View source for 2009 SEC Championship Game

{{for|the SEC men's basketball championship|2009 SEC men's basketball tournament}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox college football game
| name = 2009 SEC Championship Game
| year_game_played           = 2009
| game_name                  = SEC Championship Game
| subheader                  = Conference Championship<br>"[[Game of the Century (college football)|Game of the Century]]"
| image                      = SEC Championship 2009.gif
| caption                    = 2009 SEC Championship logo.
| football_season            = 2009
| visitor_name_short         = Florida 
| visitor_nickname           = Gators
| visitor_school             = University of Florida
| home_name_short            = Alabama 
| home_nickname              = Crimson Tide
| home_school                = University of Alabama
| visitor_record             = 12–0
| home_record                = 12–0
| visitor_coach              = [[Urban Meyer]]
| home_coach                 = [[Nick Saban]]
| visitor_rank_AP            = 1
| visitor_rank_coaches       = 1
| visitor_rank_BCS           = 1
| home_rank_AP               = 2
| home_rank_coaches          = 3
| home_rank_BCS              = 2
| visitor_1q                 = 3
| visitor_2q                 = 10
| visitor_3q                 = 0
| visitor_4q                 = 0
| home_1q                    = 9
| home_2q                    = 10
| home_3q                    = 7
| home_4q                    = 6
| date_game_played           = December 5
| stadium                    = [[Georgia Dome]]
| city                       = [[Atlanta|Atlanta, Georgia]]
| MVP                        = QB [[Greg McElroy]], Alabama
| odds                       = Florida by 5<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/odds/las-vegas/line-movement/florida-@-alabama.cfm/date/12-5-09|title=Las Vegas Line Movements| access-date= 4 December 2009 <!--DASHBot-->}}</ref>
| anthem                     = [[The Pride of the Sunshine]] (Florida)<br />[[Million Dollar Band (marching band)|Million Dollar Band]] (Alabama)
| referee                    = Matt Austin
| halftime                   = Dr Pepper Throw for Scholarship Dough<br />[[The Pride of the Sunshine]] (Florida)<br />[[Million Dollar Band (marching band)|Million Dollar Band]] (Alabama)
| attendance                 = 75,514
| us_network                 = [[College Football on CBS Sports|CBS]]
| us_announcers_link         = List of announcers of major college bowl games
| us_announcers              = [[Verne Lundquist]] (play-by-play)<br />[[Gary Danielson]] (color)<br />[[Tracy Wolfson]] (sideline)
| ratings                    = 11.1/23 (17.969 million viewers)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=Jon |title=Alabama/Florida draws 11.1 rating |date=December 11, 2009 |url=https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2009/12/alabamaflorida-draws-111-rating/ |publisher=Sports Media Watch |access-date=22 August 2024}}</ref>
}}
{{2009 Southeastern Conference football standings}}
The '''2009 [[SEC Championship Game]]''' was played on December 5, 2009, in the [[Georgia Dome]] in [[Atlanta]], to determine the [[2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2009]] [[college football|football]] champion of the [[Southeastern Conference]] (SEC).  The game featured the [[2009 Florida Gators football team|Florida Gators]] and the [[2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama Crimson Tide]].  The Crimson Tide was the designated "home team"; this home team, chosen on an alternating basis, was 2&ndash;4 in SEC Championship Games.  The winner was all but assured to go on to play for a [[BCS National Championship|National Championship]], in a likely matchup with the [[2009 Texas Longhorns football team|Texas Longhorns]] provided Texas won in the [[2009 Big 12 Championship Game|Big 12 Championship Game]] versus the north division champion [[2009 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|Nebraska Cornhuskers]].  Entering the 2009 contest, the SEC East was 11&ndash;6 in SEC Championship games, with the Florida Gators accounting for seven of the eleven victories.  Before the 2009 game, Alabama represented the SEC West six times in the conference championship game, compiling a 2&ndash;4 record, and had faced the Gators in all six of their previous SEC Championship game appearances.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://secsports.com/index.php?change_well_id=2&url_article_id=54 |title=Relive Past SEC Championship Games |publisher=Southeastern Conference |access-date=2008-12-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226041026/http://www.secsports.com/index.php?change_well_id=2&url_article_id=54 |archive-date=December 26, 2007 }}</ref>  This was the first and so far the only time any conference championship game had featured two undefeated teams and was also the first time an AP Poll No. 1 played a No. 2 outside of the BCS Championship Game since the top-ranked [[2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State]] [[2006 Michigan vs. Ohio State football game|beat]] the second-ranked [[2006 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan]] during the 2006 regular season. Due to this, it was referred to as a "[[Game of the Century (college football)|Game of the Century]].

