SEC Championship 2012: Postgame Grades from Georgia's Loss vs. Alabama

In what could have been the greatest SEC Championship game ever, the Alabama Crimson Tide rallied to beat the Georgia Bulldogs 32-28. The loss for the Bulldogs eliminates them from the BCS Championship game and will likely play in the Cotton Bowl. As for Alabama, they will face Notre Dame in the BCS title game.

Let's take a look at the final game grades and player evaluations for the Bulldogs.

Quarterback: B

Murray played as well as anyone could ask for. He did not have a very strong game, especially in the second quarter, but he was the one of the reasons the Bulldogs were in the ball game until the very end.

The interception he threw in the second quarter was costly because that led to points for Alabama, and he did not spike the ball late in the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs had a chance to win the game.

But when the defense was struggling, Murray was able to keep them in the game with some big-time throws.

Running Backs: A

Todd Gurley ran hard all game long and gave the Alabama defense fits. He ended the afternoon with 23 carries for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

Marshall saw limited action because Gurley was hot and the coaches wanted to keep the ball rolling with him.

Gurley was a big reason the Bulldogs were in the game until the clock struck zero.

Wide Receivers: B+

Tavarres King and Malcolm Mitchell came up big for the offense as King had 143 yards on five catches and Mitchell had 41 yards on four catches.

Chris Conley had a few drops and he caught Murray's final pass of the game and could not get out of bounds as time expired. But overall, it was a very good day for the receivers against a solid Alabama secondary.

Tight Ends: B-

Arthur Lynch had a few drops, but he did end the day with 50 receiving yards on three catches.

Jay Rome only had one catch, but it was one of the bigger ones on the game as he scored from 19-yards out in the second quarter to give the Bulldogs the lead.

The tight ends for the Bulldogs played a big part in the offense and both Rome and Lynch will play an even bigger role in the offense next season.

Offensive Line: B+

For the majority of the game, the offensive line for the Bulldogs kept the Alabama defensive line in check.

Murray did get sacked a few times, but as the game went on the offensive line did get better and Murray was able to make more plays with his arm.

As far as the run blocking goes, they were able to maintain their blocks which is why Gurley had a big day.

Defensive Line: C

The defensive line was aggressive when it came to pass rushing, but could get off their blocks when it came to run defense.

John Jenkins and Kwame Geathers were stout and frustrated Alabama center Barrett Jones. But as the game progressed the offensive line for the Tide pushed around the the Georgia defensive line, which proved to be the difference in the ball game.

Linebackers: C-

Jarvis Jones and Alec Ogletree made plays when they needed to as the start of the game. But once Alabama started to run at them as well as Michael Gilliard and Jordan Jenkins, they could not come up with the big plays.

In the third quarter, the linebackers for Georgia were out of position and constantly missing tackles. It was very uncharacteristic for the unit, but Alabama has done that to teams all season long.

Defensive Backs: C-

It was not a great night for the Georgia secondary as they were also missing tackles and getting beat in coverage.

Sanders Commings did pick off Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron in the end zone early in the game. But Shawn Williams as well as Bacarri Rambo and Damian Swann struggled stopping the run and defending play action.

One of the key plays of the game was when McCarron thew a touchdown pass to Amari Cooper in the fourth quarter to regain the lead for the final time and Swann was beat on the play.

Special Teams: A

The first quarter was not too great for the special teams as Marshall Morgan missed a 50-yard field goal.

But they bounced back in the next three quarters, especially the third quarter when they blocked an Alabama field goal attempt, which was returned for a touchdown.

It's safe to say the special teams played a huge part in this game for the Bulldogs, which was a question mark coming into the because of what happened last year when there were constant special teams breakdowns in the game against LSU.

Coaching: C-

The coaches had a great gameplan as they kept Alabama on their heels all game long.

But bad clock management and not being able to stop the run at the end of the game prevented them from winning the SEC Championship and it something Richt and the rest of the coaches will reflect on for a long time.

Bobo had a great offensive gameplan as the Alabama defense never really shut down Gurley or Murray.

Grantham was aggressive in pass coverage, but did not have an answer to stop the Crimson Tide run game.

Richt loses another SEC title game, but this one will hurt a little more because of the clock management at the end of the game. It may not all be his fault, but he will get some of the blame.