“COLLEGE FOOTBALL TODAY” STUDIO CREW LIVE FROM ATLANTA 

GAME TO BE STREAMED ON CBSSPORTS.COM AND CBS SPORTS MOBILE;
CBS SPORTS NETWORK PROVIDES POST-GAME COVERAGE 

         CBS Sports presents the SEC Championship game Saturday, Dec. 1 (4:00 PM, ET) featuring the Western Division Champion and *#2-ranked Alabama taking on the Eastern Division Champion and *#3-ranked Georgia at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga.

         Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson, CBS Sports’ lead college football announce team, call the action with Tracy Wolfson reporting from the sidelines. Craig Silver, the Network’s coordinating producer of college football, produces and Steve Milton directs. 

         Kicking off the day’s coverage live from Atlanta is CBS COLLEGE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY (3:00-3:30 PM, ET) with host Tim Brando and analysts Spencer Tillman, Archie Manning and Tony Barnhart.  The show previews the SEC Championship and includes a feature on Georgia’s All-American linebacker Jarvis Jones, who talks about overcoming the tragic murder of his brother in 2005.  In addition, there will be a feature on Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, focusing on the winning and losing fourth-quarter drives he led against LSU and Texas A&M, respectively.  CBS Sports’ Joseph E. Zapulla and Mark Burghart produce the features.

        COLLEGE FOOTBALL TODAY, CBS Sports’ pre-game, halftime and post-game studio show will be broadcast live from the field of the Georgia Dome beginning at 3:30 PM, ET featuring Brando along with Tillman, Manning and Barnhart.  Vin DeVito produces and Linda Malino directs. Harold Bryant is Executive Producer and Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.

        Following the game, CBS Sports Network will air SEC TONIGHT PRESENTED BY GEICO, providing immediate highlights and analysis of Alabama-Georgia, as well as post-game interviews and coverage from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.   Brent Stover hosts along with analysts Houston Nutt, Randy Cross and Bruce Feldman. Brian Jones reports from Atlanta. INSIDE COLLEGE FOOTBALL: CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY SPECIAL (12:00-12:30 AM, ET) provides an in-depth recap of all the day’s Championship action around college football. 

          As it has done for the entire 2012 SEC ON CBS football schedule, CBSSports.com will provide live streaming coverage of the SEC Championship. The game is available exclusively on CBSSports.com, CBS Sports Mobile and also can be accessed through a link on the websites of all CBS affiliates. 

(*BCS Rankings as of 11/25/12)

EXCERPTS FROM CBS SPORTS’ SEC CHAMPIONSHIP CONFERENCE CALL ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27

(ON GEORGIA)

Gary Danielson:

When Georgia has quarterback play, Mark Richt’s team has a chance to compete against anybody. He has his defense together and with a quarterback, he has a chance to win.  We don’t know how real Georgia is. They had a terrible slump in the middle of the season when even their own players called the team out.  That seemed to ignite them. They played a very good defensive football game against Florida, but their quarterback had a really tough first half and he almost tossed a game away that they should have won pretty easily.   But since then, when the rest of the country was playing really tough football games, Georgia played Old Miss, Auburn, Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech. They haven’t been tested.  So, they’re basically coming from the Oct. 27 game into the Championship game, and we don’t know if they’ve gotten any better or where they stand. We know they have great potential, and they are loaded athletically on defense.

(ON ALABAMA)

Danielson:

Alabama never was unbeatable. They’ve proven that.  But you better be good enough to take advantage of what they give you. Saban makes you play NFL-style football against them. Your quarterback has to complete passes. When you do it like Zach Mettenberger or Johnny Manziel did, they’re vulnerable. But if you don’t have a quarterback that can do it, then forget it. You have no chance.

(KEY TO THE GAME)

Danielson:

Georgia needs to find a way to get Jarvis Jones to impact the game without matching him up against the strength of Alabama, which is their two tackles.  Of course Jones will make plays, but that’s not his best position to rush against.  There are weaker parts of Alabama to rush, so I’m fascinated to see what Georgia will try to make Jones become an impact. The other part of the game is the weakness both teams are facing against each other. Alabama is not a great pass rush team.  There is no Dont’a Hightower, Courtney Upshaw or Marcell Dareus who individually can rush the pass.  They have to do it as a group.  But the worst thing Georgia does is pass protect.  So who wins that left-handed dribble contest will probably be the story of the game.

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Media Contact:         

Dan Sabreen, (212) 975-5936, dsabreen@cbs.com