Georgia and LSU met for the 2022 SEC Championship Game, with their fates in the College Football Playoff up for grabs on Saturday. Both squads entered Saturday’s matchup full of pride following respective wins over their opponent.
Antonio Langham noticed Roy Kramer approaching late in the first half of the SEC Championship Game – a pivotal moment that altered its course.
Georgia
Georgia improved to an undefeated 13-0 after defeating LSU 50-30 in the SEC Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, marking their 14th title and ensuring at least two years with one quarterback for their program.
After a slow start, Georgia found its footing in the second half. Freshman running back Elijah Holyfield and sophomore Nick Chubb each scored touchdown runs to propel Georgia to 549 total yards – 491 of which came through the air – while LSU could muster only 208. Sophomore Javon Bullard and Smael Mondon led Georgia’s defensive effort with six combined sacks and a forced fumble, respectively.
This year’s SEC Championship game occurred in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with the winner earning a spot in the College Football Playoff. Unlike in previous years, when divisional champions automatically qualified, only conference top-ranked teams that win outright qualify; otherwise, a selection committee will use head-to-head records to determine which should advance.
Saturday’s SEC championship game had all the makings of an epic battle: LSU was in contention for a playoff berth, while Georgia wanted to erase Kirby Smart’s one blemish on its SEC title game resume. Unfortunately, an appealing matchup does not always translate to an excellent contest, which was certainly true here.
Georgia’s defense fought hard throughout, holding off LSU with five sacks and interceptions – including an early first-half pick that led to a field goal – as they limited LSU’s ground yards to only 96 for an SEC championship game record low total.
Georgia’s defense produced its finest performance ever in any title game of their conference history, scoring 35 points – more than ever seen before – to build up an overwhelming lead at halftime and eventually prevail with a 15-point margin of victory.
Georgia won its most significant SEC title ever under Kirby Smart with this win, its second-ever SEC crown and first since 2019. Until then, they had suffered three consecutive championship game defeats at Alabama and LSU – each by wide margins.
Smart’s victory is a much-needed relief, having lost three SEC title game appearances as head coach of Georgia Bulldogs. With this win comes increased hope for earning a playoff berth and alleviating any concerns about being unable to win big games.
LSU
In 2022’s SEC Championship Game, Georgia will face an LSU team that first-year coach Brian Kelly has had to assemble through all sorts of means in the transfer portal and other means. Not only will this contest determine bowl eligibility for both sides, but it may also have a bearing on College Football Playoff rankings.
Both teams have been imposing this season, but Georgia holds a slight edge heading into this matchup. Georgia’s defense has been outstanding this year, while their offense has struggled due to turnovers and inexperience.
LSU has taken an unconventional path to the SEC Championship Game, but their win against Auburn last week set up LSU for success this weekend. LSU has defeated Oregon, Samford, South Carolina, Kent State, Missouri, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Florida while suffering losses against Tennessee and Texas A&M; losing against Tennessee was simply an aberration in an otherwise impressive campaign.
Since 2000, when the division format was first implemented, at least one team has lost in each of nine SEC Championship games played – never has the winner of said game finished higher on its respective conference’s standings list than their opponent!
Georgia is favored to win but must play its best to beat LSU. Whoever emerges victorious will stand a much greater chance at reaching the playoffs than their opponent; winning this game would give Georgia its fourth SEC Championship since conference title games were instituted and 17 overall titles.
Losing this game would knock Georgia out of the top four and push them behind LSU and Alabama in rankings, decreasing their chance of qualifying for the Sugar Bowl.
LSU was likely on the bubble for playoff contention before their loss to Texas A&M, but a win in Atlanta should give them an excellent shot at reaching the New Orleans Bowl. To ensure success, LSU must continue playing well, passing and running against Georgia’s weak secondary. They have much to prove in this game and must show that their loss to A&M was no fluke. To qualify for playoffs, teams must post a winning record against their opponents while placing within the top half of their conference. If two teams tie, head-to-head results between them will be used to select one team as their representative from their meeting. This system was implemented to not unfairly represent conferences by teams that won their division or were highly ranked in the BCS standings.
Predictions
The Southeastern Conference has become America’s preeminent college football conference, and its members all aim to win the National Championship in 2023. Georgia appears as an early favorite to complete a three-peat, but Alabama, Florida, and LSU all boast talent capable of challenging Georgia’s supremacy.
The Bulldogs are easily the top team in their conference, yet still face an uphill climb towards winning another national championship. A difficult path lies ahead until December’s championship game; if they can avoid any missteps and remain healthy enough, Atlanta could become their destination again.
Georgia will face its most significant test from SEC West when facing off against Missouri Tigers, which will serve as a revenge match after Alabama won this year’s SEC Championship game. Kirby Smart knows his squad needs to come out strong in this one, as losing here would spell disaster for Georgia’s season.
If the Bulldogs can get their defense back into shape and count on Jake Fromm for sufficient yardage, they can keep this game close for some time. Perhaps even relish being the underdog after being the favorite all year.
Alabama boasts one of the nation’s premier quarterbacks, Bryce Young, and plenty of talent across its roster. If Alabama can defeat Georgia again at SEC Championship time, perhaps Alabama will get their revenge for last season’s CFP defeat.
Alabama will have no trouble winning another SEC Championship if they can stop the run game and limit Georgia’s explosive offense while defeating Missouri and Tennessee during their regular seasons and at the SEC Championship, respectively. I don’t anticipate anyone outshowing Alabama in 2023 regarding wins!
