The No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide clinched the SEC West Division and a berth in the SEC Championship Game next week with a 29-13 win over rival Auburn Saturday. The Crimson Tide will play in their second consecutive conference title game and third in the last four years.
Alabama outlasts Auburn, clinches trip to SEC Championship against Florida
Derrick Henry ran for nearly 300 yards, as Alabama ground out another dominating victory against rival Auburn.
Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
What just happened
Alabama won the Iron Bowl in the most Alabama way possible: By suffocating Auburn’s offense and kicking five field goals. Nick Saban’s defense held the Tigers to just 260 yards of offense and one miracle touchdown.
And against this Alabama team, miracles aren't enough. Derrick Henry ran 44 times for 271 yards to bolster his Heisman Trophy candidacy. A last-minute touchdown run gave Henry the Alabama single-season touchdown record. Adam Griffith was a perfect 5/5 on field goal attempts. Jake Coker was an efficient 17/26 for 179 yards through the air, and connected on a crucial touchdown pass to ArDarius Stewart to build an insurmountable lead in the second half. In the end, we all saw the typically-methodical Crimson Tide beatdown we expected.
What it means
The Crimson Tide have now won or shared the SEC West title six times in Nick Saban’s nine years in charge, and they become the first team to make back-to-back SEC Championship Game appearances from the West since they accomplished the same feat in 2008 and 2009.
At No. 2 in the current College Football Playoff Selection Committee Top 25, Alabama controls its own playoff destiny next week against Florida. Should Clemson lose against North Carolina in the ACC Championship, there remains a strong possibility that the Crimson Tide could be the top seed in the Playoff for the second consecutive season.
What happens next
How to watch, stream and listen the SEC Championship Game
Date: December 5, 2015
Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta
TV: 4 p.m. ET, CBS, with Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson on the call
Online streaming: CBSSports.com
Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at Roll Bama Roll (for Alabama fans) and Alligator Army (for Florida fans).
The winner of the SEC Championship Game is virtually guaranteed a spot in the Playoff field. Alabama is already securely in the top four so long as it wins its remaining game, and a victory over the now-No. 2 Crimson Tide would likely catapult the one-loss Gators into the Playoff, so long as they defeat rival Florida State Saturday night.
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