The Southeastern Conference title matchup pits the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (12-0, 8-0 SEC) against the #14 LSU Tigers (9-3, 6-2 SEC). Georgia rolled through the SEC East Division, while the Tigers return to the SEC title after surprisingly winning the SEC West in head coach Brian Kelly’s first season.
Saturday’s kickoff is at 4 p.m. EST inside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The Bulldogs are a 17.5-point favorite, and the over/under total is 52.5 points.
What to Know – #14 LSU Tigers
LSU is back in Atlanta for the first time since 2019 and the seventh time in the school’s history. The Tigers have a 5-1 record all-time in the SEC title game, knocking off Georgia in 2019, 37-10.
Arizona State transfer quarterback Jayden Daniels has been a big piece of Kelly’s turnaround of the Tigers in year one. Daniels has carried the Tigers’ offense, passing for 2,566 yards and leading the team in rushing with 824 yards.
Josh Williams leads a trio of running backs that have carried the workload out of the backfield for LSU. Williams, along with Noah Cain and John Emery Jr., have combined for 1,645 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Daniels spreads the ball around through the air, but Malik Nabers has been his no. 1 target in 2022. Nabers has hauled in a team-high 58 receptions for 726 yards. Wide receiver Jaray Jenkins paces the Tigers with five touchdowns receiving.
What to Know – #1 Georgia Bulldogs
The Bulldogs picked right up where they left off after winning last season’s national title, coasting through the regular season with a perfect record. Georgia is the top-ranked team in the College Football Playoff poll and appears to be the team to beat heading into the postseason.
Stetson Bennett managed the offense with ease again during his senior campaign, throwing for 3,151 yards and adding 190 yards on the ground. Bennett threw just 16 touchdown passes during the regular season but rushed for a career-best seven scores.
The carries were split evenly between Kenny McIntosh and Daijun Edwards in the season. McIntosh’s stats were slightly better, rushing 123 times for 654 yards and eight touchdowns. Edwards supplied the offense with 604 yards and seven TDs.
After a freshman season that earned him All-American honors, sophomore tight end Brock Bowers was the team’s leading pass-catcher as an underclassman.
Bowers caught 46 passes for 645 yards and five touchdowns, all team highs. Wide receiver Ladd McConkey wasn’t far behind, contributing 46 receptions, 606 yards, and four scores.
The Pick is In
Georgia cruised through the regular season, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the Bulldogs’ offense, which looked pedestrian at times.
The Tigers turned a tough start into an excellent season, and even with a bad loss on the road against Texas A&M to close out the regular season, they still have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball.
We aren’t going to put a lot of stock in last week’s loss and take LSU getting the points in a game we expect to be close throughout.
The Pick: #14 LSU Tigers +17.5
