The Super Bowl 2019 has arrived!

Yes, it’s the SEC Championship Game. While it seems a bit of a relief to have someone other than Alabama or Auburn as the SEC West’s representative (LSU is there for the first time since 2011), Georgia seems to be installed in The Big Game, having been there for the last three consecutive years (1-2 record).

This year, there’s all to play for.

LSU, who are No.2 in the nation behind Ohio State, will definitely go to the College Football Play-Off with a win over Georgia (and probably will get in anyway!), while No. 4 Georgia will definitely get in with a win over LSU, because the Committee are unlikely to jump Utah or Oklahoma over them, despite the Bulldogs’ stunningly-awful loss to South Carolina, which should be punished really more than it has been.

The only sad thing about this awesome match-up is that Gary Danielson’s going to be on the call with Brett Nessler.

HOW WILL LSU WIN?

LSU’s offense is amazing. There’s nothing else to say. Joe Burrow is playing like a Heisman winner, picking defenses apart for 4,336 yards and 44 touchdowns with a 78.6% passing average. Because he can scramble too, he has run for 248 yards and 3 TDs – something he would be well-advised not to do against a very, very good Bulldogs defense who will be keyed-in to stopping him in any way, shape or form.

Burrow’s receivers are exceptional, with J’Marr Chase (1,457 rec yards, 17 TDs) and Justin Jefferson (1,092 rec yards, 13 TDs) leading the way. Clyde Edward-Helaire – the hero from the win against Alabama – leads the way out of the backfield, putting up 1,233 yards and 16 TDs on top of 338 yards receiving (1 TD). Burrow also has two receivers (Thaddeus Moss, Terrance Marshall Jr) who have 400 yards per person receiving each, with Marshall putting up 8 TDs.

The key to the offense has been off the field with offensive coordinating mastermind Joe Brady, who is from the Joe Moorhead coaching tree from Penn State, went over to the New Orleans Saints and then plopped into Death Valley at a time when LSU was searching for something good offensively. Since then, LSU’s offense – which has actually been more balanced that people give it credit for – has been unstoppable, scoring 48.7 points per game.

But while we’ve droned on a lot about the offense, LSU’s defense is going to have to show up to the party. Until the Texas A&M game last week, it didn’t. Of course, you could argue that the 38 against Vanderbilt was because of garbage time, but the secondary was hardly great against Florida, Alabama or Texas, either. However, against Texas A&M it all came together. LSU spent all night in Kellen Mond’s backfield, sacking him 6 times, defending 6 passes, and grabbing three interceptions (two of them from Mond’s point-of-view were admittedly garbage), and kept the Aggies to just 169 yards total. If LSU’s secondary can perform at this level, then Jake Fromm’s going to have his work cut out – especially as there have been injuries and suspensions at receiver.  And if LSU goes 14 points or 18 points to the good, it’s going to force Georgia OC James Coley’s hand and make Fromm throw – something that he’s not been doing well in the last three games. 

HOW WILL GEORGIA WIN?

Defense, defense, defense. Georgia has prided itself on defense this season (4th in the nation in total yards allowed) – and for good reason. They’ve got the second-best rushing defense in the nation, giving up just 2.54 yards per game, and has just given up ONE rushing touchdown this season (and that was Auburn’s Bo Nix).

Passing-wise, Georgia gives up 185 yards per game, and they are ranked 8th in total passing touchdowns given up (11th). They don’t intercept the ball all that much (6 all year, good for 109th in the nation). Interestingly enough, the defense has been sorely tested when Kirby Smart has decided to let his players play soft coverage, and quarterbacks and made 15-20 yard plays. When Georgia’s let the – excuse the pun – Bulldogs loose, any offensive line would do well to stop them. They aren’t big sackers of players (11 all season), but they can really pressure a QB. Teams have been able to convert 3rd downs just 28% of the time (49 successes in 175 tries this year), which is excellent.

On the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs will look to control the ball for what will seen an interminable amount of time against the quick-strike character of the LSU offense. The machine will whirr, picking up 3 yards and a cloud of dust. That’s why they are ranked 16th in the country in time of possession, but never seem to blow anyone out. Some might call it conservative, but others would call it “Grind you the **** down”. Against a LSU defense that’s given up 12 TDs on the ground and allows 124.50 yards per game, it will be interesting to see the dynamics. D’Andre Swift – even though he’s injured with a shoulder contusion – and Brian Herrien will be expected to pick up a lot of slack.

Passing-wise, it’s obvious who has the edge. As mentioned, Cager’s not playing (ankle), and nor will we see 30 minutes of Pickens (fight during Georgia Tech game). Cager and Pickens were far and away the top receivers for the Bulldogs, so the responsibility will fall on Demetrius Robertson and Dominick Blaylock to pick up some slack. Also needing to pick up the slack will be Fromm, who has completed under 50% of his throws in each of each last four games. The good thing for Georgia is that while Fromm might miss a few passes, if he doesn’t see an opportunity, he’s not one to try and thread the needle. He’s been intercepted just three times all year- and all of them came in an awful game against South Carolina. Having said that, Fromm might be forced to pass a lot more if Georgia is chasing, and that will put him well out of his comfort zone of 30 attempts.

