How did Jake Fromm, Joe Burrow’s performances compare in SEC Championship?

They are who we thought they were.

Georgia’s Jake Fromm struggled to make plays in the passing game while LSU’s Joe Burrow played like the Heisman Trophy frontrunner he is, leading his team to a 37-10 victory in Saturday’s SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.

The first drive of the game for each team foreshadowed the rest of the afternoon. Georgia’s first possession saw Fromm fire three incompletions in four attempts, including a bad underthrow to Demetris Robertson that would have converted a third down.

The next series, Burrow had completions of 24 and 23 yards, the latter going to Ja’Marr Chase in the end zone for the game’s opening touchdown after Burrow held the ball for an eternity in the pocket.

“It’s very tough that you have a quarterback that can actually extend plays and you have to cover a guy downfield longer than you expected,” defensive back Tyrique Stevenson said. “Burrow being who he is, he can make the throws, so you actually have to cover.”

Meanwhile the Bulldogs were plagued by near misses and a lack of separation in the passing game. In the first half, Fromm completed just 10-of-20 passes for 117 yards, and Georgia put just three points on the board.

Receiver Demetris Robertson said the Tigers came into the game with the intent to take away the run and force Georgia to make plays through the air. They did just that, limiting the Bulldogs to just 21 rushing yards in the first half, but still the aerial explosiveness was nowhere to be found.

This same song has been sung about the offense all year. A lack of explosive plays in the passing game has been the theme all year, but the question of why still remains.

First and foremost, there’s the aspect of who isn’t here. Three receivers and a tight end — Mecole Hardman, Riley Ridley, Terry Godwin and Isaac Nauta — are now in the NFL.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said following Saturday’s loss that he and the coaching staff probably haven’t done a good enough job replacing those departures. However, he also pointed to a handful of plays that he thinks could have been made by his receivers tonight.

“You watch the tape closely, they run the exact same play we do,” Smart said, comparing Georgia’s offense to LSU’s. “What’s the difference right now? They have a lot more success with it. They have guys getting open one on one and catching the ball.”

But inexperience doesn’t account for everything. It’s true that a majority of the receiving corps has gotten significant playing time this season for the first time, but Saturday also marked the 13th game of the season — shouldn’t there have been some progress made?

For one reason or another, things just never gelled for the Bulldog passing game in 2019. Receiver Matt Landers said the chemistry has been off all year. As his recently operated on ankle sat wrapped on a scooter, fellow receiver Lawrence Cager pointed a finger at the injuries that have plagued the unit all year long while noting the group still possesses talent.

“Every guy in this room is capable of making plays that I made,” said Cager, one of the team’s most reliable pass catchers all year before going down with an injury in practice last week. “Some days, it just doesn’t go your way.”

For most of the 13 gamedays in this season, it hasn’t gone Georgia’s way. One week it’s injuries, the next it’s not getting open, sometimes it’s a combination of several different factors.

The final stats from Saturday show just how many light years separate these two passing games. Fromm ended 20-of-42 for 225 yards and a touchdown, with the score and most of the yardage coming in garbage time.

Burrow, meanwhile, completed 28-of-38 passes for 349 yards and four touchdowns. As he was relieved by backup Myles Brennan, listening to “Joe for Heisman!” chants ringing through Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it became obvious.

LSU has the passing game to win a championship. Georgia does not.