Tag: LSU UGA

Georgia versus LSU: keys to winning the SEC Championship

The Georgia Bulldogs and LSU Tigers face off in another classic SEC Championship Game. Kirby Smart will try to slow down LSU’s Joe Burrow

The Georgia Bulldogs and LSU Tigers are set to face off in another classic top-five SEC Championship match-up. LSU is favored, but both teams are facing arguably their biggest challenge of the season. It’s the best defense LSU has seen and the best offense Kirby Smart and Georgia will face all season.

Georgia must win the turnover battle, get off the field on third downs, and put pressure on Joe Burrow. Georgia will have to look to limit Burrow the way the Auburn Tigers did weeks ago. Georgia’s defensive line hasn’t gotten the recognition that Auburn’s defensive line has received, but Jordan Davis, Tyler Clark, and Devonte Wyatt have been rock-solid inside. The defense has yet to allow a running back to rush for a touchdown all season (Bo Nix scored the only allowed rushing TD).

At the very least, Georgia must shut down LSU’s run game and make the Tigers offense one-dimensional. LSU will be tough to stop, but sacks can throw any offense off schedule. LSU’s offensive line allows significantly more sacks than Georgia’s elite offensive line:

Georgia is eighth in the SEC with 26 sacks. The Bulldogs must disrupt the timing of LSU’s passing game. LSU will be willing to abandon the run game, like they did in their road game at Texas, if they don’t have any success running the ball. LSU ran the ball at-will against Auburn, Florida, and Alabama. Joe Burrow was a large factor against the Crimson Tide touting fourteen carries. LSU will try to involve him in the run game if they can’t get the dynamic Clyde Edwards-Helaire going.

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Ed Orgeron previews Georgia football and SEC Championship Game

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron previews Georgia football, 2019 SEC Championship Game Saturday December 7th at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

In a press conference with LSU head coach Ed Orgeron, Orgeron talked Kirby Smart, Jake Fromm, Dawgs defense and more, previewing Saturday’s matchup for the SEC Championship.

Orgeron and the #2 ranked Tigers are 12-0 on the season (8-0 SEC) and come into the game favored by 7.5 points.

“They’re going to play their best, man,” said coach Orgeron. “This is their third time here in a row. They’re going to be hungry. They’re well-coached. We beat them last year, so they have a little chip on their shoulder. Know what I’m saying?”

The Dawgs lost a tough one last year in Death Valley by a score of 36-16.  On the similarities of the matchup, coach O acknowledged that a lot can change in a year.

“Whole different time, whole different circumstance.”

Coach Orgeron knows more about the Dawgs players than you’d think.  Although they don’t usually meet in the regular season, many of his opponents’ toughest matchup of the year is Georgia, having Coach O watching plenty of Dawgs film.

“Again on defense, by far the best defense we’ve seen. 10 points per game. They basically are a 4-3, some 3-4. Only giving up 257 a game. Tyler Clark and their defensive line, I watch them all the time, because I watch opponents’ offensive line.”

Coach O is also very familiar with Georgia’s Kirby Smart.

“A lot of respect for Kirby and the job he’s done… Go against him recruiting, know the players he’s recruiting. Know the type of coaches he has on his staff. Well-coached football team, very athletic.”

A question came up wondering if Orgeron believed his team would still be in the playoff even with a loss to Georgia.  Coach O was having absolutely none of that.

“Not even thinking about it,” Orgeron said. “Uh-huh. I’m not buying into that at all. We got to win. I don’t know if we got to win to get in the playoffs or not. I’m not even talking about that. Our goal is to beat Georgia and win the SEC, then let’s see what happens.

Two well coached teams collide on the gridiron in Atlanta for the SEC Championship this Saturday, December 7th at 4:00 p.m. EST.

5 reasons why Georgia beats LSU in SEC Championship

Here are five reasons why Georgia football beats LSU in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday in Atlanta.

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With the biggest game of the year in college football on the horizon, Georgia vs LSU in the SEC Championship, we preview five reasons why the Bulldogs could take down the Tigers on Saturday.

Nobody is giving the Dawgs a chance this weekend, but key players on this team have defied the odds for the past three seasons.

I have faith. Here’s why:

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Georgia football injury report ahead of SECCG vs LSU

Georgia Football full injury report ahead of the SEC Championship Game this Saturday December 7th @ 4:00 p.m. on CBS.