AND SO WHO’S GOING TO WIN?

The spread’s of 7.5 points in favour of LSU. Georgia’s going to try and grind LSU on the ground, and LSU will be facing a markedly better defense than it has all year. If you’re expecting a blow-out, it’s not going to happen. Georgia’s defense is too good for that.

LSU wins by 10. LSU will lead by a touchdown going into the 4th quarter and hit a field goal to put this one away, and go into the College Football Play-Off as the No.1 team in the nation. 

It’s nighttime in Death Valley. The War Eagle Flies. We’re running through the T. We’re chomping. We’re asking how ‘bout them Dawgs. We’re clanging, pig sooein’, rammer jammerin’, Ole miss by damn’. We’re a 12^th Man, the ZOU in MIZ, a Commodore, and a Wildcat. There’s even 2001 or maybe a Sandstorm.

Our churches aren’t small. They are megachurches, holding a screaming congregation that will bury you with noise. They’ve even been allowed some in-game communion wine to add to their palates during services now. It should make Saturday church a little louder. When they win with a God-given upset, they jump over railings, get stuck in hedges, surf goalposts through crowded streets and toilet paper trees. When they lose, they look like their world has been torn apart. The pretty sorority girls and young frats with their bow ties look miserable. The painted clowns look clownish and stunned. All of them use words to the heavens that they wouldn’t take with grandma to church.

But in our churches, it’s important to know our pastors. There are 14 of them. If they bring home The Ultimate Prize, then the size of the statue won’t do the achievement justice. Of course, the pastor must obey the main commandment of SEC football: Thou Shalt Not Lose. Particularly if it’s the cardinal sin of losing Eggs, third Saturdays, big games or Cocktail Parties – or losing too many SEC games. If they do, hotter seats than hell will appear and behinds will sit on them. Pastor Gus of Auburn has sought redemption a couple of time from being excommunicated. But this year’s another year. It doesn’t matter if you’re likeable. If you don’t help the congregation reach the higher plain, you’re out. Some elders will give a new pastor two or three years to work their magic, but after that, notice will be hammered on the door like Martin Luther did with his articles.

To make a pastor successful to his congregations, he must be able to bring in the moving parts from smaller, younger churches every season. Churches aren’t expected to fizzle out. We at the SEC don’t mind paying for talent, as long as we don’t get caught. Much. And after their success in college, they go to Big Church Sundays. We implore Mr Goodell, high elder of the professional league, to skip the preliminaries and just call your professional conference the SEC-FL? After all, our boosters probably pay more than some of your teams do. This year, Tua will again make the tongues waggle, although we’re also excited by Bryant, Swift, Fromm, Delphit, Jeudy, Mond, Williams, Stingley and a guy based in the Mid-West known only as ‘Albert O’. But there will be many more names by season-end. Because this is the SEC.

The pastors and the congregrations know who the biggest church in our movement are. At the moment, they are in Tuscaloosa and Athens. They are going to be pretty good in the Year of Our Lord 2019, we hear. They’ve got the West and East divisions running scared and their schedules measure up sweetly. It’s hard to see who is going to beat them. Hell, it’s hard to see who’s going to give them a good fight. We expect more drama at the SEC Championship Game. And no trick plays please, Kirby. The likes of LSU, Auburn and Florida will feel like ‘also-rans’, even if that’s not the case. There’s always room for the upset. See the last time Georgia rolled into Death Valley. Take a moment in thinking about the orders of service for 14 teams for the Pastor Jimbo’s congregation in College Station. It’s downright evil.

But there will be competition for the Ultimate Prize this year from other denominations. The congregation in Clemson in the Atlantic Denomination is pretty good. As are Sooners from Oklahoma in the Southwest. There are the people of ‘The’ and ‘Big Blue’ in icier Big 11, and we’re heard that there might even be a good team in the NorthWest who are known as Huskies or Ducks in the driven down out West. But against us, can they really hold their own? If there’s two teams that will compete with us for the Ultimate Prize, we’ll go for the ‘Eyes and the Tigers. The rest will falter and fall.

I read a riveting tweet to Sports Illustrated’s Andy Staples which read: “What would be the most Twitter-melting CFB moments before Twitter was around?’

In other words, moments in college football history prior to March 2007, when Twitter exploded on the scene at South by Southwest (March 2007)

I added a few things, which included the B.S. call against Miami in the National Championship Game of 2003 (NCBS), any of the FSU-Miami ‘Wide Rights’ (#WDR) and ‘Wide Lefts’ (#WDL), the Convicts vs Catholics (#ConvictCath), and – of course – Vince Young (#VY) running the ball in against USC in the 2006 National Championship Game (#VYvsUSC). I also wanted ALL of Barry Sanders’ highlights from the 1988 season (#Barry) because he was the best running back whoever lived (sorry Herschel and Bo).

