The SEC Championship is one of the most impressive spectacles in all of sports. In some ways, I think it is bigger than the National Championship Game...certainly the last two years it has been. You can take away the Superbowls, SEC basketball tournaments, Final Four, Falcons home games, etc. The Georgia Dome was made to be the home of this game.
For all the things I love about the SEC Championship Game, the only thing I don't really like is when there is a matchup between teams that have already played in the regular season. But in the case of Auburn and South Carolina I'm okay with it because the Gamecocks lost at Auburn. If Auburn had gone to Columbia and won then I really wouldn't like them having to play this game.
There are a lot of people pointing to the fact that Steve Spurrier will have essentially had three weeks to prepare for this game, and he is tough to beat in that case. Perhaps that used to be the case, but as we all know, the Ole Ball Coach has lost some of his muster. Still, he will be able to come up with a good game plan I think and really challenge Auburn. He got USC to this game, which is farther than they have ever gotten. South Carolina fans really want to win this because who knows when they'll get back. There is plenty of motivation on their sideline.
After pulling out that great comeback at Alabama, Auburn will have to bounce back quickly from that emotionally charged victory. The Tigers have proved many things this year especially their ability to win close games and come from behind. They are one of the most resilient teams in recent memory. Auburn has beaten every one of the top 6 teams in the SEC, they are the best team no matter what happens in this game. The question isn't whether they can win, it's will they come out with the emotion needed to get a victory against a USC team that will give it everything they've got.
South Carolina has the #1 rushing defense in the SEC by a good margin at 93.2 yards/game. Auburn has the best rushing offense in the SEC by a huge margin at 291.2 yards/game. That will be an interesting matchup. No one has stopped Cam Newton yet, even last week vs. Bama he still threw the ball well.
South Carolina's rushing statistics are a little skewed because there has been several games where Marcus Lattimore sat out for a while including the game at Auburn. They are 7th in the SEC. Auburn's rush defense is 2nd.
Auburn has the #1 scoring offense, South Carolina has the #3 scoring defense. It's like this at every category statistically. Both these teams match up very well in all phases of the game.
South Carolina may be 9-3 and ranked 18 spots below Auburn in the BCS standings but they are a much better team than that. In the Auburn game they turned the ball over 4 times in the 4th quarter, and still only lost the game by 8 points going down the wire. Spurrier really cost the Gamecocks that game by pulling Garcia after he fumbled the ball twice (he was having one of the best games of his career)...Conner Shaw proceeded to throw two interceptions. USC's second loss was a predictable one, coming off the emotional win vs. #1 Alabama they fell to a talented Kentucky team on the road...but they're a better team and should've won if they were focused. Then knowing they had the East wrapped up Spurrier put Lattimore on the sideline and the Cocks rolled over and got smoked by Arkansas. I think South Carolina is better than their record and rank indicate. I don't know if they are better than Arkansas but with that game being in Columbia, if the Gamecocks were focus and determined to win I think they could be 11-1 right now and this would be another SEC Championship Game which acts as a semifinal for the BCS Title Game.
With all that said, Auburn is a better team now then when they played in September. No one has stopped Cam Newton and Auburn's offense. No one has stopped Nick Fairley either. If those two come to play and their supporting cast executes their roles as they have for 12 games already, they are the best team in the country. I don't think Auburn will be able to stop Alshon Jeffrey, but they haven't stop any star receivers this year and they still win. It's going to be another exciting game to watch, Auburn 42 South Carolina 35
JB
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