It’s been said for years that teams playing in conference championship games won’t be penalized for losses when it comes to College Football Playoff rankings. That might be put to the test on Sunday when the 12-team 2025-26 tournament bracket is set and announced (11 a.m. CT, ESPN)

Following Saturday’s results, when just about everything didn’t go the Crimson Tide’s way, chances are the committee will end up picking two just teams between Alabama, Notre Dame and Miami for the final at-large spots.

Did Alabama do enough to get in after being the first team out last year? Will the committee switch it and Notre Dame in the rankings after moving the Crimson Tide ahead of the Fighting Irish last week? Might Miami leapfrog one or both despite not playing this week?

This is to put the team resumes next to each other to make them easier to compare, but before doing so we’re going to make two assumptions:

• That No. 11 Brigham Young (12-2) is out of the mix after getting routed in the Big 12 Championship Game to Texas Tech. Why? Their only win against a ranked opponent this season was 24-21 over then-No. 24 Utah.

• Unranked Duke won’t be seriously considered by the selection committee despite winning the ACC Championship Game in overtime against Virginia. Even with the win, the Blue Devils finished 8-5.

That means the ACC will be out of the playoff if Miami doesn’t get in.

Georgia football will look for revenge when it rematches Alabama in the SEC championship game.

Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart has a 1-7 record against the Crimson Tide, though, including an 0-2 mark against second-year Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer. Smart was 1-5 against former Alabama coach Nick Saban, whom he coached under as a defensive coordinator from 2008-15.

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Alabama upset Georgia 24-21 on the road in their last outing on Sept. 27. Both teams also still have plenty to play for in the College Football Playoff race, with Alabama looking to avoid bubble status and Georgia aiming to lock up a first-round bye.

The two teams have developed a rivalry as the two most dominant teams in the SEC in the last decade, with Georgia and Alabama winning 10 of the last 11 SEC championships.

USA TODAY is bringing you live updates, scores and highlights from the game. Follow along:

REQUIRED READING: How CFP will be impacted by every conference championship game scenario

Alabama vs Georgia score

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Georgia coach Kirby Smart has a 116-20 record in 10 seasons with the Bulldogs, although seven of those losses have come against Alabama, where he was the defensive coordinator from 2008-15.

Smart has a 1-7 record against the Crimson Tide in his career, with his lone win coming in the 2021 national championship game. He’s also 0-2 against Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer.

Alabama tight end Josh Cuevas isn’t expected to play, according to ESPN. He’s listed as questionable on the SEC availability report due to a foot injury.

Cuevas, who has 30 receptions for 341 yards with four touchdowns this season, also didn’t play against Auburn or Eastern Illinois to finish the regular season. He had six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown against Oklahoma in his last outing.

Here’s a look at the most recent SEC availability report for the SEC championship game:

Georgia

Out:

• WR Colbie Young
• TE Ethan Barbour
• RB Bo Walker
• DB Kyron Jones
• DL Jordan Hall
• OL Drew Bobo

It’s the night before the SEC Championship in Atlanta, with us once again set to see a matchup of Alabama vs. Georgia. And now, ahead of kickoff tomorrow afternoon in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the final availability report of the season is out from the Southeastern Conference for both the Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs.

The SEC posts injury reports three days out from league games, including this as the conference title game. An initial one is released on Wednesdays, with updates to it coming on Thursday and Fridays.

Here is that final update to the report for Alabama and Georgia ahead of the SEC Championship. Both teams playing for a title as well as for their respective spots in the College Football Playoff:

Alabama

Georgia

Alabama made one addition to their designations from Wednesday to Thursday, with Collins now being officially labeled out as well, with two-thirds of their names on the report from last night being already unavailable for the game, for the Tide. Four then remained questionable for ‘Bama, with all of those being among the key names offensively for them like Miller, Cuevas, and Dewberry.

Georgia then also made one addition to their designations, with Branch, one of their top players in the secondary, added as questionable on Thursday to bring it to seven names for the Bulldogs. The other six, though, namely Young, Jones, Hall, and Bobo, were already labeled as out for UGA.