It’s a mega-showdown in Baton Rouge, as two of the traditional powers of the mighty Southeastern Conference square off Saturday afternoon just after 3:30 p.m.EST before what promises to be a raucous Tiger Stadium.
These two proud programs are both in the midst of outstanding seasons. Georgia improved to 6-0 and 4-0 in SEC play with a 41-13 victory over Vanderbilt. The win over Vandy gave Georgia a 6-0 record for a second straight season. A first in Bulldogs history. LSU is coming off a nail-biting 27-19 loss to Florida in Gainesville that dropped the Tigers to 5-1 this year, 2-1 in the league. The score got stretched a bit on a late interception return for a touchdown by the Gators. LSU had a chance to take the lead, and then, after the pick-six, had a shot at tying the game, but the Gators defense prevailed.
Georgia was again plagued by penalties against Vanderbilt. A memorable 75-yard scoring strike to Terry Godwin from Jake Fromm gave the Dogs the first quarter punch. A long and quick scoring drive that culminated on an outstanding catch by Riley Ridley to end the first half pushed Georgia’s lead from 14-6 to 21-6. The Bulldogs took complete control with a scoring drive to start the second half on a 35 yard run after catch by D’Andre Swift, who looks to be returning to form. Vanderbilt scored its lone touchdown with two seconds remaining in the game.
In the 21st century, LSU is the only Southeastern Conference team that has won at least eight games every season. The boys in Las Vegas had LSU’s over/under set at 7.5 prior to the year. Well LSU shined out of the gates with a big win over Miami. Two weeks later, the Tigers took a 22-21 instant-classic at Auburn to vault into the top 10. A blowout of Ole Miss put the completeness of this Tiger squad on display.
This will undoubtedly be the toughest challenge the Bulldogs have faced this season, and it begins a stretch of four straight games for Georgia against teams ranked in the top 25. This will be the last time these two play in the regular season for a long time. Particularly in Death Valley. There have been some great ones between these two, and LSU and Georgia have three times met in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game. The last time these two faced off, Georgia won a 44-41 thriller in Athens.
No doubt, this one will have major implications for whom makes it to Atlanta.