Alabama won the SEC football title by defeating Missouri 42-13 in the game. The victory also clinched the No. 1 seed for the Crimson Tide in the NCAA Tournament.
Missouri finished the season 9-3 overall and 5-3 in the SEC, its best record since 2001 when it went 10-2 and ranked No. 7 in the country. It was also its highest ranking ever in the AP Poll.
The Tigers lost to Alabama twice this year, 24-6 in Columbia and 40-7 in Tuscaloosa. It was their only loss against a AP top 25 team.
They were also ranked No. 19 at one point this year.
After the game, Missouri head coach Dan Mullen said: "I'm proud of our kids. I think they showed what type of team they are. We just didn't finish enough games. But I'm really proud of them."
Mizzou fell to 3-4 all time in SEC play when it comes out of the Red River Rivalry with Texas A&M. This is its first trip to Atlanta since 1994 when it lost 20-17 in double overtime to Arkansas.
The Maroons defeated Alabama 14-0 in Tuscaloosa in September to capture the school's lone SEC football championship. Despite Mississippi State's head-to-head victory and conference championship, as well as Alabama finishing #20 in the final AP Poll, Alabama wins the national championship this season. The Crimson Tide won the SEC West for the third time in four years after defeating Arkansas 24-7 in Fayetteville.
In addition to its title game victory over Alabama, Mississippi State also finished the 1992 season with a victory over Florida (which was ranked #1 at the time). With both teams going into their games with Georgia having already lost to Auburn, MSU beat UGA 28-6 and then went on to defeat Florida Atlantic 10-3. This is the only season since 1990 that both the SEC West champion and East champion have failed to reach the Bowl Division.
Mississippi State has appeared in the SEC Championship Game each year since its title in 1992 except for 2001 when it played in the Sugar Bowl due to NCAA sanctions being imposed on the program due to improper benefits received by former player Darren Mcllroy. The Bulldogs are 11-4 overall and 7-2 in the SEC during these playoffs seasons.
Alabama is 12-1 and winners of the SEC West for three consecutive years. It finishes the 1992 season ranked #1 for the first time since 1989 when it won the National Championship.
The BCS National Championship would pit No. 1 Alabama against No. 2 Texas. The Crimson Tide defeated the Longhorns 37–21 in the BCS National Championship Game to win their first BCS title. With a 14-0 record, they became only the second team in college football history to do it, trailing only the 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes.
Alabama entered the 2012 season as one of the favorites to repeat as national champions. They opened the season with nine straight wins before suffering their first loss of the year to Notre Dame. After that game, many considered Alabama to be undefeated and headed for an eighth consecutive title. However, after being denied by Florida State in the Seminoles' appeal of their disqualification from the 2011 season, Alabama was given its third championship spot back. Despite this, the Tide went on to beat out Oregon for the title.
In its previous two appearances in the BCS National Championship Game, Alabama had been beaten by Oregon's Marcus Mariota and Utah's Jordan Matthews. This time around, however, Alabama took on former Texas player Jameis Winston. The winner would go on to face Oregon in New York's Madison Square Garden for the right to call themselves champion.
Winston came into the game with 3,719 passing yards and 42 touchdowns against just eight interceptions. He also ran for 744 yards and 10 more scores. While Alabama's offense was not shut down like many thought it would be, it wasn't able to score any points either.
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