1992 SEC Championship Game

For the SEC men's basketball championship, see 1992 SEC men's basketball tournament.

The 1992 SEC Championship Game was played on December 5, 1992, at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) was the first conference in NCAA Division I college football to host a post-season conference championship game, and the 1992 game was the first time the SEC Championship Game was held. The inaugural match-up determined the 1992 SEC football champion. The Alabama Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama, winners of the SEC Western Division, defeated the Florida Gators of the University of Florida, who won the SEC Eastern Division, by a score of 28-21.

1992 SEC Championship Game
Conference Championship.
1992 SEC Championship logo.
Alabama Crimson Tide Florida Gators (11–0) (8–3) 28 21 Head coach:  Gene Stallings Head coach:  Steve Spurrier AP Coaches 2 2 AP Coaches 12 15
1 2 3 4 Total Alabama 7 7 7 7 28 Florida 7 0 7 7 21
Date	December 5, 1992
Season	1992
Stadium	Legion Field
Location	Birmingham, Alabama
MVP	Antonio Langham, Alabama
Favorite	Alabama by 10[1]
National anthem	Million Dollar Band
Referee	Rom Gilbert
Halftime show	The Tiny Toons, Million Dollar Band, The Pride of the Sunshine, The 5th Dimension, Lee Greenwood and Birmingham-Area Kids
Attendance	83,091
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Keith Jackson (play-by-play), Bob Griese (analyst), Jack Arute (sideline)
Nielsen ratings	9.8
SEC Championship Game   1993 >

1992 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Eastern Division
No. 10 Florida xy	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	4	–	0
No. 8 Georgia x	6	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 12 Tennessee	5	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
South Carolina	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Vanderbilt	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Western Division
No. 1 Alabama x$	8	–	0	–	0			13	–	0	–	0
No. 16 Ole Miss	5	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 23 Mississippi State	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Arkansas	3	–	4	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Auburn	2	–	5	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
LSU	1	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Championship: Alabama 28, Florida 21
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Following the game, undefeated Alabama advanced to the Sugar Bowl, where the Crimson Tide defeated the Miami Hurricanes to win the Crimson Tide's 12th national championship. Florida received an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl, where the Gators defeated the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

Game summary

The Florida Gators scored first, on a five-yard touchdown reception by Errict Rhett to take a 7–0 lead in the first quarter. The Crimson Tide responded by scoring the next 21 points. The Tide's first points came later in the first quarter on a Derrick Lassic 3-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7–7. In the second quarter, Curtis Brown would score on a 30-yard touchdown reception from Jay Barker to take a 14–7 lead at the half.^[2]

Alabama would further extend their lead to 21–7 in the third on a 15-yard Derrick Lassic touchdown run. Down by 14, the Gators would respond with a pair of touchdowns, tying the game at 21 midway through the fourth quarter. Willie Jackson would score first on a 4-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Shane Matthews late in the third, and Errict Rhett would knot the game at 21 with just over eight minutes remaining in the contest. With momentum in the favor of the Gators, with 3:16 remaining in the game, Antonio Langham would return a Matthews interception 27-yards for a touchdown in providing the final 28–21 margin.^[2]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Alabama Florida 1 10:03 11 77 4:57 Florida Errict Rhett 5-yard touchdown reception from Shane Matthews, Judd Davis kick good 0 7 1 5:07 10 72 4:56 Alabama Derrick Lassic 5-yard touchdown run, Michael Proctor kick good 7 7 2 4:49 5 42 2:32 Alabama Curtis Brown 30-yard touchdown reception from Jay Barker, Michael Proctor kick good 14 7 3 5:14 4 66 1:33 Alabama Derrick Lassic 15-yard touchdown run, Michael Proctor kick good 21 7 3 1:21 9 68 3:53 Florida Willie Jackson 4-yard touchdown reception from Shane Matthews, Judd Davis kick good 21 14 4 8:09 9 51 3:39 Florida Errict Rhett 1-yard touchdown run, Judd Davis kick good 21 21 4 3:16 27 0 Alabama 27-yard interception return by Antonio Langham, Michael Proctor kick good 28 21 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 28 21

^[2][3]

References

1. "SEC Championship History". Retrieved November 27, 2012.
2. Welch, Chris (December 6, 1992). "Langham's heroics give Crimson Tide SEC title". The Huntsville Times. pp. D1.
3. "Alabama 1992 - The Championship Season" (PDF). The University of Alabama. pp. 142 & 143.

External links

• Recap of the 1992 SEC Championship game at SECSports.com