2018 SEC Championship Game: Georgia Bulldogs Vs Alabama Crimson Tide

Last Saturday Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahn thought he had his War Buzzard ready to play some Saban Murderball.  Indeed.  They kept the game close through halftime.  When the teams returned to the field, the Tigers kept it close until the last two minutes of the third quarter when DeVonta Smith caught a 40-yd TD pass from Tua.  From that point forward, Bama kept pouring it on hapless Auburn.

Coach Saban said, “Don’t ask me why, but it doesn’t seem like we had the right kind of energy in the first half.  Don’t know if it was anxiety or what it was, but we seemed to settle down and play better in the second half.”

In the locker room at the half, Saban told his team, “We’re going to have to change the way these guys think and get after them because now they think they can win.”

The college football world is wondering if, based on the games against The Citadel and the “Barners”, the Tide can be beaten.  I will acknowledge that everyone watching the SEC Championship Game who isn’t a Buckeye or a Sooner fan will be rooting for Jawja to beat Bama.

With the Wolverines falling to the Bucknutts 62-39 last Saturday, the College Football Playoff Committee is now forced to have a serious conversation about who will be ranked No. 4 on Sunday, December 2nd, the day after Bama and the Bulldawgs clash in the SEC Championship Game.

If Georgia is defeated, I think Oklahoma gets the fourth spot over the Bucknutts because they were horribly embarrassed by Purdue losing to the Boilermakers 49-20.

I’m putting the cart before horse here.  First, the Tide must decimate the Bulldawgs.  That’ll be one mean feat.

What if Coach Smart makes the game interesting by putting in backup QB Justin Fields at some point in the game?  What if the game suddenly rides on the performance of Bama’s special teams?  Kicker Joseph Bulovas is a dismal 4 for 16 FG attempts and has blown 5 extra point attempts.  Georgia’s Rodrigo Blankenship has been deadly accurate all season long. Georgia is better prepared to meet the Tide’s strength this time around. 

Bulldawg tailback Elijah Holyfield adamantly insists, "Last year has nothing to do with this next game coming up.”  Oh?  Second-and-26 is what people remember the most from last year’s National Championship Game.

The Dawg Nation may want to blot that exhilarating play from their memory, but the Tide faithful carry it with them to this day.  Hell, it’ll live forever in Bama’s storied history.

Jawja’s last win over Bama was way back in 2007.

On Thursday, UGA Alumni tweeted an awkward invitation to all the SEC schools to #BeADawgForADay.  It didn’t turn out well.  Here’s one example from War Buzzard:

pic.twitter.com/z1IjxTelkJ

— Auburn University (@AuburnU) November 29, 2018

The Vegas bookies have Bama as a double-digit favorite against Jawja.  ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives the Tide a 63.7% chance of victory.

Throw out the stats. The team that plays with the most emotion, most pride and sheer dominance will win this slobberknocker. The 2018 SEC Champions will be my beloved Crimson Tide.