The voice of college football, Kirk Herbstreit, joined the SDS Podcast to talk about this weekend’s SEC Championship. The ESPN college football analyst offered his insights on what figures to be a thrilling rematch on Saturday in Atlanta.

Can Auburn survive without Kerryon Johnson at 100 percent? Is Georgia capable of rallying from a two-score deficit late? Will this be a completely different ballgame than the one we saw at Jordan-Hare? Herbstreit gave his take on all of those questions and more with host Connor O’Gara.

Herbstreit joined SDS on behalf of Allstate’s All Hands In program. Leading up to the SEC Championship this weekend, Herbstreit joined forces with the All Hands In event in Atlanta, which was organized to build a community garden at the local Boys & Girls Club. Fans are encouraged to follow the #AllHandsIn hashtag on Twitter to find more ways to get involved. 

Here is our SEC Championship-focused interview with Herbstreit:

SDS — I think a lot of us were expecting an Alabama-Georgia showdown, but instead, we get to see if a red-hot Auburn team can pull off this incredible trifecta. How different is this Auburn team now than the one you saw against Clemson a couple months ago?

HERBSTREIT — The defense has been pretty consistent all year. (Auburn defensive coordinator) Kevin Steele does an amazing job with that defense. And as we’ve seen in the month of November, when you get them at home, they are dangerous to deal with. I think the area where they’ve changed the most is their offense.

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If you go back to where they were offensively and just what they were trying to figure out with (Jarrett) Stidham, they were a team that still thought Kamrynn Pettway was their best back. And I know he’s had some injuries, but Kerryon Johnson has become maybe the most underrated back in the country, he didn’t have a carry that day when they played Clemson. Imagine Auburn playing in a game where Kerryon Johnson doesn’t have one carry.

So that’s where they were at that point in the season in Week 2, and their quarterback, they didn’t quite know what they had. As I said, they were searching for an identity. Then I think they started to get through the SEC schedule, they had a setback on the road against LSU in a tough environment, lost a close game there, and since then, boy, they’ve been on fire.

Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

I think they finally settled on an identity of running the football with Kerryon Johnson, the jet sweeps to complement that, and getting the eyes of the (opposing) defense worried about that running game. That’s where Stidham can play-action and hit the big plays downfield. That’s kind of where they are today, and that’s what Georgia is gonna have to be concerned with as they get ready to try to slow down this Auburn offense.

A sidebar would be, where is Kerryon Johnson’s health? He got dinged up in the Iron Bowl, and he’s become such a big part of who they have become and what they do. Is he gonna be able to play at 100 percent? Is he gonna be able to run the ball with the physicality we’re used to seeing where he’s kinda slippery to bring down? I think that’ll be a big aspect of this game, is his health.

SDS — Well, let’s talk about that because that’s been such a big storyline throughout the week. Is (Johnson) gonna be 100 percent? Is he gonna be his normal self or anywhere close to that? If he’s not, how big of a loss is that for Gus Malzahn’s offense?

HERBSTREIT — It’s huge. Like I said, if you go back and look at the season that he’s enjoyed, he has meant everything. You’re talking about a guy who carries the ball maybe an average of 25-30 times since they really got into SEC play, and has become the starting point. As much as we want to talk about Stidham and the big-play ability of the offense, it’s there. The passing game is there.

"Kerryon Johnson has become maybe the most underrated back in the country."

If you really watch them, it’s all about their running game, and Kerryon Johnson is clearly that guy. Even Kam Martin when he gets his chances, there’s just a big-play ability that the defense has to respect.

When you throw in those jet sweeps — sometimes they give them and sometimes they fake them and they give it up the middle, and then they’ll fake the jet sweep, fake up the middle and then they’ll throw — that poor defense doesn’t know if it’s coming or going. Their eyes are locked in on the jet sweep, they’re locked in on Kerryon Johnson and they’re out of position, and now one of the receivers is able to get behind coverage. That’s their offense. If you take Johnson away or he’s 80 percent and he’s trying to gut it out, you’re really talking about handcuffing Jarrett Stidham and making it much easier on Georgia to be able to defend them.

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Everybody needs to remember, when they played the first time, that game was played at Jordan-Hare. Auburn had a chip on their shoulders to prove to everyone that they could play with the No. 1 team in the country and they took advantage of that home crowd. They took away that (Georgia) running game. They did everything they could defensively to give themselves a chance, and it’s going to be a different feel. As you know, go to Atlanta, neutral field, neutral site, maybe if anything it favors Georgia.

