Prizing:

1st Place: $25 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Amazon gift card

Top 5 winners

1. Thomas A Russell (329 PTS)
2. Robbie Anthony DeSalvo (317 PTS)
3. LaToya Edwards (317 PTS)
4. Wesley Mericle (300 PTS)
5. Tony Watson (300 PTS)

Overview:

On Saturday, December 2^nd, the (10-2) Auburn Tigers will take on the (11-1) Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Auburn 30.3 – Georgia 25.5 with an over/under of 55.8.

2017-18 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Auburn 232.6 YPG > Georgia 169.0 YPG

Rushing offense: Georgia 265.7 YPG > Auburn 237.7 YPG

Scoring offense: Auburn 36.7 PPG > Georgia 35.5 PPG

Scoring defense: Georgia 13.8 PPG > Auburn 16.4 PPG

Passing defense: Georgia 159.4 YPG > Auburn 177.6 YPG

Rushing defense: Georgia 112.5 YPG > Auburn 125.9 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Auburn +0.7 > Georgia +0.3

Strength of schedule:

Georgia is (11-1) with wins over Appalachian State, Notre Dame, Samford, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech.  Their lone defeat came against Auburn.  Auburn is (10-2) with wins over Alabama, Georgia Southern, Mercer, Missouri, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Georgia, and UL Monroe.  They were defeated by Clemson and LSU.

Summary:

Georgia coming off a 38-7 road victory against Georgia Tech.  The Bulldogs outgained the Yellow Jackets 471-226 in total yardage.  Jake Fromm was 12-16 for 224 yards and two touchdowns.  Sony Michel and Nick Chubb both rushed for over 50 yards and a touchdown.  Georgia, as a team, totaled 247 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 43 carries (5.7 average).  Georgia’s defense was dominant holding the Yellow Jackets to just seven points although they only forced one turnover.  Georgia ranks 36^th in total offense (435.0 YPG) and 23^rd in points per game (36.1).  The Bulldogs rank 5^th in scoring defense (13.8 PPG).

Auburn has quite the resume after beating two number one teams in Georgia and Alabama.  Auburn defeated Alabama 26-14 at home last week.  Auburn outgained Alabama 408-314 in total yardage and won the time of possession battle by over twelve minutes.  Jarrett Stidham was 21-28 for 237 yards.  Kerryon Johnson had 104 tough earned yards and a touchdown on 30 carries (3.5 average).  Ryan Davis had 11 catches for 139 yards.  Auburn’s defense turned in a terrific performance holding a potent Alabama offense to just 14 points.  Auburn ranks 18^th in total offense (470.0 YPG) and 19^th in points per game (36.7).  The Tigers rank 9^th in scoring defense (16.4 PPG).

Bottom Line:

The winner of the SEC Championship game will surely have a place in the four-team College Football Playoff.  Auburn smashed Georgia 40-17 at home in their match-up earlier this season.  The Tigers defense completely shut down the Georgia running game holding them to just 46 yards when they average 265.7 for the season.  Auburn’s balanced attack was able to run and throw for over 200 yards against the vaunted Bulldogs defense.  I expect this to be a closer game but Auburn is the better team and should advance.

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