Of course, there were SEC calls (Auburn vs Georgia OTs) and #RunLindseyRun (Georgia vs Florida 1980), but it got me thinking.

What moments from the SEC would have made Twitter melt if it had existed back in the day? Sorry Texas A&M and Missouri fans, you don’t get in – although Missouri’s #FifthDown game would have melted Twitter.

We could go for Spurrier snark – and those remarks continue to live in history (#FreeShoesUniversity) – although my favorite that still stands was about Auburn and a fire that destroyed 20 books: “The real tragedy was that 15 hadn’t been colored yet,” so here we go.

1. Nate Northington steps on the field against Ole Miss

Nate Northington stepped on the field against Ole Miss as the first African-American to play in the SEC in 1967. That was one of the biggest landmarks in college sports, and would have melted Twitter. For good reasons. There are no clips of this happening, so we went with something a little salient.

2. Bear Bryant dies and days later, his funeral. Alabama fans mourns. College football mourns. Sports mourn. He was the greatest football coach (prior to Nick Saban and Bill Belichick’s reigns in latter years), and his hat and chainsmoking habit made him a king forever. Why it’s No.1? Because whether you are a Rockne, Hayes, Paterno or a Saban fan, it’s hard to imagine a coach that was more revered in college football. Fun fact: He tried to integrate African-American players at Kentucky and Texas A&M but was turned down. After pressure from Alabama’s governing bodies, he was not allowed to recruit African Americans. When he did, his first

3.  “Goodbye. In Your Face”

Bo Jackson’s run in the 1983 Iron Bowl. The line: “In your face” would have elicited more tweets and comebacks than Jen Bielema’s #Karma tweet did.

4. “Run Lindsey Run”

Larry Munson’s scream down the microphone in the 1980 would have been on repeat (#RunLindsayRun), as well as live videos later on of drunk Georgia fans burning down **** in St Simon’s. And then Larry Munson would have to issue an apology for ‘encouraging violence’ and the World Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party would be renamed “The Family Fun in Jacksonville” due to alcohol-related worries.

5. Billy Cannon

The Billy Cannon run-back against Ole Miss in 1959 in one of the biggest games in college football (#Cannon). Added in would be .gifs showing cannons, as well as shots of your usual horrified Ole Miss fan.

6. ARE YOU HERSCHEL WALKER?

HE RAN OVER TWO MEN….There would be memes of Larry Munson having a heart attack. Plus there would be numerous tweets of people saying #ImNotHerschelWalker. Georgia would make a ‘thing’ about it and sell loads of merchandise….and Walker would not see a thing.

7. Bluegrass Miracle

Kentucky beating LSU. Kentucky’s head coach Guy Morriss got the Gatorade bath before the final whistle. And then Marcus Randall hit Devery Henderson. There would be a lot of #TooSoon shots and people making (a lot) of fun of Kentucky fans.

8. The Loudest The Swamp Has Ever Been

Florida State walk into Florida as the No.1 team in the country facing off. A fight before the game (#GatorFight). A great account is that someone was celebrating so hard that they fell off the ‘Gators’ wall and fell on top of the writer. I can’t believe Sean McDonough was doing the call back in the day.

9. Bats**t crazy Arkansas Games

Twice in three seasons, Arkansas played in a SEVEN-OVERTIME game. There was one in 2001 , which would have sparked enough chatter, but then there was the equally-crazy 2003 game against Kentucky in 2003. There would be sly commentary from Twitter about finishing the game because church was starting soon, methinks.

10. The LSU ‘Earthquake Game’

The noise in Tiger Stadium when LSU beat Auburn was so loud that it made it onto the Richter Scale (#LSUEarthquake). It helped when the fans had been drinking Jack Daniel’s for 12 hours straight, too.

Stop if you’ve heard this before about recruiting: It’s an Alabama and Georgia world, and everyone else just lives in it.

Every time there was a tweet from the two schools’ Twitter during the National Signing Day flurry, there was another four or five-star recruit that wanted to play for Nick Saban or Kirby Smart.

Everywhere you looked, the Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs were in everyone’s thoughts, and it seemed a rarity when a player decided to go elsewhere.

Alabama pulled in five-star RB Trey Sanders, OT Evan Neal, and DE Antonio Alfano, while Georgia celebrated the signings of five stars OC Clay Webb, DE Jermaine Johnson, CB DJ Daniel, while DE Nolan Smith, LB Nakobe Dean, DT Travon Walker, and WR Dominik Blaylock also either signed letters of intent or enrolled early.

Georgia only signed 3 players below a four-star 24-7 ranking, while Alabama just one.

Alabama pulled in 26 commits, while Georgia had 23. Nick Saban’s number was higher due to the attrition of juniors going to the NFL.

