The 2023 SEC Championship Game was a college football game that was played on December 2, 2023, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in

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 498,7 ...

. It was the 32nd edition of the

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 ...

. The contest featured 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 me ...

, the West Division champions and the Georgia Bulldogs the East Division Champions. Alabama won the game by a score of 27–24 and, therefore, became champions 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 o ...

(SEC) for the 2023 season, while ending Georgia’s 29-game winning streak that began in the 2021 Orange Bowl CFP Semifinal.

Teams

The 2023 SEC Championship Game featured the Georgia Bulldogs, champions of the East Division, and the

, champions of the West Division. It was the teams' 73rd meeting, with Alabama leading the series 42–26–4. Georgia won the latest meeting between the teams in the

2022 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game played on January 10, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The eighth College Football Playoff National Championship, the game determined ...

, which was Georgia's first win against Alabama since 2007. This was the fourth time Georgia and Alabama played for an SEC Championship, with the Crimson Tide winning each of the previous three meetings in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

and

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. This was the 11th SEC title game appearance for Georgia and their third consecutive appearance; they first appeared in 2002 and are 4–6 overall in previous appearances, though the Bulldogs have won 14 SEC championships in total, dating back to

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...

. Alabama made their 15th SEC championship game appearance, dating back to the inaugural game in 1992; the Crimson Tide entered the game 10–4 in SEC title games. Including titles earned before the championship game format, Alabama leads the conference with 29 in total, dating back to 1933. Georgia and Alabama have appeared frequently in recent SEC Championship Games; entering the game, 12 of the last 13 title games featured at least one of the two teams, with Georgia's last appearance being in

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, and Alabama's in 2021.

Alabama Crimson Tide

The Crimson Tide clinched a spot in the game on November 11, following a 49–21 rout of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. Alabama's last appearance, and victory, in the game was in 2021. This would be Nick Saban’s last SEC Championship game appearance, as he retired following the conclusion of the 2023 season.

Georgia Bulldogs

The Bulldogs clinched a spot in the game following Missouri's 36–7 defeat of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

on November 11. Georgia's last appearance, and victory, in the game was in 2022.

Scoring summary

Statistics

Broadcasting

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

broadcast their 23rd consecutive and final SEC Championship Game. Under a new ten-year agreement that begins the following season,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

will broadcast the championship game, with CBS beginning a full-slate of

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

football games, including the

Big Ten Football Championship Game The Big Ten Football Championship Game is a college football game held by the Big Ten Conference each year to determine the conference's season champion. The game, held after the regular season has been completed, matches the division champions ...

next season and in 2028.

References

{{Georgia Bulldogs football navbox

Championship Game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, 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 sy ...

SEC Championship Game Alabama Crimson Tide football games Georgia Bulldogs football games