Georgia’s SEC Championship Game history

2002: No. 4 Georgia 30, Arkansas 3

The Bulldogs quickly dispatched the Razorbacks, which won a three-team tiebreaker for second in the West but represented the division because Alabama was ineligible. Before the Razorbacks had gained a yard of offense, Georgia had two touchdowns from running back Musa Smith and a field goal from Billy Bennett. Bennett tacked on two more field goals in the second half before Georgia quarterback David Greene’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Watson sealed the Bulldogs’ first conference title since 1982.

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

Georgia’s second straight trip to Atlanta was not as pleasant as the first. The Tigers jumped out to a 17-0 lead thanks to an 87-yard rushing touchdown, a safety, a 43-yard touchdown pass and a field goal. Georgia could only muster two Billy Bennett field goals through the first 41 minutes of action, and David Greene’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Watson late in third quarter was nothing more than the Bulldogs’ last hurrah.

2005: No. 13 Georgia 34, No. 3 LSU 14

Georgia started fast in its second title tussle with the Tigers. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead on two touchdown passes from quarterback D.J. Shockley to Sean Bailey. The Bulldogs put the game away in the fourth quarter, when backup Matt Flynn, playing for an injured JaMarcus Russell, was intercepted by Tim Jennings, who returned the pick 16 yards to give Georgia a 34-7 lead. Shockley, with three touchdowns, was the game’s MVP.

2011: No. 1 LSU 42, No. 12 Georgia 10

With an upset of the nation’s top team in mind, the Bulldogs fell prey to the Honey Badger, LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu. Blair Walsh’s 40-yard field goal and Aaron Murray’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Aron White gave the Bulldogs a 10-0 first-quarter lead, but Mathieu got LSU back in the game with a 59-yard punt return touchdown in the second quarter and then set up two more LSU touchdowns with a fumble recovery and a 47-yard punt return.

2012: No. 2 Alabama 32, No. 3 Georgia 28

With a national championship appearance on the line, the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide produced one of the greatest showdowns in championship game history. Tension mounted midway through the third quarter, when the Bulldogs’ Cornelius Washington blocked an Alabama field goal, and Alec Ogletree returned it 55 yards to put Georgia up 21-10. The Tide rallied back to take a 25-21 lead on touchdown runs by T.J. Yeldon and Eddie Lacy. Todd Gurley’s 10-yard scamper gave the lead back to the Bulldogs until A.J. McCarron connected with Amari Cooper on a 44-yard touchdown with 3:15 to go. Down 32-28 and intent on a championship, Georgia marched down the field in the final seconds. Those plans did not come to fruition, as Chris Conley caught a tipped pass and fell down on the five-yard line with six seconds left. With no timeouts, Georgia could do nothing but helplessly watched the clock run out.

This story was originally published December 1, 2017 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Georgia’s SEC Championship Game history."