Jalen Hurts rescues Alabama after Tua Tagovailoa exits SEC title game - ESPN

7:58 PM ET

ATLANTA -- Jalen Hurts came off the bench for injured starter Tua Tagovailoa in the fourth quarter and led Alabama to a dramatic, come-from-behind 35-28 victory over Georgia in Saturday's SEC Championship Game.

The Tide trailed 28-21 when Tagovailoa was forced to leave the field with an injury to his right ankle. Hurts came in and led two scoring drives, including the go-ahead drive in which he scored on a 15-yard run with 1:04 remaining.

"I'm so proud of this guy for what he's done this year, I can't even tell you," Tide coach Nick Saban said of Hurts in his postgame interview.

Tagovailoa went down in the fourth after Georgia's Jonathan Ledbetter pushed tackle Jonah Williams into him in the pocket. Tagovailoa appeared to be holding his right ankle and was helped off the field by trainers, though he returned to the sideline later in the fourth quarter.

Tagovailoa also injured the ankle in the first quarter and limped off the field.

Hurts finished 7-of-9 for 82 yards and one touchdown and also had 28 yards on five carries and the game-winning touchdown.

Hurts was 26-2 as the starter before this season, when Tagovailoa beat him out for the starting job. Hurts played in mop-up duty this season, appearing in 10 games before Saturday.

Tagovailoa was considered the Heisman Trophy frontrunner entering the weekend but struggled Saturday against Georgia. He exited the field having completed 10-of-25 passes for 164 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

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