GENERAL NOTES
GAME CAPTAINS: Alabama’s captains for today’s game vs. Florida are Alex Leatherwood, DeVonta Smith and Patrick Surtain II. Smith went to midfield for the coin toss.
HARRIS EARNS SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME MVP HONORS: Running back Najee Harris scored an SEC Championship Game record five touchdowns (3 receiving, 2 rushing) while rushing for a game-high 178 yards to earn MVP honors. Harris is the fourth Alabama running back to take home the honor, joining Eddie Lacy (2012), Derrick Henry (2015), Josh Jacobs (2018). He is also the sixth running back in championship game history to earn MVP honors. He is the seventh UA back to rush for multiple touchdowns in an SEC Championship Game.
ALABAMA WINS 28th SEC CHAMPIONSHIP: Alabama claimed an SEC-leading 28th conference championship by beating Florida, 52-46, in the 2020 SEC Championship Game. The Crimson Tide has more SEC Championships than any other school and captured its sixth conference title in the last nine seasons. Alabama won the first SEC championship during the 1933 season when head coach Frank Thomas led the Crimson Tide to a 5-0-1 conference record. Thomas led Alabama to four SEC titles. Paul “Bear” Bryant directed the Crimson Tide to six national championships and 13 SEC titles during his 25-year run in Tuscaloosa. Alabama won five straight SEC championships from 1971-75 and captured eight of the 10 SEC championships from 1970-79. In addition to Thomas and Bryant, Alabama has had five other coaches win SEC championships, including Harold “Red” Drew (1953), Bill Curry (1989), Gene Stallings (1992), Mike DuBose (1999) and Nick Saban (2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020). In addition to its 28 SEC championships, Alabama won four Southern Conference titles (1924, 1925, 1926 and 1930), giving the school 32 conference football championships.
EASTERN STREAK: Saturday’s 52-46 win over Florida was the Crimson Tide’s 31st consecutive victory over an SEC Eastern Division opponent, dating back to a 35-21 loss at then-No. 19 South Carolina on Oct. 9, 2010. The 31 wins include a 6-0 record in SEC Championship Games. During the current run, the Tide is 11-0 vs. Tennessee; 5-0 vs. Georgia (2-0 in SEC CG, 1-0 in CFP NCG); 5-0 vs. Florida (3-0 in SEC CG) and Missouri (1-0 in SEC CG); 3-0 vs. Kentucky; 2-0 vs. Vanderbilt; and 1-0 vs. South Carolina. Overall, under Nick Saban the Crimson Tide is 41-3 (.931) against the SEC East, including an 8-1 (.888) record in the SEC Championship Game.
BEATING THE BEST: The Crimson Tide is 64-17 (.790) against the Associated Press Top 25 since the start of 2008. Alabama is 4-0 against the Top 25 this season with its 52-46 win against No. 7/11/11 Florida, a 41-24 win over then-No. 3 Georgia (Oct. 17), a 52-24 win over then-No. 13 Texas A&M (Oct. 3) and a 42-13 victory in the Iron Bowl against then-No. 22 Auburn (Nov. 28).
50-PLUS vs. RANKED OPPONENTS: Under Alabama head coach Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide has posted 50-plus points against Associated Press Top-25 teams on six occasions, including two this season a 52-46 victory over No. 7/11/11 Florida and the Tide’s win over then-No. 13 Texas A&M, 52-24 (Oct. 3).
148-8 UNDER SABAN WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF: Under head coach Nick Saban, Alabama is 148-8 (.949) when leading at the half. The Crimson Tide has held the lead in 65 of its last 83 games dating back to the start of the 2015 season. UA is also 132-4 (.970) when leading by seven or more points at the break during the Saban era.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
SCORING STREAK CONTINUES: Alabama extended its school record for consecutive games with a score to 266 thanks to Najee Harris’ eight-yard rushing touchdown on the Crimson Tide’s opening drive. The Crimson Tide was last held off the scoreboard in a 9-0 loss to Auburn on Nov. 18, 2000. Alabama has a 211-55 (.793) record over the course of the current streak.
OPENING DRIVE TOUCHDOWNS: Running back Najee Harris ran his way through the Gator defense for an eight-yard touchdown run on Alabama’s opening drive of the 2020 SEC Championship Game. The Tide holds a winning streak of 38-straight games when scoring a touchdown on its first offensive possession of the game. Alabama’s last loss after finding the end zone on its first drive was to the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl.