The game began at 4:00&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]] and was televised by [[SEC on CBS|CBS Sports]], for the ninth straight season.  The game was also streamed online at CBSSports.com and on mobile for customers subscribing to the MediaFLO service on CBS Sports Mobile.

Alabama defeated Florida 32&ndash;13 and as expected secured a berth to the [[2010 BCS National Championship Game]] where they would go on to defeat Texas. This game is often considered the moment when the [[Alabama Crimson Tide football under Nick Saban|Alabama dynasty]] began in earnest after a [[2007 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|disappointing 2007 season]] and a loss to the same [[Tim Tebow|Tebow]]-led Gators in the [[2008 SEC Championship Game|2008 SEC Championship]].

==Scoring summary==
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan=2|Quarter !! rowspan=2|Time !! colspan=2|Drive !! rowspan=2|Team !! rowspan=2|Scoring Information<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=293390333| title=Florida Gators vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Box Score| publisher=ESPN| date=2009-12-05| access-date=2009-12-06| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091208091956/http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=293390333| archive-date= 8 December 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/playbyplay?gameId=293390333&period=0| title=Florida Gators vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Play-by-Play| publisher=ESPN| date=2009-12-05| access-date=2009-12-05}}</ref> !! colspan=2|Score
|-
! Length !! Time !! Florida !! Alabama
|-
 ! rowspan=3|1
 | 10:37 || 9 plays, 47&nbsp;yards || 4:23
 | Alabama || align=left|''[[Leigh Tiffin]]'' 48–yard field goal
 ! 0 !! 3
|-
 | 5:33 || 8 plays, 76&nbsp;yards || 3:56
 | Alabama || align=left|''[[Mark Ingram II]]'' 3–yard run, ''Leigh Tiffin'' kick no good
 ! 0 !! 9
|-
 | 0:28 || 12 plays, 56&nbsp;yards || 5:05
 | Florida || align=left|''[[Caleb Sturgis]]'' 48–yard field goal
 ! 3 !! 9
|-
 ! rowspan=4|2
 | 6:03 || 12 plays, 68&nbsp;yards || 5:47
 | Alabama || align=left|''Leigh Tiffin'' kick good
 ! 3 !! 12
|-
 | 4:31 || 4 plays, 70&nbsp;yards || 1:32
 | Florida || align=left|''[[David Nelson (wide receiver)|David Nelson]]'' 23–yard reception from ''[[Tim Tebow]]'', ''Caleb Sturgis'' kick good
 ! 10 !! 12
|-
 | 3:32 || 2 plays, 72&nbsp;yards || 0:59
 | Alabama || align=left|''Mark Ingram'' 3–yard run, ''Leigh Tiffin'' kick good
 ! 10 !! 19
|-
 | 1:18 || 5 plays, 65&nbsp;yards || 2:14
 | Florida || align=left|''Caleb Sturgis'' 32–yard field goal
 ! 13 !! 19
|-
 ! rowspan=1|3
 | 9:53 || 5 plays, 74&nbsp;yards || 2:48
 | Alabama || align=left|''[[Colin Peek]]'' 17–yard reception from ''[[Greg McElroy]]'', ''Leigh Tiffin'' kick good
 ! 13 !! 26
|-
 ! rowspan=1|4
 | 13:49 || 17 plays, 88&nbsp;yards || 8:47
 | Alabama || align=left|''Mark Ingram'' 1–yard run, two-point conversion no good
 ! 13 !! 32
|-
 ! colspan=6|Final Score !! 13 !! 32
|}

==Uniforms==
Alabama wore its standard home uniform, while Florida wore an all-white combination of its Nike Pro Combat helmet and its usual white uniform.
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{2009 NCAA football conference championships}}
{{SEC Championship Game navbox}}
{{Alabama Crimson Tide football navbox}}
{{Florida Gators football navbox}}
{{Historic college football games}}
{{College Football on CBS}}

[[Category:2009 Southeastern Conference football season|SEC Championship]]
[[Category:SEC Championship Game]]
[[Category:Alabama Crimson Tide football games|vs. Florida 2009|2009 SEC Championship Game]]
[[Category:Florida Gators football games|vs. Alabama 2009|2009 SEC Championship Game]]
[[Category:December 2009 sports events in the United States|SEC Championship Game]]
[[Category:2009 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state)|SEC Championship Game]]
[[Category:2009 in Atlanta|SEC Championship Game]]


{{Collegefootball-stub}}