THE SEC RULED RECRUITING

Behind them, Jimbo Fisher was doing great things in Texas, vaulting Texas A&M to 3rd overall headed up by five-stars OT Kenyan Green and DT DeMarvin Neal, while LSU was fourth. They added Baton Rouge local CB Derek Stingley, RB John Emery Jr, OC Kardell Thomas, and LB Marcel Brooks.

Whether this will lead to a deeper SEC West in 2019 with everybody beating everybody is anybody’s guess, but Georgia will probably dominate the East. 

Auburn was 11th, Florida 16th, Tennessee 17th, Mississippi State 19th, Arkansas 20th, South Carolina 22nd, and Ole Miss 23rd. Kentucky and Missouri were 32nd and 33rd respectively – although Missouri’s biggest recruit may have been the signings of the ‘silly season’ when former Clemson QB Kelly Bryant elected to play in Columbia. Vanderbilt was 51st.

How are you not excited? The 2018 SEC Championship Game between Georgia and Alabama will pit two of the biggest – if not the biggest – players in the SEC.

It’s a rematch of the 2018 National Championship Game – the greatest game of the season last year.

It’s a rematch of mentor vs mentee. It’s trying to stay perfect vs the battle for the fourth play-off spot.

It’s Georgia versus Alabama.

Georgia is a 13-point underdog, and that’s not really surprising. A lot of people think Vegas is being kind.

THE SEASON SO FAR

This season, Alabama has been perfect. The Crimson Tide are 12-0 , and they’ve made it look easy, beating every team by a margin of 35.2 points per game. Sure, it’s been helped by the fact that only LSU have surprised on the upside this year and they got Texas A&M just after the Aggies had played in a WAR against Clemson, but still….wow. The clash with LSU was the most-hyped game of the season, and yet the Tide made it look comfortable. Ironically, the Crimson Tide’s biggest challenge was The Citadel, who went in at half-time in Tuscaloosa to the joy of many and the outrage of many with a 10-10 tie. The Crimson Tide adjusted, and the game was over by the third quarter.

Georgia this season, have been a team that started relatively OK, and then after getting thumped at LSU, have put on the after-burners and averaged nearly 42 points a game. For some games they’ve racked up the points early, and others – like the Florida and Auburn games – it’s been the slow-burner before the eventual pounding that’s left opposition fans heading for the exits early.

THE ATTACKING FORCES

Everyone’s going to have their eyes on presumptive Heisman winner Tua Tagovailoa. He’s been throwing on a dime all year long, he manages to dodge sacks and pressure like he’s got eyes in the back of his head, and can scramble like a maniac. That’s why he’s thrown for 3,100 yards and 32 touchdowns – in games that have generally required him throwing for three quarters. Of course, he’s helped by an exceptional offensive line. There are arguments from every SEC fan out that Alabama’s benefitted from holding all season long (as they always do), and SEC refereeing decisions (the fumble against Mississippi State, the decision not to expel Rakkwon Davis for jumping on a Missouri player and punching him repeatedly), but really when you’ve got one of the best offenses in the land, that seems a bit of a joke.

Helping Tua is sensational wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (over 1,000 yards), although Jaylen Waddle, Henry Ruggs, Irv Smith and Devonta Smith have all had 500 yards or more, too.

On Georgia’s side is Jake Fromm. After his embarrassing performance against LSU, questions were being asked about whether he should be replaced with star frosh Justin Fields. But Fromm’s answered the call, throwing only 1 interception and 10 TDs. He’s not as mobile as Tua, though, which could be a problem if Georgia’s offensive line gets pressured as much as we think they’ll be.

Receiving-wise, Georgia doesn’t have one standout receiver. Mecole Hardman’s the only player to have gone over 500 yards, but there are 8 who have grabbed over 100 – and one of them’s a RB.

RUNNING IT RIGHT AT YOU

The reason why Georgia hasn’t needed Jake Fromm to throw for 3,000 yards (he’s thrown for 2,300) is that the Bulldogs have a nasty rushing attack. Ranking 11th in the nation, the Bulldogs have put up over 259 yards per game, mostly thanks to the young, bruising pair of D’Andre Swift (962 yards, 9 TDs) and Elijah Holyfield (896 yards, 7 TDs). We think that Georgia will bring up Alabama’s average of rushing yards conceded (114 per year – good for 15th nationally). Also, watch for some plays where Fromm comes out and Fields comes in in an effort for Kirby Smart to add some more speed at the quarterback level. Smart can’t afford to be conservative, or he’ll get blown apart (see Orgeron, Ed). 

We mentioned Tua out of the pocket, and he’s brought the dangerous rushing element to his game (211 yards, 5 TDs), but we think that Saban’s going to be a bit more careful letting him run the ball – especially when Georgia’s ‘D’ is probably the best he’ll face all year. But even if Tua’s not throwing the ball as brilliantly as usual, OC Mike Locksley (even if he doesn’t plump for the Maryland job, he’ll be around on Saturday) will be able to use the exceptional pairing of Damien Harris, Najee Harris and Josh Jacobs. While no player has gone for over 1,000 yards, none of the three has gone for less than 400, either. And this is in what is meant to be a passing offense.