50-PLUS POINTS THREE TIMES IN A ROW: The Crimson Tide put 52 points on the board Saturday, marking its third-straight game it has scored 50-plus.
35-OR-MORE IN 24 STRAIGHT: The Crimson Tide scored 52 points in the SEC Championship win over Florida. That total marked the 24th-straight game that Alabama’s offense has scored 35-or-more points, the longest streak in major-college football history. Oregon scored at least 35 points in 15-consecutive games from Nov. 5, 2011 through a Nov. 17, 2012 loss to Stanford by a score of 17-14. Alabama’s last game scoring fewer than 35 points came in the Tide’s 44-16 loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 7, 2019.
28-OR-MORE IN 24 STRAIGHT: Alabama is the current FBS leader for scoring at least 28 points in consecutive games with 24. What’s more impressive over that streak is the fact that Alabama has produced 35-or-more points in every game.
600+ YARDS OF TOTAL OFFENSE: Alabama eclipsed the 600-plus yard marker by rolling up 605 yards of total offense against Florida. The Crimson Tide had reached the 600-yard plateau only nine times prior to Saturday’s matchup with the Gators, most recently against LSU earlier this season when the UA produced 650 yards of offense in Baton Rouge on Dec. 5.
500+ YARDS OF TOTAL OFFENSE: Alabama recorded 605 yards of total offense against the Florida Gators, marking the 40th time in the last 82 games, dating to the start of the 2015 season, that the Crimson Tide has eclipsed the 500-yard mark. In 2018, UA totaled 500-or-more yards in 12-of-15 games to set a single-season record. The Tide followed that up by eclipsing 500 yards of offense in nine of the 13 games during the 2019 campaign. Alabama has gone over the 500-yard marker in seven of 11 games so far this season.
BALL PROTECTION: In the last 178 games dating to the start of the 2008 season, Alabama has turned the ball over only 193 times (106 fumbles, 87 interceptions) for 1.08 turnovers per game. Since 2009, the Tide has turned the ball over only 175 times in 164 games (1.07/game). That number since 2009 includes 69 interceptions in 4,201 attempts (1 INT every 60.9 attempts) by UA starting quarterbacks and 30 fumbles in 4,291 carries (one fumble lost every 143 carries) by the Tide’s top two running backs.
HARRIS HOLDS RECORD: Najee Harris’ opening drive eight-yard touchdown vaulted him past Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram II (42) for most rushing touchdowns in program history. With another score on the ground in the second half against Florida, Harris has 44 rushing touchdowns for his career.
NAJEE IN THE SEC: Najee Harris’ five touchdowns in the SEC Championship gives him 54 in his Alabama career, which is the second most in SEC history. He has a school-record 44 rushing touchdowns and 10 receiving touchdowns. Florida’s Tim Tebow is the SEC leader with 57.
HARRIS KEEPS FINDING THE END ZONE: Najee Harris has racked up 24 rushing touchdowns during his senior season. With his record-setting score in the first half against Florida, Harris has now totaled at least one touchdown in 10 of the Crimson Tide’s 11 games and two-or-more scores in eight of those contests. His 24 rushing scores are also the second-most in a single season in Alabama history.
FIVE SCORES: Through the first half against Florida, Najee Harris totaled four touchdowns and finished with five by game’s end. Three of his scores came through the air and a pair on the ground against the Gators. His three receiving touchdowns marked a new game-high for the running back and totals 10 on his career.
100-PLUS FOR HARRIS: Najee Harris finished the night against Florida with 178 yards rushing for the 12th 100-plus yard rushing game of his career and his fifth this season. The Alabama all-time mark is 16 by Derrick Henry (2013-15).
3.5K for DEVONTA PUTS HIM IN THE SEC’s TOP TWO: DeVonta Smith finished the game against Florida with 184 yards and two touchdowns and has totaled 3,620 yards in his Crimson Tide career. That total passes Amari Cooper (3,463 yards) for a new all-time Alabama receiving yards record and ranks second overall in SEC history. Only Jordan Matthews (3,759) leads Smith.
SMITTY OVER 100 AGAIN: DeVonta Smith finished the first half of the Tide’s matchup vs. Florida with 113 receiving yards to go over the 100-yard marker for the seventh time this season. He finished with 184 yards by game’s end. Those seven 100-plus-yard performances give him 12 for his career as he entered his senior campaign with six in hand. Smith totaled two in 2018 and followed that up with three as a junior a season ago.
