2012 Outback Bowl: Defensive Showdown Will Further Highlight SEC Dominance

The SEC and Big Ten take center stage on Monday when two of the conferences' best line up in the Outback Bowl in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Georgia and Michigan State, both losers in their respective conference championship games, are out to put a beatdown on one another after falling to conference rivals.

Neither offense is without flare, but both defenses hold opponents to an average of below 20 points per game and have a few big names on both sidelines.

Ultimately, this game will be won by the quarterback who can deliver when the game is on the line: Kirk Cousins of Michigan State or Aaron Murray of Georgia.

Cousins hasn't been spectacular, but he has been solid with 24 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.

He and the Spartans offense closed the season extremely well, only tasting defeat at the hands of Wisconsin by three points in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game.

Murray has been a playmaker for the Bulldogs all year but saw his accuracy dip and interceptions rise despite throwing for less yards.

But Georgia and Michigan State's defenses, ranked third and fifth in the nation respectively, will cause trouble.

Neither team is a stranger to good defensive play from opponents, either. Accompanying Georgia and Michigan State in the top 10 defenses are four other SEC schools and three other Big Ten schools.

Nine of the nation's top 10 defenses are represented by the SEC and Big Ten.

Georgia is better equipped to handle the Michigan State attack, though. The majority of Cousins' attention goes to wide receiver B.J. Cunningham (although Keshawn Martin is having a solid season as well), and the Bulldogs secondary can focus on taking him away without sacrificing their run defense.

Murray spreads the ball around a lot more and can hurt Michigan State by scrambling around and keeping plays alive.

Look for both quarterbacks and defenses to make plays, but Georgia will be the team that makes the most of its opportunities.