THE BIG KEY: As first said by SB Nation’s Bill Connelly, Georgia had better be able to take its chances. When it comes to the red zone, Georgia’s horrible. They’ve been horrific inside the 10 and even worse inside the 3. 

AND THEN THERE’S THE DEFENSE

After their abysmal showing against LSU, Georgia regrouped, got more physical, and have been lights out against their opposition. They have been very good (12th in the nation), but like the Crimson Tide, they’ve been getting better each game.

Georgia’s secondary, starring Richard Lecounte and Deandre Baker have been excellent, helping UGA to concede just 300 yards per game, which is very similar to Alabama’s secondary.

The question for Georgia is whether they’ll be able to stop Alabama’s offense, which is quite capable of going four or five wide – giving Tua easy options for a first down or bigger.

Alabama’s defense has been getting better and better at a time when some were worried. Its shutting out of LSU in Baton Rouge (again) was tremendous, with Quinnen Williams time and again proving why he’s the best defensive player in the country (7 sacks, 58 tackles, 16 tackles for loss). Dylan Moses and sack-leader Isaiah Buggs (9) can also bring the house, too.

While we don’t imagine that the game will take place between the 30s, it’ll be a lot of fun watching future NFL talent on both sides.

THE X-FACTOR

Georgia hasn’t been tested for three quarters for a while, and Alabama hasn’t been tested for three quarters all season. That means that both sides are going to be fresh. The reason why Alabama’s tackling and interception stats aren’t higher is that most of the time they don’t play in the third quarter. This will be both sides’ fourth-quarter test.

THE OTHER X-FACTOR

Sadly, as has been the case all season, the X-Factor is going to be the SEC referees. The SEC refs at times this season have missed or wrongly called targeting, fumbles and pass interferences, and have changed games with idiotic holding calls, too. It’s been a mess. Hopefully, they’ll let both sides play (ie give out only obvious pass interference calls), review fumbles and get targetting calls rights), but with them, nothing can be trusted.

PREDICTION

Alabama 27, Georgia 14 in a great game that has you on the edge of your seat until the Crimson Tide pulls clear in the fourth quarter.

Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason is to transfer to Washington, various media sources have reported.

Eason, who was the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs on Week 1 before he was injured against Applachian State, never got his role back thanks to the immense play of freshman Jake Fromm.

Now that Georgia has signed five-star QB Justin Fields, Eason – himself a five-star QB out of Washington – must have felt that there was no opportunity for him to succeed in the red and black. A move to Washington isn’t a bad one for him, either. He’s from Lake Stevens, WA, which is a short car ride from UW’s campus.

In 2016 Eason threw for 2,430 yards and 16 TDs, averaging at 186.7 yards/game.

After penning an overly-long article about Alabama and Ohio State and why Ohio State didn’t get into the play-off but Alabama did, we at the SEC Football Blog also thought it was time to say what should be done about College Football.

Why? Because if we’re honest, we’re getting bored of the arguments about who should be in, and who shouldn’t.

In the past, we hated the BCS and its computers, we hated the pollsters, we hated everything that defined a National Champion.  We hated the BCS so much that we put in a play-off committee to decide things.

Who then screwed things up. They seemed to be able to shoot themselves in the foot, be inconsistent, and seem like they are bias. In other words, they were faulty….like all humans are. Accusations will fly back and forth between Tuscaloosa and Columbus about that, and we simply don’t know. All we know is that Ohio State won its Championship, Alabama didn’t, and yet Alabama got into the Play-Off and Ohio State didn’t.

But this could have all been sorted by an 8-team play-off.

So here’s our idea.

THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

You would have five spots for Power 5 Conference winners.

In 2017, that would be Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia, Ohio State and USC ranked in that order.

THE AT-LARGES

Then you would have two at-large teams and the top Non Power-5 school.

Our two at-large teams would have been Alabama (11-1 record) and probably Wisconsin (one loss). The non-Power 5 school would be UCF.

OUR PLAY-OFF RANKINGS

Our rankings:

1. Oklahoma (Big XII Champs, better strength of schedule)
2. Clemson (ACC Champs, beat 11-1 Miami)
3. Georgia (SEC Champs, 11-1, only loss to then 10-2 Auburn )
4. Ohio State (Big Ten Champions, wins over two Top 5 schools)
5. USC (Pac-12 Champions)
6. UCF (Highest-ranked Power-5 school by AP, 13-0 record)
7. Alabama (Best at-large bid (11-1 record)
8. Wisconsin (Best at-large bid (12-1 record)

THE MATCH-UPS

That would set up: Oklahoma vs Wisconsin, Clemson vs Alabama, Georgia vs UCF, Ohio State vs USC.