TIDE ALL-TIME SEASON TD KING: Wideout DeVonta Smith’s two touchdown catches in Saturday’s conference championship game broke the Alabama record for touchdown catches in a season. Smith surpassed Amari Cooper (16) with 17 touchdown receptions this season.
JONES GOES OVER 400 PASSING…AGAIN: Mac Jones passed for a championship game record 418 yards (401, UF Danny Wueffel, 1996) and 33 completions (30, UF Shane Matthews, 1992) against Florida tonight. His performance against the Gators marked his fourth this season and his career. Thanks to his efforts against Florida, Jones now owns four of Alabama’s 10 all-time 400-plus yard passing performances, passing Tua Tagovailoa (2017-19) for the most 400-yard passing performances in Alabama history. Tagovailoa’s three performances all came during his junior campaign in 2019.
AT HIS BEST, AGAINST THE BEST: Mac Jones has started four games this season against teams ranked in the top 25 of all major polls at the time of the game, leading Alabama to wins over No. 7/11/11 Florida, then-No. 3/3 Georgia (41-24), then-No. 13/13 Texas A&M (52-24) and then-No. 22/22/19 Auburn (42-13). Against the Gators Jones threw for 418 yards and five touchdowns.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS: Alabama’s defense forced two turnover in the Crimson Tide’s Dec. 19 SEC Championship Game win over Florida. Will Anderson Jr. forced a Kyle Trask fumble that was recovered by Tim Smith in the fourth quarter. The Alabama offense took back a turnover of its own when the Tide forced a fumble as the Gators were returning a Mac Jones interception, with John Metchie knocking the ball loose from Trey Dean and DeVonta Smith recovering it in the first quarter. With the turnovers, the Crimson Tide has forced at least one turnover in 77 of the last 83 contests dating back to the start of the 2015 season. During the current run, Alabama has forced 141 turnovers (90 interceptions, 51 fumbles) and returned 29 of those miscues for touchdowns.
SPECIAL TEAMS
THIRTEEN IN A ROW FOR REICHARD: Dating back to last season, placekicker Will Reichard has made 13-straight field goals, including all 12 attempts in 2020. The streak of 13 straight is tied with Jake Oldroyd of BYU for the longest streak nationally.
GAME CAPTAINS: Alabama’s captains for today’s game vs. Florida are Alex Leatherwood, DeVonta Smith and Patrick Surtain II. Smith went to midfield for the coin toss.
HARRIS EARNS SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME MVP HONORS: Running back Najee Harris scored an SEC Championship Game record five touchdowns (3 receiving, 2 rushing) while rushing for a game-high 178 yards to earn MVP honors. Harris is the fourth Alabama running back to take home the honor, joining Eddie Lacy (2012), Derrick Henry (2015), Josh Jacobs (2018). He is also the sixth running back in championship game history to earn MVP honors. He is the seventh UA back to rush for multiple touchdowns in an SEC Championship Game.
ALABAMA WINS 28th SEC CHAMPIONSHIP: Alabama claimed an SEC-leading 28th conference championship by beating Florida, 52-46, in the 2020 SEC Championship Game. The Crimson Tide has more SEC Championships than any other school and captured its sixth conference title in the last nine seasons. Alabama won the first SEC championship during the 1933 season when head coach Frank Thomas led the Crimson Tide to a 5-0-1 conference record. Thomas led Alabama to four SEC titles. Paul “Bear” Bryant directed the Crimson Tide to six national championships and 13 SEC titles during his 25-year run in Tuscaloosa. Alabama won five straight SEC championships from 1971-75 and captured eight of the 10 SEC championships from 1970-79. In addition to Thomas and Bryant, Alabama has had five other coaches win SEC championships, including Harold “Red” Drew (1953), Bill Curry (1989), Gene Stallings (1992), Mike DuBose (1999) and Nick Saban (2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020). In addition to its 28 SEC championships, Alabama won four Southern Conference titles (1924, 1925, 1926 and 1930), giving the school 32 conference football championships.
EASTERN STREAK: Saturday’s 52-46 win over Florida was the Crimson Tide’s 31st consecutive victory over an SEC Eastern Division opponent, dating back to a 35-21 loss at then-No. 19 South Carolina on Oct. 9, 2010. The 31 wins include a 6-0 record in SEC Championship Games. During the current run, the Tide is 11-0 vs. Tennessee; 5-0 vs. Georgia (2-0 in SEC CG, 1-0 in CFP NCG); 5-0 vs. Florida (3-0 in SEC CG) and Missouri (1-0 in SEC CG); 3-0 vs. Kentucky; 2-0 vs. Vanderbilt; and 1-0 vs. South Carolina. Overall, under Nick Saban the Crimson Tide is 41-3 (.931) against the SEC East, including an 8-1 (.888) record in the SEC Championship Game.
