Bulldogs game snapshot: Georgia gets beat up, blown out as LSU rolls in SEC title game

Georgia wide receiver George Pickens leaps over LSU safety Kary Vincent Jr. to convert a fourth down during Saturday's SEC title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. /  Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter
Georgia wide receiver George Pickens leaps over LSU safety Kary Vincent Jr. to convert a fourth down during Saturday's SEC title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. / Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter

ATLANTA - The fourth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs lost 37-10 to LSU on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Bulldogs dropped to 11-2. The Tigers, who are ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press and coaches polls and are No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings, improved to 13-0.

SATURDAY'S STAR

LSU quarterback Joe Burrow entered the SEC title game as the Heisman Trophy favorite and did nothing to hinder those hopes, completing 28 of 38 passes for 349 yards and four touchdowns. He continued to show his elusiveness by repeatedly avoiding sacks and rushing 11 times for 41 yards (3.7 yards per carry).

SATURDAY'S STAT

The Bulldogs and the Tigers met for the fourth time in an SEC championship game, and for the fourth time, it was decided by at least 20 points. LSU defeated Georgia 34-13 in the 2003 title game, with the Bulldogs exacting revenge two years later with a 34-14 triumph. They met again in 2011, with LSU rolling 42-10.

TURNING POINT

Georgia trailed 20-3 midway through the third quarter but converted on fourth-and-8 from LSU's 35-yard line with an 18-yard pass from Jake Fromm to George Pickens, who had been suspended for the first half. Fromm was sacked on the next play, however, and Rodrigo Blankenship wound up missing a 37-yard field-goal attempt.

HIGHLIGHT PLAY

The Tigers opened the scoring with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Burrow to Ja'Marr Chase at the 9:09 mark of the first quarter. Chase made a diving catch and showed nice control, but Burrow was the story of the play, scrambling around for 8.7 seconds before finding the Biletnikoff Award finalist in the end zone.

WHAT IT MEANS

LSU clinched its first trip to the College Football Playoff by improving to 13-0 for the first time since 2011. Georgia, meanwhile, appears headed to a second straight Sugar Bowl, where it would play Baylor. Should the Bulldogs fall below Florida in the final CFP rankings, they likely would go to the Orange Bowl.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.

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