NO. 6 GEORGIA 28 NO. 2 AUBURN 7
They avenge lopsided loss to Tigers with a dominant victory in the SEC title game.
Bulldogs avenge their only loss and almost certainly earn a playoff berth with first SEC title since ’05.
ATLANTA — Roquan Smith came up with two crucial turnovers, freshman Jake Fromm threw two touchdown passes and No. 6 Georgia cruised to a 28-7 victory over No. 2 Auburn in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday.
Georgia (12-1) appears headed to the College Football Playoff in its second year under coach Kirby Smart. It was the first SEC championship for the Bulldogs since 2005. The Bulldogs haven’t won a national title since 1980.
Auburn (10-3) rolled into Atlanta after victories over Georgia and then-No. 1 Alabama in its last three games. But the Tigers were stymied by mistakes, including a blocked field goal, and had no answer for a Georgia team eager to make up for a 40-17 loss at Auburn on Nov. 11. said.
Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and freshman D’Andre Swift provided a much more effective running game , which opened up things for the young quarterback. Fromm completed 16 of 22 passes for 183 yards, including a twoyard touchdown throw to Isaac Nauta in the second quarter and a six-yard scoring pass to Terry Godwin with just over 13 minutes to play.
Swift finished off Georgia’s rout by breaking loose for a 64-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes 34 seconds remaining. He rushed for 88 yards, Chubb had 77 and Michel had 45 before leaving in the third quarter because of a knee injury.
Auburn started as if it was headed for another big victory.
Jarrett Stidham capped the opening possession with a six-yard scoring pass to Nate Craig-Myers, and Auburn pushed into position to extend its lead early in the second quarter.
But Stidham was stripped of the ball by linebacker Davin Bellamy and the Bulldogs recovered at their 16-yard line.
They drove to tie the score and dominated the rest of the way.
The Tigers managed only 259 yards after piling up 488 in their Nov. 11 rout of the Bulldogs.