BEATING THE BEST: The Crimson Tide is 64-17 (.790) against the Associated Press Top 25 since the start of 2008. Alabama is 4-0 against the Top 25 this season with its 52-46 win against No. 7/11/11 Florida, a 41-24 win over then-No. 3 Georgia (Oct. 17), a 52-24 win over then-No. 13 Texas A&M (Oct. 3) and a 42-13 victory in the Iron Bowl against then-No. 22 Auburn (Nov. 28).
50-PLUS vs. RANKED OPPONENTS: Under Alabama head coach Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide has posted 50-plus points against Associated Press Top-25 teams on six occasions, including two this season a 52-46 victory over No. 7/11/11 Florida and the Tide’s win over then-No. 13 Texas A&M, 52-24 (Oct. 3).
148-8 UNDER SABAN WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF: Under head coach Nick Saban, Alabama is 148-8 (.949) when leading at the half. The Crimson Tide has held the lead in 65 of its last 83 games dating back to the start of the 2015 season. UA is also 132-4 (.970) when leading by seven or more points at the break during the Saban era.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
SCORING STREAK CONTINUES: Alabama extended its school record for consecutive games with a score to 266 thanks to Najee Harris’ eight-yard rushing touchdown on the Crimson Tide’s opening drive. The Crimson Tide was last held off the scoreboard in a 9-0 loss to Auburn on Nov. 18, 2000. Alabama has a 211-55 (.793) record over the course of the current streak.
OPENING DRIVE TOUCHDOWNS: Running back Najee Harris ran his way through the Gator defense for an eight-yard touchdown run on Alabama’s opening drive of the 2020 SEC Championship Game. The Tide holds a winning streak of 38-straight games when scoring a touchdown on its first offensive possession of the game. Alabama’s last loss after finding the end zone on its first drive was to the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl.
50-PLUS POINTS THREE TIMES IN A ROW: The Crimson Tide put 52 points on the board Saturday, marking its third-straight game it has scored 50-plus.
35-OR-MORE IN 24 STRAIGHT: The Crimson Tide scored 52 points in the SEC Championship win over Florida. That total marked the 24th-straight game that Alabama’s offense has scored 35-or-more points, the longest streak in major-college football history. Oregon scored at least 35 points in 15-consecutive games from Nov. 5, 2011 through a Nov. 17, 2012 loss to Stanford by a score of 17-14. Alabama’s last game scoring fewer than 35 points came in the Tide’s 44-16 loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 7, 2019.
28-OR-MORE IN 24 STRAIGHT: Alabama is the current FBS leader for scoring at least 28 points in consecutive games with 24. What’s more impressive over that streak is the fact that Alabama has produced 35-or-more points in every game.
600+ YARDS OF TOTAL OFFENSE: Alabama eclipsed the 600-plus yard marker by rolling up 605 yards of total offense against Florida. The Crimson Tide had reached the 600-yard plateau only nine times prior to Saturday’s matchup with the Gators, most recently against LSU earlier this season when the UA produced 650 yards of offense in Baton Rouge on Dec. 5.
500+ YARDS OF TOTAL OFFENSE: Alabama recorded 605 yards of total offense against the Florida Gators, marking the 40th time in the last 82 games, dating to the start of the 2015 season, that the Crimson Tide has eclipsed the 500-yard mark. In 2018, UA totaled 500-or-more yards in 12-of-15 games to set a single-season record. The Tide followed that up by eclipsing 500 yards of offense in nine of the 13 games during the 2019 campaign. Alabama has gone over the 500-yard marker in seven of 11 games so far this season.
BALL PROTECTION: In the last 178 games dating to the start of the 2008 season, Alabama has turned the ball over only 193 times (106 fumbles, 87 interceptions) for 1.08 turnovers per game. Since 2009, the Tide has turned the ball over only 175 times in 164 games (1.07/game). That number since 2009 includes 69 interceptions in 4,201 attempts (1 INT every 60.9 attempts) by UA starting quarterbacks and 30 fumbles in 4,291 carries (one fumble lost every 143 carries) by the Tide’s top two running backs.
