ATLANTA — No. 1 Georgia made its case to remain atop the College Football Playoff Rankings as the Bulldogs crushed No. 14 LSU 50-30 in the 2022 SEC Championship Game. The Dawgs improved to 13-0 for the first time in program history ahead of Sunday’s release of the final CFP Rankings. The reigning national champions never trailed as Georgia captured the program’s fourth SEC championship and first since 2017.
Even last season’s Georgia team with its historically dominant defense did not win the SEC crown. This marks the first time the Dawgs have emerged from the SEC title game with an unbeaten record; the 2002 and 2017 teams each suffered one regular-season loss, while the 2005 team lost twice in the before winning the conference.
The steady hand of sixth-year senior quarterback Stetson Bennett IV — coupled with some horrific breaks for LSU — helped the Bulldogs open a 35-10 halftime lead. In particular, a 95-yard touchdown return from Christopher Smith on a blocked field goal and an interception that deflected off the helmet of an LSU player helped sparked Georgia in the first half.
After the break, UGA withstood a charge from a resilient LSU squad. Tigers QB Jayden Daniels left the game at halftime after appearing to aggravate an ankle injury. With backup Garrett Nussmeier in the game, LSU pulled within 35-17 and were threatening to draw even closer when the Dawgs came up with a critical stop on fourth-and-1 to keep LSU out of the end zone midway through the third quarter.
Georgia shut the door from there with scoring drives of 95 and 75 yards for its 12th double-digit victory in 13 games this season entering the playoff.
CBS Sports will update this story with takeaways.