Georgia takes home SEC East title for third season in a row with win over Auburn

Crown the kings.

Georgia (9-1, 6-1 SEC) walked into Jordan-Hare Stadium with a formidable test against No. 12 Auburn, and walked out as SEC East champions. The Bulldogs rode their strong-as-ever defense and strung together enough (just enough) proficient drives in order to claim a 21-14 victory over its hated rival on The Plains.

Georgia will return to Atlanta for its third-consecutive title game appearance, and calls Mercedes-Benz Stadium its proverbial once-per-year home again. Georgia has never achieved the feat in three straight seasons, and only one other SEC East team has done so in conference history (Florida, 1992-96).

“It’s a good feeling, man,” safety J.R. Reed said. “Each team is different, but this group bought in. We had to fight. We had to go get this one.”

Not only did Georgia win its way to title contention, but it did so in convincing fashion. Its biggest statement came on defense as it nearly shutout the Tigers for its fourth clean sheet. A fourth-quarter push at the goal line gave Auburn its first score — a 3-yard pass on a sweep play to Eli Stove. Otherwise, Auburn couldn’t find traction offensively. Well, until late in the game.

It leaned heavily on its pass game to start as quarterback Bo Nix had 10 attempts on his first two drives. Georgia didn’t have an early answer for the slant pass, but then shored up its pass coverage and the Tigers had to resort to a variety of play calls.

“Our kids are very resilient,” Smart said. “To come in this place and lose momentum-obviously lose momentum-and to be able to go back out and get it, I thought showed some fortitude and ability to handle some tough, adverse things.

But the run didn’t amount to much either. Georgia allowed its lone rushing touchdown as Nix finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. Georgia held the streak through nine games, which no other team had done. Auburn combined for 84 yards on 36 rushes, and many of those came on the legs of Nix. Linebacker Monty Rice led Georgia with 10 tackles while Malik Herring had plenty of influence with four tackles and a pass break-up.

Georgia had to stave off a massive momentum shift. After the touchdown pass to Stove, Auburn went for an onside kick and recovered. Due to review, however, the Tigers were called for an illegal procedure penalty and had to re-kick. Auburn then forced a 3-and-out and drove in chunks before Nix’s short burst. Suddenly, Georgia’s lead slimmed to seven and then an act of luck followed.

Auburn had a 4th-and-2 on the 35-yard-line and it could sniff an opportunity to tie. Nix stepped back and found running back Jartavious “Boobee” Whitlow open and with room to run. The Tigers’ signal caller overthrew it and Georgia took over possession.

“Gus did a good job of searching until he found something,” Smart said. “We didn’t have enough answers to what they were doing, where earlier in the game we did. We kind of didn’t have enough answers when we needed them the most.”

Led by its defensive line, Auburn held Georgia without a first down, exhausted all timeouts and had its final breath to tie. Two minutes, three seconds remained on the clock. Georgia’s defense, which spent plenty of time on the field as the offense had nine 3-and-outs, had to make one more stand. It did so against Notre Dame. It did so against Florida.

In an electrifying atmosphere, the Bulldogs did it again. Freshman Travon Walker sacked Nix for one last turnover on downs.

“That drive was more of they had to throw,” Smart said. “We got them to burn the timeouts, and were able to be aggressive and play for the pass.”

Game on ice. Exhale.

Offensively, the highlight came early as quarterback Jake Fromm found freshman Dominick Blaylock as he streaked down the middle for a 51-yard touchdown. Then, a series of lulls came as punter Jake Camarda received his fair share of work and the Bulldogs had a period of three consecutive three-and-outs. But when Georgia needed to pad its lead, offensive coordinator James Coley found a way.

Before the half, running back D’Andre Swift looked vintage for a drive as he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark. He rattled off runs of 26 and 16 yards to set up a 5-yard screen touchdown pass to Brian Herrien. A 14-0 lead at the intermission would’ve been enough, but then Georgia had another flash of traction. Tight end Eli Wolf — who has collected his fair share of clutch plays — scored on a 5-yard touchdown catch from Fromm.

“I feel like we have some good players and they play better when their back is against the wall,” Smart said.

As the final buzzer sounded, a celebration ensued and the Bulldogs proved their standing as a top-tier SEC team once more. Book your hotels (if you need them) and bring your flashlights to Georgia’s other home — 75 miles down the road.

But Smart wasn’t focused on it.

“We’re focused on Texas A&M,” he said.

This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 7:28 PM.