SEC Championship Preview

#2 LSU vs #4 Georgia

Tyler Habursky

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The SEC saw a lot of movement throughout the year with Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Florida, and Georgia moving in and out of the top spots in the standings. Now, there are only two teams left standing. We have the 12-0 LSU Tigers who have convincing wins against Alabama, Texas, Florida, and Auburn. Their new look offense is firing on all cylinders and they have the Heisman favorite, Joe Burrow, at Quarterback. The 11-1 Georgia Bulldogs will represent East. They’ve had some close wins against solid opponents like Notre Dame, Florida, and Auburn. Their one loss came against unranked South Carolina and that is a blemish they wish they didn’t have on their resume. Georgia is built on running the ball and playing defense. They will likely try to slow down the pace of the game and keep the ball away from Burrow and company. Let’s take a closer look at each team.

LSU Tigers

Ever since their bowl game win against UCF last year LSU has been electric. With their new look spread offense, Heisman favorite, Joe Burrow has already beat the LSU single season passing yards record by 1,000 yards. After a rollercoaster ride of a career, Ed Orgeron has had a career resurgence and has really won over the locker room. Up and coming coach, Joe Brady has brought a whole new look to the offense and can also be credited for the outstanding offensive stats. The aforementioned Burrow will be someone to watch against a solid Georgia defense even though it’s nothing he hasn’t seen already. His inspiring background and leadership that he brings to the field makes him a fun watch. The rest of the offense is loaded with playmakers including sophomore WR, Ja’Marr Chase. Chase is a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award and could be one of the first few receivers drafted in 2021. They also have Terrance Marshall Jr. and Justin Jefferson who could very well go top 100 in this year’s draft. Tight end’s Thad Moss, Randy’s son, and Stephen Sullivan are also key players. Sullivan recently got a senior bowl invite because of his potential as a flex TE. Former 3-star recruit, Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been one of the best running backs in the nation. He’s a strong runner through traffic due to his short, stocky frame at 5’8” 209. Edwards-Helaire would be a top 10 RB in the draft class if he were to declare. Offensive lineman Lloyd Cushenberry and Adrian Magee should not be slept on either. Overall, their offense has been unstoppable all season.

(Photo by Marianna Massey/Getty Images)

On defense, it all starts in the secondary with 5 very good players. Junior, Grant Delpit and freshman, Derek Stingley Jr. area few names every college football fan knows. Cornerback, Kristian Fulton will also likely hear his name called in the first round. Kary Vincent Jr. may very well be the fastest player in the nation with his 10.07 100m dash and safety, JaCoby Stevens was a very high rated recruit. This group has been excellent all year and will match up against a banged-up Georgia receiving corps. Up front they have struggled stopping the run and gave up 402 rushing yards to Ole Miss. Nevertheless, linebackers Patrick Queen and Jacob Phillips are players to watch from a scouting aspect. They both are generally unproven but have traits that jump off the screen. Edge rusher, K’Lavon Chaisson is a force off the edge. The potential first rounder has 3.5 sacks this season and can bend the edge like no other. Rashard Lawrence and Tyler Shelvin have been outstanding all season but have been overlooked by all the other flashy names that I’ve mentioned. As I said, this team is great against the pass, but against Georgia they really need to buckle up against the run or they’ll be in for a long day.

Georgia Bulldogs

Kirby Smart and Georgia want to come out and smack everyone in the mouth. Their best prospect for the draft is left tackle, Andrew Thomas. Thomas’ game lacks many flaws at all and has gone up against the best of the best, which is why I think he’ll be a top 5 pick. His matchup against Chaisson will be one to watch. Running back D’Andre Swift will probably end up being my highest graded RB in the class but is coming off of a shoulder injury so we’ll see if he can take advantage of the vulnerable LSU run defense along with running backs, Brian Herrien, Zamir White, and James Cook. Their best WR, Lawrence Cager is out with an injury while up and coming freshman, George Pickens is suspended for the first half. Tyler Simmons, Dominick Blaylock, and Demetris Robertson will have to step up at WR. Charlie Woerner is a good blocker at tight end and could be someone to keep an eye on for the draft. If Georgia wants to win this football game, however, Jake Fromm has to play better. Too often does he leave yards on the field. Fromm is easy to love as a prospect because of his intangibles, but for me to seriously consider him as a draft prospect he needs to play a lot better, especially if he wants to give his team a chance to win. And as much as Kirby Smart wants to run the ball, he needs to be prepared to sling the pill to keep up with this high-powered LSU offense.

Defensively, Georgia doesn’t have any big names, they have a lot of good players that play well as a cohesive unit. Monty Rice is a legit prospect at linebacker and is the heart and soul of the defense along with senior linebacker, Tae Crowder. On the back end, Eric Stokes is great in man coverage and will have to play a flawless game seeing who he’s lined up against. Richard LeCounte III and JR Reed may be the best safety duo in the country (even though I don’t think Reed is that great). They have a deep defensive line rotation featuring, Tyler Clark, David Marshall, Malik Herring, Jermaine Johnson, Walter Grant, and freshman Nolan Smith. They are going to really have to get after Burrow all day long if they want to have a chance at slowing this offense down.

Final Thoughts

When it comes down to it, I think LSU will win this game, pretty handily. This should secure their spot at #1 for the College Football Playoff and will likely put one of Utah, Oklahoma or Baylor in at the #4 spot. Georgia won’t go away, but I don’t think they’ll be able to keep up with this Burrow-lead offense. Sure, they’ll get some stops, but I just don’t think they have what it takes. If this game does end up being close it will be because LSU mightily struggles to stop D’Andre Swift and this run heavy offense. Regardless, an SEC Championship between #2 and #4 isn’t something we should be complaining about.