Georgia gets its payback, tops Auburn for SEC title

In the first rematch in the history of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, the Georgia Bulldogs made their College Football Playoff dreams a reality.

Georgia took down Auburn 28-7 in the first SEC Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The win gives the Bulldogs their first conference title since 2005 and almost assuredly means they will be one of four teams selected to the playoff on Sunday.

Georgia (12-1, 8-1) trailed Auburn 7-0 after Jarrett Stidham’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Nate Craig-Myers with 9:54 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs got on the board one quarter later, when Jake Fromm pulled off a convincing play-action and hit Isaac Nauta for a 2-yard touchdown pass.

Rodrigo Blankenship gave the Bulldogs’ their first lead of the contest with 4:59 to go in the second quarter when he connected on a 27-yard field goal. Blankenship stretched the lead to 13-7 with 1:26 remaining in the third quarter courtesy a 35-yard kick.

The Bulldogs put the game away in the fourth quarter after Georgia linebacker Lorenzo Carter forced a fumble and fellow linebacker Roquan Smith recovered on the Auburn 39-yard line. Four plays later, Jake Fromm fired a pass to the right toward Terry Godwin, who made the catch for a 7-yard touchdown.

Godwin’s score and the ensuing two-point conversion gave the Bulldogs a 21-7 lead with 13:06 remaining in the fourth. D’Andre Swift added to the lead with 10:34 left in the contest, breaking away on a 64-yard touchdown run to leave the Tigers in a three-touchdown hole.

The fumble recovery by Smith was just one of the many highlights the junior produced in his team’s biggest game. At the end of the evening, Smith had 13 tackles, two fumble recoveries, two tackles for loss and one sack.

The strong start to the game made the defeat a tough one to come to terms with for Auburn (10-3, 7-2). The Tigers now await word on their bowl destination, which they will find out on Sunday.

This story was originally published December 2, 2017 at 7:31 PM with the headline "Georgia gets its payback, tops Auburn for SEC title."