Instant Analysis: LSU comes up short against Georgia in SEC Championship Game
It wound up being more competitive than it appeared it would in the first half, but the Tigers were simply overmatched in their 50-30 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday.
LSU had about as rough a start as one could imagine in this game. It was actually driving down the field to score the game’s first points, but a 32-yard field goal from Damian Ramos was blocked and, apparently unaware the ball was still live, the Tigers allowed Georgia to return it for a touchdown.
That special teams gaffe and one of the stranger interceptions you’ll ever see when Jayden Daniels’ pass bounced off Jack Bech’s helmet allowed the ‘Dawgs to stretch a 35-10 lead heading into the locker room.
Daniels played through an ankle injury and was clearly hobbled in this game. He finished with 208 passing yards and a touchdown through the air but was limited in the run game and was sacked three times. He ultimately left the game and wouldn’t return, and Garrett Nussmeier seemed to spark the offense in his stead.
The redshirt freshman threw for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns, and he helped make it close in the second half. But after a drive in the third quarter that could have cut the lead to 11 stalled on fourth and inches, the lead felt insurmountable despite Nussmeier’s best efforts.
LSU actually outgained Georgia in this game, totaling 549 yards, but was unbalanced. The Tigers only had 47 yards on the ground, which corresponds to the longest run of the day from Josh Williams. Aside from that, nothing was working.
UGA, meanwhile, was quite balanced. LSU allowed 255 rushing yards to the three-headed attack of Kenny McIntosh, Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton. Stetson Bennett also had one of the best games of his career, finishing with 274 yards and four passing touchdowns.
It wasn’t the worst performance, but allowing half a hundred to the Bulldogs was certainly not how LSU wanted this game to go. With the loss, the Tigers’ hopes of making the New Year’s Six diminish considerably. They will learn their postseason fate on Sunday.
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Twitter reacts to mind-boggling LSU special teams error that gave Georgia a touchdown in the SEC Championship
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