IMPORTANCE OF REGULAR SEASON KEPT

Of course, those bemoaning it hate the fact that an 8-team play-off would ‘reduce the importance of the regular season’ and ‘might have to reduce the regular season’.

The importance of the regular season is still going to be there. Teams will still have to get to Championship games, win them, and guarantee themselves a play-off spot. Losing a Championship Game but having a better record than anyone there becomes important (see Wisconsin over Auburn would be the only one to cause the controversy, although Wisconsin only has 1 loss compared to Auburn’s 3).

AND WE ALSO HELP THE SMALL SCHOOLS STILL

Here’s the argument for a reduction in games: While Applachian State beating Michigan (or in SEC terms, Mississippi State over South Alabama or Troy over LSU or ULM over Alabama) happens ever so often, it’s not a regular occurrence. Sorry you won’t get to see your team play Mercer, Alabama and Auburn fans. Bigger non-conference games means more fun for us all.

Or alternatively, don’t reduce the games at all. In the NFL, players will have to learn to play 16+ games anyway (unless you play for Cleveland, where it’s a straight 16!). The players themselves are at the peak, and against smaller oppostion, play the back-ups immediately. The average team size is 118, with 85 scholarships. The back-ups at Alabama should be able to hammer Alabama A&M. The small teams get their $1 million, the fans get their victory, the back-ups get to play, the starters get rested, and everyone’s happy. This happens in professional soccer all the time when a team’s trying to balance cup games and European games and league games. It works. And if fans complain that they aren’t seeing their superstars play Mercer and stay away, someone else will take their place. And  you know what happens there? A FBS’ fanbase enlarges.

WE CAN’T WAIT

Can’t wait to watch the Oklahoma vs Wisconsin, Clemson vs Alabama, Georgia vs UCF and Ohio State vs USC play-off games.

Oh….wait….. in my dreams.

I love SEC Football as much as the rest of ’em, but there’s no way I can look at myself straight in the face and say: ‘We had the best conference. We deserved two teams in the play-off. College Football is great.’

Why? As a conference (apart from Georgia, Auburn and Alabama), the rest of the conference weren’t particularly great…or stank out right. As a conference, big names like LSU and Florida were a side conversation, Mississippi State lurched from looking like world-beaters one week to ‘world’ the next, Texas A&M wasn’t in the discussion, Ole Miss and Missouri were mostly interesting because of their great offenses and terrible defenses….and we all know how bad Arkansas, Tennessee and Vanderbilt was.

When your three biggest teams are effectively crapping on the opposition, that doesn’t make you a great conference. It makes you one-sided. In terms of interest as a college football fan, it wasn’t as competitive as the Big XII, Pac-12, or arguably even the ACC.

The fact that the SEC was so lackluster ensured that Alabama couldn’t make the argument about strength of schedule, because it simply wasn’t there.

And now to Ohio State…

Ohio State may have looked like world-beaters against crappy B1G opposition, but when it came down to it, the Buckeyes struggled against the biggest game of the season, losing in a blow-out to Oklahoma. Later during the season after an emotional win over Penn State, they were hammered at Iowa. After beating Michigan and its joke of an offense, the Buckeyes then won the B1G Championship Game. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, who controlled the game (if you don’t believe me look at the yardage stats), they only won by six points and not the 31 that probably would have swung a spot in their favor.

There was also the argument that Ohio State won its conference while beating two Top 5 teams in its own conference (No.2 Penn State (that went 10-2) and No.4 Wisconsin (that went 12-1), while Alabama’s only Top 5 win outside of its conference was a No.3 Florida State, who had to re-schedule Louisiana-Monroe (and pay it $1 million in the process) to ensure bowl eligibility. And the fact that Ohio State won its conference, and Alabama didn’t.

But still, it was all about the Iowa loss.

Nick Saban – as he’s so good at – lobbied the NCAA incessantly, to the point of appearing on College Gameday as a guest (and looking befuddled when some guys dumped food on the desk), and throwing shade at Ohio State for the loss in Kinnick.

However much you could argue about Kinnick being a tough place to play (just ask Michigan in 2016), the fact that the Hawkeyes had played Michigan State and Penn State tough (losing by 7 points or less both times) and was 5-3 at the time and hadn’t had a stupid loss yet (they sure made up for that with losing to Purdue!), getting spanked by 31 points was never going to be a good look for the Buckeyes – who still don’t understand what in the hell happened that afternoon.

And when that type of loss is given to someone as brilliant with the media as Nick Saban is (its helped by the fact that he’s won so many National Championships, he’s the best recruiter in the land, and Alabama is the biggest brand in the game), and you give him a head start of a week because you’re playing in a Championship Game, then the game for Ohio State almost looked over – even if they had shelled Wisconsin.

