while their defense also held firm. A punt gave Georgia one last drive, starting from their own 15-yard line. It seemed as if the game was over when

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appeared to have intercepted a pass on the fourth play of the drive. However, replay overturned the interception ruling, and Georgia again had an opportunity. Three more long passes brought the Bulldogs all the way to the 8-yard line with the clock winding down. With 9 seconds to play, an Aaron Murray pass toward the end zone was deflected toward

Chris Conley Christopher Lane Conley (born February 29, 1980) is an American musician who is the lead-singer/rhythm guitarist of the rock band Saves the Day. He was the only remaining original member as well as major artistic contributor throughout their car ...

in the field of play. Surprised to see the ball—he was not the intended receiver on the play—Conley caught the pass as he fell down in-bounds at the 5-yard line. The clock ran out before Georgia could run another play.

Scoring summary

Notes

This was Alabama's 8th appearance in the title game. The previous seven appearances were all against the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

. This was Georgia's 5th appearance and second consecutive SEC Championship game. This was the first meeting between the schools since 2008. From 2006 to 2012, the winner of this game played in the

BCS National Championship Game The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college fo ...

seven straight times with a record of 6–1 (LSU was defeated by fellow SEC member Alabama following winning the

2011 SEC Championship Game The 2011 SEC Championship Game was played on December 3, 2011, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, and determined the 2011 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game featured the Georgia Bulldogs of the Eastern div ...

). Their victory in this game, along with their ranking based on their season-long performance, earned Alabama a spot in the

BCS National Championship The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college foot ...

Game, where they defeated Notre Dame, 42–14.

References

External links

"2012 SEC Championship: #2 Alabama vs. #3 Georgia"
Replay of the 2012 SEC Championship Game {{DEFAULTSORT:2012 SEC Championship Game

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

SEC Championship Game Alabama Crimson Tide football games Georgia Bulldogs football games December 2012 sports events in the United States 2012 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state) 2012 in Atlanta