AUBURN, Ala. – The Georgia Bulldogs have punched their share of championship tickets through the years inside Jordan-Hare Stadium at Auburn’s expense, and Saturday was no different.
Building a 21-0 lead before hanging on for a 21-14 triumph, Georgia earned its third consecutive Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title. The Bulldogs are the first Eastern team to pull a three-peat since Florida represented the division the first five years the league staged a title showcase (1992-96).
“It’s special, and praise God for that,” Bulldogs junior quarterback Jake Fromm said after throwing three touchdown passes and improving to 32-6 as the starter. “I think it speaks a lot for our football program, our head coach and the guys in the locker room to come in and to have done whatever it takes to get there.”
The No. 5 Bulldogs became the first team to shut out Gus Malzahn’s offense through the first three quarters, but then they held on for dear life. Auburn freshman quarterback Bo Nix threw a quick, 3-yard touchdown strike to Eli Stove to pull the No. 13 Tigers within 21-7 with 10:04 remaining in the game and then reached the end zone on a diving, 2-yard keeper to make it 21-14 with 7:03 left.
With Jordan-Hare in a frenzy, Nix converted a fourth-and-5 with an 8-yard run to Georgia’s 42-yard line, but a fourth-and-2 pass to Harold Joiner from the 34 with 2:24 remaining was slightly off target, resulting in a loss of downs.