The College Football Play-Off Committee helped…

Also helping Alabama was the duality of the College Football Play-Off Committee, who was able to put forward one argument but then not back itself every week. They also seemed to look at team’s past reputations, not look at strength-of-schedule in the way that it should have done, and seem to have one rule for one team and one team for another. Alabama was also helped by the fact that while the Committe was happy to talk up losses when convenient (see the time they put Notre Dame in the Top 4 even with the UGA loss and UGA in the Top 4 win the ND rode win), but then ignore them when it didn’t seem necessary (see Syracuse loss for Clemson and Iowa State home loss from Oklahoma), yet when it came to talking up the Crimson Tide’s whooping of Florida State in Dallas on Opening Weekend, they did so with vigour, while forgetting that Alabama’s next best win was over Mississippi State and LSU. LSU lost to Troy.

But at the end of the day, Ohio State was frustrated. And sadly with this system, there will be others until something changes.

Wow. The 2017 SEC Championship Game between Georgia and Auburn will be the first SEC Championship game since 2013 not to feature Alabama.

It’ll be Auburn’s first trip to the SEC Championship Game since it won a 59-42 shoot-out against Missouri in 2013, and it’ll be Georgia’s first trip to Atlanta since they lost 32-28 to Alabama in 2012 in one of the greatest SEC Championship Games in living memory.

This year, both teams come with one spot in mind: The College Football Play-Off. Basically, the winner will go to the College Football Play-Off, while the loser will be on the outside looking in.

Of course, there’s a revenge factor for Georgia. On November the Bulldogs were schooled at Jordan-Hare, losing 40-17. Auburn comes with momentum, having toppled two No.1 teams in a row in Georgia and Alabama in the Iron Bowl (with an untidy performance against Louisiana-Lafayette in the middle).

In other words, no-one in the South – or in college football – can wait for this one.

Here’s why both teams will win.

WHY GEORGIA WINS

The revenge factor. Georgia was hammered at Jordan-Hare. There are arguments that if WR Riley Ridley had caught Jake Fromm’s throw, things might have been different. Of if Georgia had decided not to give 75 yards on seven, stupid penalties. Having said that, that wasn’t the real reason the Bulldogs lost. The Bulldogs lost because they couldn’t stop Kerryon Johnson, who pummeled Georgia’s offensive line. They lost to an Auburn defensive line that shut down Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, and they lost to the better quarterback in Jarrett Stidham. But now, all this doesn’t matter. Kirby Smart’s team have been looking forward to this for a week (they are pretty well-rested after easily dusting Georgia Tech in ‘Clean Old-Fashioned Hate’ (or whatever that rivalry’s called), and they now know how to stop Malzahn.

Georgia’s also going to win because they are sick to death of being told how they will ‘Georgia’. In other words, how they will miss out on the epic victory, like Mark Richt managed over and over again (with the exception of the 2005 SEC Championship Game – the last time the Dawgs won the trophy). This time it’s different, it’s personal. Chubb and Michel are both fit – unlike Johnson, who is listed as ‘probable’ by the Tigers, but we both know that with the pain that he left the Iron Bowl in, he’s unlikely to be at the top of his game. They also know how to win, and how to take advantage of what is still a week Auburn secondary.

Oh, and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium isn’t going to be a game at Jordan-Hare, either. It could feel like a home game for Georgia.

WHY AUBURN WINS

There is no team in college football with greater momentum than Auburn at the moment. After all, they’ve dispatched of two No.1s. And not only have they beaten Georgia and Alabama, but they’ve comfortably beaten them. No-one’s playing as well as their defensive line, led by Jeff Holland, Marlon Davidson, Derrick Brown and Dontavius Russell. They’ve got back-up players (Nick Coe and Andrew Williams) who are nasty as well. This defensive line didn’t just stuff Georgia – they stuffed Damien Harris and Bo Scarborough. Unless Jake Fromm turns into the new Baker Mayfield, the invasion of the Georgia offensive line will continue.

Oh, and there’s the offense, too. QB Jarrett Stidham played two of the best games of his season against Georgia and Auburn – even if his TD stats didn’t show it against the Tide (he threw for 3 TDs and 214 yards against Georgia). He’s taken control of the offense at just the right time, and he’s going to cause Georgia’s defense problems on broken plays with his legs as well as with his arms. And we ‘almost’ (hee! hee!) forget about Kerryon Johnson. Not only does he throw touchdowns, but he’ll also run over defenses. He was IMMENSE before getting injured against Alabama, and even better against Georgia. All season long he’s been incredible, running for 1,276 yards and 17 TDs, running over defenses who have tried to stop him. Gus Malzahn’s confident he’ll play.

And in terms of offensive brains, you’d take Malzahn over Kirby Smart or his offensive coordinator, Jim Chaney. So we can’t wait for the pack of cards to come out.

WHAT VEGAS THINKS

Auburn’s a two-point favorite.