This will be a totally different set of circumstances for Auburn and Georgia, but especially the Auburn offense not playing at home. And if Kerryon Johnson is not as effective, you’re going to find a totally different set of challenges I think for Auburn in this game.

"This will be a totally different set of circumstances for Auburn and Georgia, but especially the Auburn offense not playing at home. And if Kerryon Johnson is not as effective, you're going to find a totally different set of challenges I think for Auburn in this game."

SDS — A lot of people don’t think that the Georgia offense is built to rally from a 2-score deficit. What do you like and what don’t you like about the Dawgs’ passing game?

HERBSTREIT — What I said even before the (first) game was that they have been protecting their quarterback, and to their credit. (Jake Fromm) is a true freshman. Against most of the opponents they played, that was OK. They were so good at running the football. In that case, let’s not put him in a position where we want to throw him out to the wolves or put him in position to turn the ball over. Let’s be smart. We’ve got a great defense, let’s run the football, give him some high-percentage throws and let’s just win the surest way.

That was the formula that worked. It dominated people because they’re so good at doing that. But then they go on the road into (Jordan-Hare), and you couldn’t just run, run, pass on third down. Forty-six yards rushing and just 3-of-14 on third down doesn’t allow you to use that formula.

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What I think you’ll see in this game because you’re right … with this offense, you don’t want to get behind and play catch-up. What you’re gonna find is, they’re gonna use play-action passes on 1st-and-10 a lot more. They’re going to try to get those linebackers and those safeties coming up to stop the run game, then you pull it out and it’s still a high-percentage throw. Throw to the tight end, throw to the receiver on a short, high-percentage throw. Then you can go back to running the ball.

But if they expect to be able to run, run, pass again, they’re going to be running into a wall. So look for some more early-down play-action. It’s easier for Fromm to throw on 1st-and-10 than it is on 3rd-and-6 or 3rd-and-8. If I were (Georgia offensive coordinator) Jim Chaney and Georgia, that’s what I’d be looking to do, is mix in more play-action pass and use the play-action pass to set up the running game.

Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

SDS — Let me get your one big thing for each team in the SEC Championship. Auburn wins if this happens, and Georgia wins if this happens.

HERBSTREIT — If I were to say one big thing for Auburn that’s beyond the health of Kerryon Johnson — that’s the obvious thing — I think defensively, Kevin Steele has to be one step ahead of what Georgia is gonna do. It’s a very unique situation. They just played each other 3 or 4 weeks ago, and they dominated them. Now you’ve gotta sit there for a whole week and scratch your head and say, “Are they gonna totally change what they do and who their identity is?”

"If Georgia wins, I think we're all gonna walk away and say, 'Holy cow. How about that Georgia defense today?'"

The obvious answer to me on that is “no.” They can’t. They won’t. But when they call their plays, and how they call their plays, you have to be ready for it. So Kevin Steele, great defensive coordinator, eye discipline for those linebackers and safeties is essential because like I said, they’re gonna go play-action on early downs. If you’re coming up to tackle Nick Chubb or Sony Michel, and you’re out of position, it’s gonna be easy to throw the ball for Georgia’s offense and what they do with Jake Fromm. I would say how they handle that play-action game on early downs and are they out of position will be a big, big thing in this game.

If I’m Georgia in this game, I think it’s taking advantage of the setting of this game, playing in Atlanta. I think this is gonna be two great defenses. I think it’s gonna be a low-scoring game. I think it’s gonna be a turnover or a big special teams play. Something is gonna flip the field. Which defense can give their own offense a short field to work with.

I think Georgia is now the team that comes in with a big chip on their shoulder after getting embarrassed at Jordan-Hare. I think Roquan Smith and that defense, they’ve gotta say, “Last time it was Auburn’s defense. This time it’s our defense that’s gonna set the tone.”

If Georgia wins, I think we’re all gonna walk away and say, “Holy cow. How about that Georgia defense today?” I think they’ve gotta take that challenge and win the game for themselves.

SDS — Final question. You knew it was coming. What’s your final score for Saturday?

HERBSTREIT — Phew, man. That’s honestly one of those that I’d love to be able to tell ya. I honestly, I’m still in the process of getting ahold of some of these coordinators and talking to ’em. Of all the championship games, this one’s probably the toughest for me, and the main reason is the fact that they just played and how that game was played.

It looked like it would be obvious to say, “Well, Auburn dominated them a few weeks ago. What would be any different?” And how often have we seen in college football when a team plays the same team twice, and you think OK, they’re gonna beat them again, then they lose.

I’m probably leaning a little bit to Georgia just because of a rematch and the setting being there in Atlanta, but I’m not quite convinced yet. I’m gonna wait until Saturday morning.