The SEC championship game between the LSU Tigers (No. 2 in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, No. 1 in the AP poll) and the Georgia Bulldogs (No. 4 in both polls) wound up being rather lopsided, with LSU winning 37-10. That game included a 28-of-38 (73.8 percent) passing performance from LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, which included one spectacular 71-yard pass on a scramble, and it also saw the Tigers hold the Bulldogs to just 225 passing yards, 61 rushing yards, and 10 points.
Burrow and the LSU offense once again put up remarkable numbers in this one. Beyond Burrow’s stats (which included him breaking Drew Lock’s SEC record of 44 touchdown passes in a season; Burrow wound up with 48), running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire had 15 carries for 57 yards and seven catches for 61 yards, while Justin Jefferson had seven receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown and Terrace Marshall Jr. had five catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns. LSU led 14-0 after the first quarter, 17-3 at the half and 34-3 after three quarters, and the offensive showing was a big part of that.
Heisman Moment pic.twitter.com/V2Yw0bjiBT
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) December 7, 2019
The Tigers’ defense also stood out in this one. On the day, they held Georgia starting quarterback Jake Fromm to 20 completions on 42 attempts (47.6 percent) for 225 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. They also stopped the Bulldogs’ rushing attack; Brian Herren picked up just 24 yards on eight carries, while James Cook added 23 yards on five carries. It was an all-around impressive performance from LSU (Cade York also made three of four field goal attempts and Zach Von Rosenberg averaged 45 yards per attempt on two punts), and one that has them seemingly in good shape going forward into the College Football Playoff. And head coach Ed Orgeron spoke about that afterwards:
“I’m so proud of these guys, but this isn’t our final destination. We have two more games to play, so we’re going to get to work tomorrow and get ready for our next opponent.”
We’ll see how the final CFP rankings play out, but it’s certainly a good bet that LSU will be involved in one or the other of the semifinals (at the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix and the Peach Bowl in Atlanta) on Dec. 28.