One of the biggest talking points heading into the 2019 SEC Championship Game was the belief that LSU didn’t even have to win the conference title game to get into the upcoming College Football Playoff.

The Tigers apparently didn’t get that memo.

While Georgia entered the game as the team with their backs against the wall, it has been LSU that has played with the better sense of urgency in Atlanta as the Tigers jumped out to an early 7-point lead after their first possession of the game and completely controlled the first half of the league title game and lead 17-3 at the break.

Joe Burrow has completed 17 of his 25 attempts in the first half with two touchdowns and 204 yards. Burrow has found eight different receivers in the game, including himself. Burrow caught a pass that was batted back to himself and he ran it for a first down during LSU’s first possession of the game.

Credit LSU’s defense for holding Georgia to only 19 rushing yards in the first half. Freshman cornerback Derek Stingley also came up with a big interception to kill a Georgia drive that had nearly reached the end zone just before the end of the first half.

Here’s how Kirby Smart answered when asked how Georgia gets a spark in the second half:

“We gotta get guys in open space, got to find ways to get those guys the ball,” Smart said. “Dom (Blaylock) is down, (Kearis) Jackson’s down, got a couple other guys banged up. These kids are fighters, they’ll come out and fight.”