WHAT WE THINK

This is going to be a damned classic. There’s no way this is going to be as one-sided as people think. We think Georgia’s D is going to come in angry as hell, and they are going to target Johnson’s shoulder (fairly or unfairly). That’s going to mean that Stidham will be forced to throw more against a very good Georgia secondary. And the revenge factor – and the fact that it will be a home game for the Dawgs – is huge.

Oh, and we’re still quite smug about Vegas only making Georgia a 11-point favorite against Georgia Tech last week. They blew that out mid-way through the third quarter. Thanks for the money!! 

SO OUR PREDICTION…

Georgia 35, Auburn 28.

Other predictions: Oklahoma will slam TCU in the Big 12 Championship Game, Clemson will have no problem with Miami (thanks to the fact that not only is it the better team but also Charlotte’s a home game for the Tigers), and Ohio State will beat Wisconsin by 14 in the Big Ten Championship Game, and USC will beat Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship Game. And Lane Kiffin will win with FAU (beating North Texas) and Scott Frost will take UCF to an unbeaten season by beating Memphis in a high-scoring, must-watch classic.

LSU suddenly look as though it has something to make its fans excited about. After the Troy disaster, the Tigers have won three straight (Florida, Auburn and Ole Miss), and even Danny Etling does not look as bad as Gary Danielson makes him out to be (some people think Gary Danielson’s better than WE think he is).

But are the Tigers the third best team in the SEC? It’s between them at Texas A&M. A&M was on a bye week, but with LSU’s road victory – albeit an Ole Miss team that is inept at stopping the run, they move up to third. Auburn’s also pretty good, too.

So here you are.

1. Alabama: Nick Saban will probably be yelling at backup QB Tua Tagovailoa for the next week for throwing a pick-six in the crushing of Tennessee. Hey, let’s be honest, the biggest surprise in college football this year would be if Alabama gets upset. Or if Saban actually calms down.
2. Georgia: Putting their feet up before the Cocktail Party next week, Georgia doesn’t have a lot of holes in its game either. The win at Notre Dame is suddenly looking better and better, although the Florida and Auburn games would really indicate how good UGA really is.
3. LSU: Derrius Guice ran for TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SIX YARDS on Saturday night. That’s right: TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SIX. Danny Etling’s performance of 9-13, 200 yards and 2 TDs (he ran in for one more) wasn’t terrible either.
4. Texas A&M: The LSU game on November 25th (basically to see who’s going to be the second-best team in the SEC West) suddenly looks really, really interesting. The November 4th game at home to Auburn may tell us a little bit, too.
5. Auburn: The destruction of a woeful Arkansas team showed what happens when a team plays for 60 minutes, not takes its foot off the gas after 20. As Auburn fans watching the LSU game would know. After the win Twitter wasn’t filled with cries of “Fire that ****er Malzahn”, as Auburn fans seemed more satisfied. We’re sure that’ll change if they lose to A&M and then Alabama in November!
6. Florida: The 6th-place is evident for the Gators’ mediocrity. They’d probably be lower if this poll was just based on offenses. The offense – for which Gus Nussmeir should be fired for at season-end – is a steaming pile of crap.
7. Mississippi State: Crushing Kentucky was hilarious, bearing in mind that everybody thought the Cats were sneaky-good. Nick Fitzgerald may not have been great passing (18-26, 155 yards, 1 TD), but his running game was great (12 carries, 112 yards, 2 TDs). Excuse me while I stand up and applaud.
8. South Carolina: We GET that Kentucky beat South Carolina. But still, we think that South Carolina would have coped better against Mississippi State than Kentucky did. Plus, Kentucky came back from a week off and still played badly.
9. Kentucky: To come from a bye week and play this badly deserves a demotion in our rankings. We still think the Cats will be bowl eligible by the end of the season, but this the kind of display that makes you excited. Luckily for them, 3 out of their last 5 games are winnable (the only one that isn’t is a trip to UGA on Nov 18. They play Tennessee next week).
10. Missouri: Missouri’s destruction of Idaho has given the Tigers a bit of momentum – something that the other 4 teams below them simply don’t have. Another awful performance by their secondary should see them safely ensconced at the bottom again!
11. Ole Miss: The loss of Shea Patterson against LSU gives Ole Miss offensive problems. The Rebels already have huge defensive problems. It’s a pity Ole Miss and Missouri don’t play each other this season – it could be the most entertaining game of the year, with the over about 750!!
12. Arkansas: The gray shirts matched the Razorbacks’ performance against Auburn: Miserable. They were given a hiding by the Tigers, and showed no interest in fighting back. With news that his buyout’s $10m less than people first though, Jeff Long will now be under pressure to fire Bret Bielema.
13. Tennessee: It’s OK, Butch Jones – Every team gets the living crap beaten out of it by Alabama. Butch Jones should be fired at season-end, though.
14. Vanderbilt: Vanderbilt has to get its running defense better if it’s going to come off the bottom. Before the bye week the team had no momentum at all, and we’re sorry to say were a worse team than Tennessee.