How the past six SEC Championship rematches have fared

Georgia’s players are eager to face Auburn for the second time this season on Saturday in the SEC Championship game, and they have said there are advantages to playing the Tigers twice.

But history does not favor the Bulldogs.

In the 25-year history of the game, six contests have featured rematches of regular season games. The team that won in the regular season is 5-1 in the championship.

Three weeks ago, Georgia, at the time ranked No. 1 in the country, lost to No. 10 Auburn, 40-17, at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game was close at halftime, but well out of reach by the time Georgia’s players walked off the field in shock having suffered their only loss of the season.

“That was a fun game — the first quarter at least,” Georgia tight end Jeb Blazevich said.

In the six rematches, the winning team has won by an average of 22 points, and the higher-ranked team has won four times. This weekend, Auburn holds the No. 2 ranking in the country, while Georgia sits at No. 6.

No SEC rematch has been played on a quicker turnaround.

A closer look at the rematches:

1999: No. 7 Alabama 34, No. 5 Florida 7

Alabama beat Florida by one point in overtime during the regular season while playing in Gainesville, Florida. The game was not close in the rematch. Florida had two more total yards in the regular season matchup. The Crimson Tide, which entered the game on a four-game winning streak, out-paced the Gators by 348 yards when it mattered most.

2000: No. 7 Florida 28, No. 18 Auburn 6

A year later, Florida beat Auburn by 31 points at home during the regular season. The SEC Championship wasn’t much closer. Rex Grossman threw four touchdowns and two Auburn quarterbacks each tossed an interception as Florida won easily.

2001: No. 21 LSU 31, No. 2 Tennessee 20

The one victory. The largest upset. Tennessee beat LSU at home during the regular season, were favored by seven points entering the title game and held national title hopes. The Nick Saban-led Tigers ended all of that by scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter with backup quarterback Matt Mauck.

2003: No. 3 LSU 34, No. 5 Georgia 13

The regular season matchup between these teams in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was a seven-point LSU victory. When the teams played two months later, LSU rushed 46 times for 293 yards and two touchdowns. Georgia gained 249 total yards. LSU went on to win the national championship.

2004: No. 3 Auburn 38, No. 15 Tennessee 28

Auburn finished the season 12-0 and beat Tennessee two times along the way. The first was a 24-point victory in Knoxville. The second game wasn’t decided until the fourth quarter. Tennessee rushed for 228 yards, but Jason Campbell threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns, including the final score of the game.

2010: No. 1 Auburn 56, No. 19 South Carolina 17

After rematches were played five years in a row, six years passed before the next one. Auburn out-gained the Gamecocks by 108 yards in a win during the regular season. The Cam Newton-led Tigers more than doubled that difference, gaining 240 more yards than South Carolina in an absolute drubbing. Auburn won the last time SEC teams faced in a rematch for the title game.

Seven years later, will the Tigers do it again?

This story was originally published November 29, 2017 at 8:56 PM with the headline "How the past six SEC Championship rematches have fared."