Auburn vs. Georgia, Round 2: The stage is set for what figures to be a wild, never-before-seen SEC Championship
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We thought wrong.
We thought that the buildup all year was for Alabama-Georgia. We thought that it was supposed to be Nick Saban vs. Kirby Smart — master vs. apprentice. We thought that it was finally going to be Alabama’s toughest SEC Championship test since Tim Tebow was in blue and orange. We thought that we’d get a winner-take-all conference title game, and maybe even a loser-gets-in scenario. We thought Alabama-Georgia was the matchup we were destined to see.
We thought wrong. Better yet, I and anyone who followed that line of thinking, thought wrong.
Auburn’s 26-14 victory against Alabama means that we’ll still get a highly-anticipated, winner-take-all game to decide the SEC. It’ll just be a rematch.
Georgia vs. Auburn. Smash-mouth vs. up-tempo. Defensive mastermind vs. offensive guru. Winner gets its first Playoff appearance, loser sees its magical season come to an end.
After an Iron Bowl that was as epically unpredictable as any non-Alabama fan could’ve hoped for, we’ll get an SEC Championship that could follow suit.
The only difference is that for the first time in 4 years, Alabama will be on the couch while someone else gets a turn.
The beauty of next Saturday’s matchup is that it’ll be the first Auburn-Georgia matchup in the 26-year history of the SEC Championship. We won’t get Alabama-Florida or Alabama-Missouri. It’ll be a new chapter for two programs that still have national title aspirations.
Of course Auburn will be the favorite, having taken down No. 1 twice in three weeks to close the regular season. And naturally, the beatdown Auburn put on Georgia will be a hot topic of conversation all week, as it should be. Rarely do teams who have such a lopsided result in the regular season get a chance to meet in the postseason.
But something tells me that we’re in for a different kind of battle. This won’t be at Jordan-Hare, where Auburn has simply looked like the best team on the planet this season. Instead, it’ll be away from the friendly confines and in Georgia’s neck of the woods.
Don’t forget that while Auburn is going to be all the rage this week, it was a mere 3-2 in road games this year. There’s no guarantee that Auburn comes out with that same kind of fire at a neutral site, especially if Kerryon Johnson isn’t able to play or play at 100 percent.
If there was a bittersweet moment that came out of Saturday’s Iron Bowl victory, it was that Johnson went down late, and clearly was in significant pain with that right arm/shoulder. That’s the same guy who torched Georgia for 233 yards from scrimmage 2 weeks ago.
Have yourself a game, Kerryon Johnson. pic.twitter.com/nJJgC1a7Qe
— SEConCBS (@SEConCBS) November 11, 2017
As important as Johnson is to Auburn’s success, the rise of Jarrett Stidham can’t be understated. The guy who looked like a high school quarterback against Clemson two months ago was the difference in Auburn beating No. 1 twice. Can Stidham have yet another game-of-his-life performance?
We know that Smart is going to try and make all the adjustments necessary to prevent Stidham from carving up the Dawgs’ defense. Defending the play-action pass will be monumental for a Georgia secondary that’s been vulnerable on the deep ball. The last thing Smart wants to see is Darius Slayton streaking down the sidelines with two steps on a defensive back.
Smart’s job will be to make those tweaks. Malzahn’s job will be to keep adding those wrinkles. You can bet Malzahn’s jump pass with Johnson — assuming he can play — will be practiced by Smart’s scout team once or twice this week.
Which team shows up to Atlanta more prepared? Or will this be a game in which self-inflicted wounds tell the story?
Auburn certainly benefitted from Alabama and Georgia making atypical mistakes. Costly penalties, fumbled snaps, blown coverages. The Tigers get credit for that. Certainly nobody was calling either of their impressive showings against No. 1 “flukes.”
If Auburn indeed beats Alabama/Georgia for the third time in a month, nobody will doubt its legitimacy. If Georgia beats Auburn on a neutral site, nobody will say the Dawgs lucked into a Playoff berth.
At this point last week, all the talk was centered on the Iron Bowl. A matchup with epic implications lived up to the hype. Rarely does that happen in this sport. Even more rare is that happening in consecutive weeks.
Are we finally in for the thrilling SEC Championship that we haven’t had in recent memory? It sure feels like it.
Hopefully we’re not wrong about that, too.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
