Georgia dominates Auburn for conference title

It’s been a long time coming.

Georgia, which has knocked on the door and come so close over the past couple of decades, appears to be playoff bound. With a 28-7 stomping over Auburn, the No. 6 Bulldogs figure to jump into the top four when the selection committee announces its field of four Sunday afternoon.

Following a shellacking just three weeks ago at Auburn, Georgia (12-1) rebounded in a major way to exact revenge. And it was spearheaded by a suffocating defense that refused to let the Tigers (10-3) hit the kind of plays it did in the first meeting between the teams. In fact, Auburn, which put up 488 yards against Georgia on Nov. 11, was held to 259 total yards in Saturday’s SEC Championship in Atlanta.

For the Bulldogs, this is their first conference championship since 2005. Georgia also became the first East team to win the SEC Championship since Florida did in 2008.

Five who mattered

Georgia inside linebacker Roquan Smith: What else is there to say about Smith? Perhaps the nation’s premier defender, Smith was a machine on the gridiron Saturday afternoon. In the first half alone, Smith totaled seven solo tackles. He recovered two fumbles. He ended the game with 13 tackles (10 solo) and a sack.

Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm: The freshman quarterback from Warner Robins looked very much like a veteran. He began the game completing nine of his first 10 throws. After taking two sacks in the first quarter, Fromm stayed poised and kept trust in his offensive line, which kept a clean pocket. Fromm delivered many big throws throughout the game and finished 16-of-22 passing for 183 yards and a touchdown.

Georgia outside linebackers Lorenzo Carter and Davin Bellamy: Each of these senior defenders came up with crucial plays at different stages of the game. Auburn was up 7-0 when Bellamy came around the edge to record a sack and fumble, which saw Smith recover it. Carter later forced a fumble from Auburn running back Kerryon Johnson, with Smith also recovering that one. The two turnovers were huge moments from a defense that didn’t have such plays against Auburn the first time around.

Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham: Stidham got out to a hot start by ending the first quarter 8-of-8 passing. With Kerryon Johnson bottled up, a lot of the offense came down to Stidham’s play as a passer. And through the first half, Stidham kept Auburn in the game. By the end, it proved too much to rely mostly on Stidham. He finished 16-of-31 passing for 145 yards and a touchdown.

Turning point

Fromm delivered a back-shoulder throw to receiver Terry Godwin for a 7-yard touchdown. Godwin followed it up with a two-point reception to put Georgia up 21-7 with 13:06 in the fourth quarter. From there, the game was in hand.

Observations

Nearly the same, but different: One team jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the first drive. The same team ended up making a few costly mistakes the other team capitalized on. The team who capitalized on those mistakes rolled to a big win. The lone difference? The first time, it was Auburn who jumped out to a deciding victory. This time, it was Georgia that made Auburn pay for its miscues. Georgia was able to tie the game up at 7-7 after recovering Stidham’s fumble. Up 10-7, the Bulldogs blocked a field goal to prevent a tie. And then Georgia was able to score again off of Johnson’s fumble.

Georgia’s balance: The Bulldogs managed only 46 rushing yards the first time against Auburn. It was completely different against the Tigers in this meeting. Not only did Georgia run for 238 yards, but the threat of Fromm passing the ball opened things up in a major way. Georgia also put in some wrinkles to help its running backs bounce some plays to the edge, which opened up the middle of the field in the passing game. It was a great game plan from offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, considering what Georgia put on the field just three weeks ago.

Near home-field advantage: It was a rocking Mercedes-Benz Stadium crowd that skewed in favor of Georgia. Perhaps 65 percent, if not 70 percent, of the patrons on hand for the game were wearing red or black. It was very much not a neutral-site feel. If there was an officiating call the fans didn’t agree with, it got loud indoors. When Georgia picked up a big play, it was considerably more audible than when Auburn did. That kind of backing does go a long way in big games, as Auburn knows all too well in regular-season wins over Georgia and Alabama.

Worth mentioning

Big play DaQuan: In the third quarter, Auburn got inside the 20-yard line but was forced to settle for a field goal try. Auburn place-kicker Daniel Carlson came on for what would normally be a routine attempt. The snap, however, was high, which forced a low line-drive kick. Defensive tackle DaQuan Hawkins-Muckle was able to get his hand in the air to block the attempt, thwarting Auburn’s attempts at points.

Down a corner: Georgia was without cornerback Malkom Parrish, who suited up but was unable to play. Before the game, Parrish did not go through warm-ups and had teammates come over to lift his spirits up. Aaron Davis and Deandre Baker manned the outside corner positions most of the time.

No Payne: Georgia was without fullback Christian Payne, who was injured a week ago against Georgia Tech. Payne made the trip but was in street clothes on the sideline. The Bulldogs rarely used a fullback on offense but did use Elijah Holyfield in that role on the game’s first play.

What’s next?

Georgia will tune in to Sunday’s College Football Playoff selection show to find out where it will be seeded. The show starts at noon and will air on ESPN.

This story was originally published December 2, 2017 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Georgia dominates Auburn for conference title."