HARRIS HOLDS RECORD: Najee Harris’ opening drive eight-yard touchdown vaulted him past Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram II (42) for most rushing touchdowns in program history. With another score on the ground in the second half against Florida, Harris has 44 rushing touchdowns for his career.
NAJEE IN THE SEC: Najee Harris’ five touchdowns in the SEC Championship gives him 54 in his Alabama career, which is the second most in SEC history. He has a school-record 44 rushing touchdowns and 10 receiving touchdowns. Florida’s Tim Tebow is the SEC leader with 57.
HARRIS KEEPS FINDING THE END ZONE: Najee Harris has racked up 24 rushing touchdowns during his senior season. With his record-setting score in the first half against Florida, Harris has now totaled at least one touchdown in 10 of the Crimson Tide’s 11 games and two-or-more scores in eight of those contests. His 24 rushing scores are also the second-most in a single season in Alabama history.
FIVE SCORES: Through the first half against Florida, Najee Harris totaled four touchdowns and finished with five by game’s end. Three of his scores came through the air and a pair on the ground against the Gators. His three receiving touchdowns marked a new game-high for the running back and totals 10 on his career.
100-PLUS FOR HARRIS: Najee Harris finished the night against Florida with 178 yards rushing for the 12th 100-plus yard rushing game of his career and his fifth this season. The Alabama all-time mark is 16 by Derrick Henry (2013-15).
3.5K for DEVONTA PUTS HIM IN THE SEC’s TOP TWO: DeVonta Smith finished the game against Florida with 184 yards and two touchdowns and has totaled 3,620 yards in his Crimson Tide career. That total passes Amari Cooper (3,463 yards) for a new all-time Alabama receiving yards record and ranks second overall in SEC history. Only Jordan Matthews (3,759) leads Smith.
SMITTY OVER 100 AGAIN: DeVonta Smith finished the first half of the Tide’s matchup vs. Florida with 113 receiving yards to go over the 100-yard marker for the seventh time this season. He finished with 184 yards by game’s end. Those seven 100-plus-yard performances give him 12 for his career as he entered his senior campaign with six in hand. Smith totaled two in 2018 and followed that up with three as a junior a season ago.
TIDE ALL-TIME SEASON TD KING: Wideout DeVonta Smith’s two touchdown catches in Saturday’s conference championship game broke the Alabama record for touchdown catches in a season. Smith surpassed Amari Cooper (16) with 17 touchdown receptions this season.
JONES GOES OVER 400 PASSING…AGAIN: Mac Jones passed for a championship game record 418 yards (401, UF Danny Wueffel, 1996) and 33 completions (30, UF Shane Matthews, 1992) against Florida tonight. His performance against the Gators marked his fourth this season and his career. Thanks to his efforts against Florida, Jones now owns four of Alabama’s 10 all-time 400-plus yard passing performances, passing Tua Tagovailoa (2017-19) for the most 400-yard passing performances in Alabama history. Tagovailoa’s three performances all came during his junior campaign in 2019.
AT HIS BEST, AGAINST THE BEST: Mac Jones has started four games this season against teams ranked in the top 25 of all major polls at the time of the game, leading Alabama to wins over No. 7/11/11 Florida, then-No. 3/3 Georgia (41-24), then-No. 13/13 Texas A&M (52-24) and then-No. 22/22/19 Auburn (42-13). Against the Gators Jones threw for 418 yards and five touchdowns.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS: Alabama’s defense forced two turnover in the Crimson Tide’s Dec. 19 SEC Championship Game win over Florida. Will Anderson Jr. forced a Kyle Trask fumble that was recovered by Tim Smith in the fourth quarter. The Alabama offense took back a turnover of its own when the Tide forced a fumble as the Gators were returning a Mac Jones interception, with John Metchie knocking the ball loose from Trey Dean and DeVonta Smith recovering it in the first quarter. With the turnovers, the Crimson Tide has forced at least one turnover in 77 of the last 83 contests dating back to the start of the 2015 season. During the current run, Alabama has forced 141 turnovers (90 interceptions, 51 fumbles) and returned 29 of those miscues for touchdowns.
SPECIAL TEAMS
THIRTEEN IN A ROW FOR REICHARD: Dating back to last season, placekicker Will Reichard has made 13-straight field goals, including all 12 attempts in 2020. The streak of 13 straight is tied with Jake Oldroyd of BYU for the longest streak nationally.
