The 2015 SEC Championship Game was played on Saturday, December 5, 2015 in the
Georgia Dome
The Georgia Dome was a Stadium#Types, domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown Atlanta, downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of th ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, and determined the
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
champion of the
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
(SEC). The game was played between the East Division champion
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...
and West Division champion
Alabama Crimson Tide
The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...
. Alabama was the designated home team.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
televised the game for the fifteenth consecutive year.
Notes
The winner of the
SEC Championship Game
The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. For its first 32 seasons, the championship game pitted the Eastern Division regular season champion again ...
had gone on to compete for a national championship each of the last nine years. The SEC went 7–2 in the final eight
BCS Championship games (in 2011 Alabama defeated LSU in a controversial pairing that ultimately helped bring about the playoff system instantiated for the 2014 season).
This is the eighth time Florida and Alabama have faced each other in the championship game, but the first since
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
, which was the last time Florida competed in the SEC Championship Game.
Teams
Florida
The Gators got off to an unexpected 6–0 start after entering their first four games unranked in the AP Poll. Their fourth victory was a thrilling 28–27 come-from-behind victory over
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
as
Will Grier
William Grier (born April 3, 1995) is an American professional football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators and West Virginia Mountaineers and was selecte ...
completed a pass on 4th-and-13 to
Antonio Callaway
Antonio Callaway (born January 9, 1997) is an American professional football wide receiver. He played college football for the Florida Gators and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft.
Early life
Callawa ...
for a 63-yard touchdown, and Tennessee could not respond as they missed a 55-yard field goal attempt as time expired. The Gators' next victory came over the no. 3
Ole Miss Rebels
The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...
38–10. Florida would travel to
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
to face the
LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...
without Will Grier, who had been suspended for the remainder of the season that week due to testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
Treon Harris
Treon Harris is an American former college football player. He began his college football career at the University of Florida as a quarterback, before transferring from the school in 2017 to Tennessee State University (TSU) where he started out a ...
started in his place, and the Gators narrowly lost, 28–35. The Gators rebounded after a bye week with a 27–3 victory over rival
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
. The following game against
Vanderbilt saw low offensive production, as the Gators won 9–7, clinching the Eastern Division title. The offense would struggle for the rest of the season, needing overtime to overcome the
Florida Atlantic Owls
The Florida Atlantic Owls are the athletics teams of Florida Atlantic University. The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I as members of the American Athletic Conference. On October 21, 2021, Flori ...
and not scoring at all against rival
Florida State
Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
in a 2–27 loss.
Alabama
The Crimson Tide would get off to a 2–0 start before losing to no. 15
Ole Miss
OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to:
* Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain
* Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole
* Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains
Co ...
for the second straight year 37–43. Alabama never faltered the rest of the season, winning eight of their last nine games by double digits, including over no. 2 and undefeated
LSU
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
, a game where
Derrick Henry
Derrick Lamar Henry Jr. (born January 4, 1994) is an American professional football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "King Henry", he is known for his imposing style of play and larger build t ...
ran for 210 yards, while the defense held Heisman candidate
Leonard Fournette
Leonard Joseph Fournette III (born January 18, 1995) is an American professional football running back. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, and was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL dra ...
to only 31. The Tide were able to clinch the Western Division title with their 29–13 victory over rival
Auburn.
Game summary

Source:
Statistics
References
{{Florida Gators football navbox
Championship Game
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...
SEC Championship Game
Alabama Crimson Tide football games
Florida Gators football games
SEC Championship Game
The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. For its first 32 seasons, the championship game pitted the Eastern Division regular season champion again ...
SEC Championship Game
The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. For its first 32 seasons, the championship game pitted the Eastern Division regular season champion again ...
SEC Championship Game
The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. For its first 32 seasons, the championship game pitted the Eastern Division regular season champion again ...