Alabama left its playoff fate in the committee's hands with a disheartening performance in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia.
Alabama limped into Atlanta and looked like a team that had regressed throughout the season. It just so happened that it ran into a team in Georgia that is hitting its stride heading into the College Football Playoff and looked like a team capable of winning a National Championship.
Alabama looked like a team that should probably be heading to Orlando or Tampa for bowl season instead of the College Football Playoff, though Vegas odds still favor the Tide to get in. We'll find out shortly.
Let's pick through the bones of yesterday's decimation in the meantime.
The most important observations from Alabama's loss to Georgia
1. Ty Simpson's regression has been baffling
The rise and fall of Ty Simpson this season should be studied. It's been a rollercoaster ride for the Tide's redshirt junior signal-caller.
We went from questioning Simpson's ability to be the starter after the Florida State game to his meteoric rise as one of the best quarterbacks in the entire country. And then the calendar flipped to November, and Simpson's play regressed to a point that it was a legitimate question during yesterday's SEC Championship Game whether Kalen DeBoer should bench his once-Heisman candidate for either Austin Mack or Keelon Russell.
Simpson certainly isn't the only problem on offense, but he's a big part of it. Alabama has put far too much on his shoulders with a non-existent running game, but the book is out on Simpson at this point, and he's not adjusting to what defenses are now throwing at him.
Georgia wasn't afraid of Simpson throwing deep, so they stacked the box to take away any semblance of a running game and then flooded the intermediate area of the field where Simpson has lived.
Simpson is no longer trusting what he's seeing. He had Ryan Williams on a stutter-and-go at one point in the second half where he separated from a defensive back and never even looked his way. I'm confident that Williams was the primary read, and he never looked there.
It was Simpson's worst game of the season by far. And now three of his worst four have happened since November in a fall-off that put Alabama's playoff hopes in serious doubt.
2. Ryan Williams has to be more involved
After a week with zero targets, Alabama was intentional in trying to get Ryan Williams involved against Georgia. It paid off with some dazzling moves in the open field with the ball in his hands, but the sophomore WR still only saw five targets and three total touches. That's not nearly enough.
Alabama targeted RB Daniel Hill nine times in the passing game. This goes back to Simpson's struggles. It's hard to believe the game plan would feature Hill more in the passing game than Williams, but Simpson was far too quick to check the ball down to Hill instead of trying to get the ball to Williams down the field.
Williams has had his issues with drops this season, but he's still the most explosive player on Alabama's offense, and they have to find ways to get the ball in his hands more.
3. Alabama's running game struggles came back to haunt
Believe it or not, Alabama's running game had been trending in the right direction in recent weeks. That came to a screeching halt in Atlanta.
Jam Miller's injury absence certainly didn't help, but Alabama's offensive line never got much of a push against the Georgia front to begin with, so Miller being available likely wouldn't have mattered.
Alabama finished with -3 rushing yards. You, reading this, sitting on your couch, had more. Simpson's sack yardage played a role, obviously, but Daniel Hill and freshman AK Dear combined for seven carries for 21 yards.
Alabama's offensive line was missing starting left guard Kam Dewberry. Star center Parker Brailsford is practically wearing a cast on his foot, which is keeping him from moving laterally like he normally can. That has been a massive hindrance.
If Alabama makes the playoff, a couple of weeks of rest could make this team look quite a bit different as they get healthy.
4. Georgia's advantage in field position was critical
Georgia finished the game with a +19-yard advantage in average field position, per Game on Paper.
Georgia started every drive on average at its own 41-yard line. Alabama started at its own 22. Bulldogs punter Brett Thorson pinned the Crimson Tide inside its own 20 on five different occasions. Alabama's Blake Doud only pinned Georgia there once.
Two punts proved pivotal: Doud's second punt of the day was blocked by Georgia, which set up the Bulldogs' first touchdown in the first quarter. In the fourth quarter, with Alabama having seized a molecule of momentum, Thorson delivered a beautiful punt that put the Tide in a rough position.
Alabama had just scored a touchdown to cut Georgia's lead to 21-7, and the defense got off the field by forcing a punt. It gave the Tide the ball, down two scores, with around nine minutes to go. But Thorson's 49-yard punt pinned Alabama at its own four-yard line. Four plays later, Alabama turned it over on downs, and Georgia finished Alabama off with a touchdown.
Special teams played a huge role in this game, and the Bulldogs held a massive advantage.
5. Alabama's defense was better than you think
Some were quick to criticize Kane Wommack and the Alabama defense, but they were once again put in bad situations over and over. Alabama never made Georgia drive the full field for any of the four touchdowns the Bulldogs punched in.
Georgia's touchdown drives covered 21, 57, 40, and 12 yards. Georgia only managed 297 total yards of offense on the day. Alabama held Georgia to just a 41% offensive success rate. They held their ground as much as they could despite the massive advantage the Bulldogs held in time of possession.
Alabama's defense has been the one unit playing championship football down the stretch, while the offense has regressed dramatically.