Last Saturday’s game at Georgia Tech was the largest margin of victory Georgia has ever beat the Yellow Jackets by, but it didn’t come without a price.

As if losing WR Lawrence Cager for the rest of the season to an ankle injury wasn’t bad enough, the Dawgs star RB and engine to their offensive game D’Andre Swift got placed on the injury report for the first time all season. On top of that WR George Pickens got himself suspended for the first half of the SEC Championship Game by the SEC for throwing punches.

All of this sounds like bad news for Dawgs fans, but Kirby Smart has faced a little bit of adversity in his time in Athens.  Kirby has lost his offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, top 5 receivers, a 1,000 yard rusher, a Jim Thorpe Award winner and has nearly 70% freshmen and sophomores on his team this year (youngest in all of SEC).

All of this and he still has the Bulldogs playing for a College Football Playoff for the third year in a row.  Pretty incredible if you ask me.

Here’s Georgia’s full injury report ahead of the 2019 SEC Championship Game against LSU.

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What LSU media is saying about Georgia ahead of SEC Championship

Here is what the LSU media is saying about Georgia football ahead of the SEC Championship Game on Saturday.

No. 4 Georgia (11-1) takes on No. 2 LSU (12-0) this Saturday in the SEC Championship Game, in case you have not heard.

It will be a battle of two completely different teams. For LSU, the Tigers make their living on an explosive offense that centers around the arm of Joe Burrow.

For Georgia, the Dawgs play defense and they play it so well that they allow an average of 10 points per game.

It’s the nation’s best offense vs the nation’s best defense, and I for one cannot wait.

I took a little dive into the LSU media to see what their writers are saying about Georgia and the SEC Championship matchup that is Burrow vs the Dawgs D.

Wilson Alexander – The Advocate

Title: LSU thumped No. 2 Georgia last year; this time, Tigers are favored — and Bulldogs remember

Their styles are almost opposites of each other. Georgia wants to run the football behind a massive offensive line; LSU has smashed school passing records with five-receiver sets. Redshirt freshman outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari said Georgia has not faced a similar offense. But the Tigers have not faced a better defense.

This time, LSU will have to play inside a stadium familiar to the Bulldogs, who are aiming for their second conference title in three seasons. The Tigers think Georgia wants payback for last year.

Read full post here.

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How Georgia, LSU stack up ahead of SECCG: Statistical breakdown

How Georgia and LSU stack up statistically ahead of the SEC Championship Game, which is college football’s biggest of the weekend.

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The big one is here.

On Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on CBS, Georgia and LSU will square off in the SEC Championship Game in what will be a College Football Playoff play-in game for Georgia.

Flor LSU, the Tigers can probably afford to drop this one given their undefeated record and body of work to date.

But for the Dawgs, this is it. It’s win or go home. We suffered defeat in the exact same scenario last season and Kirby Smart will put out all the tricks to make sure that does not happen.

Georgia and LSU are two very different football teams.

LSU’s offense is incredible. Georgia’s, well, is not.

Georgia’s defense is equally as good as LSU’s offense. LSU’s defense is nothing special.

How this game plays out will be fun to watch. LSU will score points, less points than usual I would assume. Can Georgia hang in there and match them?

Here are how these two teams match up statistically.

OFFENSE:

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With no Alabama or Auburn, SEC Championship ticket prices at 3-year low

SEC Championship tickets for Georgia football vs LSU are at a three-year low.

This Saturday will mark the first time since 2011 that neither Alabama or Auburn has represented the SEC West in the conference championship.

That 2011 season featured LSU and Georgia meeting in Atlanta, same as this Saturday, with the Tigers beating the Bulldogs 42-10 (hopefully not same as this Saturday).

For this weekend, prices have been trending downward over the last two weeks, though it will still cost you a pretty penny to see your team play for the SEC title.

The current average price for Saturday’s game is $822 (down 36% over the last two weeks) and the get-in price is at $257 (down 27% over that same time frame).

Find SEC Championship Game tickets here.

Compared to the last eight SEC Championships, LSU vs Georgia is on the more expensive end when talking get-in prices. Georgia’s 2017 matchup with Auburn was by far the most expensive SEC Championship Game we have seen.

Look at the Georgia vs LSU get-in price for 2019 compared to the last time the two teams met in Atlanta in 2011. The price has more than doubled. Then again, in 2011, Georgia already had two losses on its record and did not have a shot at playing for a national title.

