Alabama Crimson Tide running back Najee Harris (22) rushes after contact for a touchdown in the second quarter of the 2020 SEC Football Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA on Saturday, December 19, 2020. [Matt Pendleton/Special to the Sun]The Crimson Tide was led by game MVP Najee Harris, who accounted for five touchdowns and 245 yards of total offense

ATLANTA – The No. 1/1/1 Alabama football team won its 28th Southeastern Conference championship with a 52-46 victory over No. 7/11/11 Florida in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday. The win moves the Crimson Tide to 11-0 on the season, while dropping the Gators to 8-3.

 

In addition to being Alabama’s 28th SEC title, Saturday marked the Tide’s ninth SEC Championship Game win and seventh in a row.

 

Najee Harris, voted the game’s Most Valuable Player, tied his career best with five touchdowns – three receiving and two rushing – and totaled 245 all-purpose yards, including 178 rushing and 67 receiving. DeVonta Smith also tallied 200-plus all-purpose yards with 184 receiving yards on a career-best and SEC Championship Game record 15 catches, two of which went for touchdowns, as well as a combined 24 return yards.

 

Alabama racked up 605 yards of total offense on the night with Mac Jones completing 33 of his 43 passing attempts for 418 yards and five total touchdowns.

 

On defense, the Tide was led by Will Anderson Jr., who tallied six tackles, including five solo stops and two sacks. Christian Harris also had two sacks on the night, with his second coming on the final play to put the game away. Dylan Moses, Jordan Battle and Daniel Wright also totaled six tackles on Saturday,  while Christopher Allen added another sack to the Tide’s total.

 

How It Happened

FIRST QUARTER

  • 12:20 – UA | Harris weaved eight yards through the Florida defense to the end zone for the first score of the game.
  • 10:05 – UF | Kyle Trask hit Kadarius Toney for a 51-yard touchdown to even the score.
  • 06:07 – UA | A wide-open Smith hauled in a 31-yard pass from Jones for the Tide’s second touchdown.
  • 01:57 – UF | A 10-play, 56-yard drive ended in a 40-yard field goal for the Gators.

 

SECOND QUARTER

  • 11:27 – UA | Harris put on the spin moves and went seven yards for his second touchdown of the night, this one off a pass from Jones.
  • 02:28 – UA | Jones and Harris connected again, this time from 23 yards out for the score.
  • 01:09 – UF | Trask took it in for a one-yard rushing touchdown.
  • 00:06 – UA | Harris recorded his fourth touchdown of the half, scoring off a 17-yard pass from Jones.

 

THIRD QUARTER

  • 13:25 – UF | Trask tossed a 50-yard touchdown to Trevon Grimes to get Florida on the board first after the break.
  • 00:18 – UF | Evan McPherson carried and scored on a three-yard rush for the Gators’ fourth touchdown of the game.

 

FOURTH QUARTER

  • 11:29 – UA | Harris stretched the ball across the goal line for the one-yard score, which was his fifth touchdown of the game.
  • 09:53 – UA | Will Reichard sent a 20-yard attempt through the uprights to give Alabama a 14-point lead with under 10 minutes to play.
  • 06:33 – UF | Dameon Pierce scored on a one-yard rush.
  • 04:59 – UA | Smith snagged a 15-yard touchdown reception from Jones to make the score 52-38.
  • 02:07 – UF | Trask hit Kyle Pitts with a 22-yard touchdown pass before running in the two-point conversion attempt to account for the final score of 52-46.

 

Up Next

Alabama awaits its destination for the bowl season, which will be announced on Sunday.