ATLANTA, Ga.– The SEC Championship is upon us. No. 4 Georgia will take on No. 2 LSU today at 4 p.m. ET on CBS with a lot on the line. For the Bulldogs, it’ll determine whether or not they get in the College Football Playoff. Win and they’re in. Lose and they’re almost certainly headed for the Sugar Bowl.
LSU does not have to win to get in. As long as it plays well and does not get run off the field, something no one sees coming anyway, the odds are strong that the Tigers will make the field of four.
It’s a clash of two contrasting styles. LSU does it with offense and Heisman Trophy frontrunner Joe Burrow leads the way. He has set SEC records this season with a high-flying passing attack featuring two 1, – yard wideouts. He also has a 1, – yard running back behind him. The Bulldogs are doing it with defense, one that is ranked No. 3 in the nation in yards allowed per play.
Something will have to give in this year SEC championship game and we’ll find out what in a matter of hours. The Bulldogs are dealing with some injuries going into this game and below, Dawgs gives a full recap of what ails Kirby Smart’s team.
The graduate wideout has dealt with shoulder and rib injuries this season but that’s not what will keep him out of this one. A little over a week ago in practice, prior to the Georgia Tech game, Cager went down with an ankle injury that required surgery. When the Bulldogs walked the Mercedes-Benz turf on Friday, he was using a scooter to get around and had that surgically-repaired ankle wrapped heavily. He’s almost certainly out for the rest of the season. Cager is UGA’s second-leading receiver in terms of yardage and touchdowns and he’s tied for the team lead in receptions despite playing in just one full game out of the Bulldogs last seven.
We’re not sure what Wyatt is dealing with from an injury standpoint but he was held out of action last week against Georgia Tech. He came out on the field for that game before the rest of his teammates and went through a – minute workout with a strength staffer , but didn’t dress out to play. Kirby Smart has said that he expects Wyatt to play but he has said that for a few players this season who were unable to go. Wyatt is one of Georgia’s team leaders in quarterback hurries this season and he has been effective on third down as an interior pass rusher.
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The 6-foot-5 (**********# ************** – – pound speedster missed a ton of time earlier this year with a groin / sports hernia injury but it appears as if he’s good to go at this point. He did dress or travel with the team for most of the season but he was with the team for the Texas A&M game at home and the same was true a week later against Georgia Tech where he made the trip and dressed out. He even appeared in that game, hauling in a catch for one yard and it was the first of his career. We don’t anticipate him seeing much or any action in this game but the Bulldogs are shorthanded at wideout in the first half.
Georgia’s do-it-all offensive lineman has dealt with ankle and shoulder injuries this season and it caused him to miss the Texas A&M game. Smart said that he probably could have played but the staff wanted to get through it without him and did. He has started at three different positions this season, left guard, right guard, and right tackle. He has played all five positions on the offensive line at some point in the year in addition to lining up as a tight end and a fullback in different situations. We expect him to be full go in the SEC Championship game and to rotate in at right guard.
Cleveland is the guy who’ll be rotating with Mays at right guard. He has started the past two games with Mays being dinged up but the redshirt junior is dealing with an injury of his own. Cleveland is battling a foot / ankle injury that will probably have to be dealt with after the season. While Mays has moved around this season, Cleveland has mainly played right guard and he has played pretty well when given an opportunity. At 6-foot-6 pounds, Cleveland gives the Bulldogs a physical presence at that position, especially in the run game and that’s going to be important for the Bulldogs against LSU.
This has been the story of the week. According to Smart, Swift has been dealing with a shoulder injury for most of the year but the first time we saw it come to a head was against Georgia Tech. After his second fumble in that game, Swift exited and did not return. The play where he appeared to get hurt did not look too bad and he didn’t take any contact to that left shoulder, but he left in the third quarter. We’ve covered this one closely all week and we’re told that Swift may be ailing some but it shouldn’t be something that hold him back in a major way. He has been a constant for the UGA offense this season.
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This isn’t an injury but it certainly hurts Georgia. For the second week in a row, the Bulldogs will be without Pickens in the first half. He was suspended for the first two quarters against Georgia Tech for a violation of team rules. Smart wouldn’t go any further than that when he announced it after the game. Pickens registered one catch for yards and a touchdown in the third quarter of that game before getting ejected for fighting. Because he was ejected in the second half, he’ll have to miss the first half of the SEC Championship game and the Bulldog offense will have to weather the storm without him against a really good team.
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