While SEC championship prices are at their lowest point since the opening of the new Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the cheapest national championship ticket is currently above $1,000, making it the 4th most expensive championship that ticket vendor TicketIQ has tracked.

If LSU is able to reach the national title game, prices could continue to move up, as TicketIQ detailed in this blog post.

Kirby Smart on SECCG: LSU will be the ‘ultimate test’

Georgia football HC Kirby Smart discussed LSU and the SEC Championship.

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Nobody is giving Georgia much of a chance this weekend in the SEC Championship Game vs LSU.

But then again, nobody was giving Georgia much of a chance to even be in this situation after losing to South Carolina in October.

Hey, here we are. For the third year in a row, mind you.

The Dawgs have faced some awfully tough challenges over the last three seasons. Remember, this is the same quarterback, same running back, much of the same offensive line and defensive players that came one play away from winning the national championship two years ago. These Dawgs know what it takes to win. They know what the big stage feels like. To them, this is just another big game.

Kirby Smart finds himself making another trip back to Atlanta for the third time in four years as head coach of the Bulldogs. He’s gone up against some explosive offenses during his tenure at Georgia, too, but none better than this LSU group.

“It’s as explosive of a team as I’ve ever seen on tape,” Smart said. “This will be as great a challenge as we’ve had since I’ve been here, as far as playing an opponent.

They have an outstanding all-around team. It’s a tremendous opportunity to  measure where you are when you get an opportunity to play a team like this that’s firing on all cylinders.”

For LSU, the Tigers’ offense ranks No. 1 or No. 2 in just about every category. So when Smart says this as explosive of a team as he’s ever seen, that’s not just him hyping up his opponent as he tends to do. He’s being real with us.

But luckily for Georgia, the Dawgs possess the nation’s top defense. And just like LSU, Georgia is No. 1 or No. 2 in just about every defensive category.

And they did not get to that point off of star power. They got there by playing as a whole and everybody doing their jobs.

“We don’t have the natural star power on our defense,” Smart said. “A lot of the defenses I’ve coached had three or four first-rounders.

“This group plays hard and plays together.”

Smart’s teams have gone up against some of the best in the last decade of college football. That will be more of the same on Saturday, but if Georgia can control the clock and force Joe Burrow to stay off the field, I like our chances.

“This obviously will be the ultimate test,” Smart said. “(LSU has) the best offensive unit we’ve played, all the way around, and it’s really not even close.”

Georgia football opens as underdogs for SEC Championship Game vs LSU

Georgia football opened as underdogs vs LSU in the SEC Championship Game.

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Georgia has opened as underdogs for the SEC Championship Game vs LSU this Saturday.

The No. 2 ranked Tigers are favored by 6.5 points over the No. 4 ranked Bulldogs in Atlanta.

Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 1:45 p.m.

Want to get in on the action? Place your bet now at BetMGM.

The two teams play completely different styles of football. For Georgia to win this game, it will need to control the clock, run the ball on LSU and force Joe Burrow and the Tigers’ offense to watch from the sideline. If that happens, I like Georgia’s chances. If Georgia’s offense sputters and proves incapable of converting on third down, then the Dawgs will be in trouble.

We can count on our defense to give us as good of a shot as possible, but if the offense does not help them out then things could get ugly.

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College GameDay announces conference championship location

College GameDay announces its conference championship location.

College GameDay has announced its location for conference championship weekend.

ESPN’s flagship college football preview show will be headed to Atlanta for the biggest game of the season between Georgia and LSU.

Assuming the Playoff Committee does not do anything crazy, it will be No. 2 vs No. 4 and a play-in game for the Georgia Bulldogs.

This will be the first time these two teams have met in the SEC Championship since they played in 2011.

Georgia lost the game 42-10 and was completely overwhelmed in the second half by the Tigers secondary that included Morris Claiborne and Tyrann Mathieu. If you remember, though, Georgia actually dominated the first half and should have went into halftime with a two touchdown lead. The Dawgs dropped an easy touchdown pass and the Honey Badger returned a punt for a touchdown that he actually dropped before crossing the goal line.

Georgia and LSU met most recently in 2018, when the Dawgs travelled to Baton Rouge and got completely demolished by the Tigers in a hostile environment.

This time, nobody is giving Georgia a chance. However, if we can control the clock by running on LSU’s average defense and keep Joe Burrow and the offense off the field, I like our chances.