Kalen DeBoer gambled the entire season and was rewarded with career-defining win and trip to the SEC Championship for Alabama
Alabama is headed to Atlanta to face Georgia in the SEC Championship after risky win.
The Alabama Crimson Tide needed to take care of business in one of the most dangerous environments in college football, and the team did just that.
Alabama came into the Iron Bowl ranked as the No. 10 team in the College Football Playoff rankings and needed to get through Auburn in the Iron Bowl on the road at night. Dreams come to die at Jordan-Hare Stadium as we’ve seen in the past, but not for this Alabama team, despite the struggles.
The game was winding down tied up at 20, and Alabama head coach Kalen Deboer made the riskiest call of his life. It led to Alabama winning 27-20, and now he’s being rewarded for it with a trip to the SEC Championship against Georgia, and possibly more.
Alabama closes out Auburn after iconic call by DeBoer
It’s never easy for Alabama in these games that have everything on the line, but the team showed up when it mattered the most. DeBoer didn’t lose faith in his struggling offense and quarterback Ty Simpson, and he put the season in his hands when he could’ve played it conservatively. Alabama had 4th and two with just under four minutes left in the game from the Auburn six-yard line, and Simpson came in clutch after DeBoer trusted his offense with literally everything on the line instead of kicking a field goal.
Simpson came up to the line, and nobody thought he would actually run a play, but that’s when he took the snap and delivered a dart to Isaiah Horton for his third touchdown of the game.
After a 17-0 lead, Auburn fought back when Alabama’s offense started to struggle, and the call to go for it was as bold a call as you can make in that situation. Alabama needed a big play, and they got a play that will be in the history books of the most iconic rivalry in college football. Alabama just needed to get a win to add to its resume for the playoffs, and now the Crimson Tide is headed to the SEC Championship game.
Alabama punches its ticket to Atlanta for the SEC Championship
A loss would’ve ended the season for Alabama and erased any hopes of making the College Football Playoff, and it would’ve been Georgia vs Ole Miss for the SEC Championship instead. Alabama controlled its own destiny with a win, and now it’s headed to Atlanta for a rematch against Georgia with a spot in the playoffs potentially on the line as well.
Alabama already beat Georgia on the road back in September, and it’ll have to do it again to win the SEC Championship, but also keep its playoff hopes alive. We don’t know what the College Football Playoff selection committee would do to Alabama if it lost in the SEC Championship with so many teams fighting for a final spot, so winning erases any doubts.
The offense has to find its groove again after struggling over the last two weeks, and they may be without starting RB Jam Miller after suffering an injury in the Iron Bowl. Alabama only has a week to prepare as it will kick off against Georgia on Saturday, December 6th at 3 p.m. CT.
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