As champions of the SEC Western Division, the Crimson Tide faced off in the first-ever SEC Championship Game against the Eastern Division champion Florida Gators. It was a tight contest. Florida QB Shane Matthews passed for 287 yards against a Tide defense that had been averaging 126 passing yards allowed per game. Florida scored a touchdown on the game's opening drive, driving 77 yards on an array of short passes completed by Matthews. It was the only first-quarter touchdown yielded by Alabama in all of 1992. Alabama responded immediately with a 72-yard drive that ended on a 5-yard TD run by Lassic. Jay Barker's 30-yard pass to Curtis Brown put Alabama out in front 14–7 in the second quarter. In the third quarter, a 39-yard completion from Barker to David Palmer was the key play in a drive that put the Tide ahead 21–7. Florida rallied, going on 68-yard and 51-yard marches to tie the game up with 8:09 left. Alabama's perfect season hung in the balance, until Antonio Langham picked off a Matthews pass with 3:16 to go for the game-winning touchdown, and another Matthews interception at the 2:54 mark sealed the victory. Palmer had 101 receiving yards and Derrick Lassic rushed for 117 yards. It was Alabama's 20th SEC Championship. Alabama faced #1 Miami in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship. The result was an emphatic 34–13 Alabama victory that completed the perfect season and won a national championship. Jay Barker managed only 18 yards passing in the Sugar Bowl and threw two interceptions, but the Tide running game punished Miami for 267 yards, including 135 rushing yards by Derrick Lassic. 1992 Heisman Trophy winner Gino Toretta threw for 278 yards but, critically, also threw three interceptions, all of which led to Alabama touchdowns. On the opening possession Alabama drove deep into Miami territory but could not get into the end zone, settling for a Michael Proctor field goal and a 3–0 lead. A 34-yard pass from Toretta to Kevin Williams set up a 49-yard field goal that tied the game. Jay Barker threw an interception in the first quarter that gave Miami the ball at the Alabama 39, but Lamar Thomas fumbled it right back after catching a pass from Toretta and the opportunity was wasted. Barker's second interception killed a drive at the Miami 23 before the first quarter ended. In the second, Alabama drove down to the Miami 1, the key plays being runs of 24 yards and 10 yards by Lassic and a six-yard pass from Barker to Palmer to move the chains on a third down.