Bragging rights in the SEC will come down to one game this Saturday, when the Missouri Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide are set to square off at the Georgia Dome to determine who will wear the crown as SEC champions this season. With a 10-2 record and first-place honors in the East, Missouri will face Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, who heads to Georgia at 11-1 and controls the No. 1 spot in CFP committee rankings. Though game has already seen tickets reach exorbitant prices on the secondary market, dedicated fans hoping to travel to the game from either Alabama or Missouri will find several deals on airfare and hotel costs in the Atlanta area over the weekend.
The average price for secondary market SEC Championship Game tickets on TiqIQ is $314.72. The get-in price for the game is currently $107. The two teams last met in October of 2012 at Faurot Field in Missouri, where the Crimson Tide took a commanding 42-10 victory from the Tigers. The year is now 2014, however, and Nick Saban and his Alabama team will look to put down the Tigers, who have won six straight games and will make their second consecutive appearance in the SEC Championship Game.
With ticket prices on the secondary market remaining considerably high, those willing to make the trip from Montgomery or St. Louis will experience reasonable flight and hotel costs. The best roundtrip airfare from Montgomery to Atlanta on Priceline.com is about $484 while fans traveling from St. Louis will see a $328 roundtrip ticket. Hotel costs will also be rather lenient, with five-star hotels in the Atlanta area ranging from $269-$299 per night and four-star hotels listed at $175-$269 per night. For diehard fans, however, money takes the backseat to the thrill of a massive team victory.
With the four top playoff spots continuing to shift with each passing week, Missouri remains on the outside looking in, but a win in Georgia this weekend could further shake up postseason hopes atop the rankings. An SEC Championship win could boost Missouri’s credentials and perhaps make the CFP committee look past the team’s losses to Indiana and Georgia earlier this year, but the Tigers will have their hands full with the streaking Crimson Tide, who have looked near indestructible in the wake of their Week 6 loss to Ole Miss. As the current No. 1 ranked school, Alabama would cement a spot in the Sugar Bowl as the top team.
It will ultimately come down to who wants the title of SEC champion more. Alabama’s hopes were shattered last season after Auburn pulled away with an upset victory in the Iron Bowl, but this year has penned a new, fresh script. Missouri will hope to shake the demons of last season’s Championship Game, where they fell to Auburn in a 59-42 shootout. By Saturday night, the SEC will give its crown to a new champion – and it will find a temporary home in Tuscaloosa or Columbia.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
