Georgia Runs for 238 Yards, Dominates Auburn to Win 2017 SEC Championship

The No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs likely clinched a spot in the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history Saturday, as they defeated the No. 2 Auburn Tigers 28-7 in the SEC Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Georgia improved to 12-1 and gained a measure of revenge after previously getting blown out 40-17 by Auburn in November. The Tigers fell to 10-3 and fell out of CFP contention despite last week's upset win over then-No. 1 Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

Saturday's game was largely a defensive struggle, but Georgia freshman quarterback Jake Fromm was efficient in completing 16 of 22 attempts for 183 yards and two touchdowns. The Bulldogs also rushed for 238 yards.

Auburn junior running back Kerryon Johnson played even though he suffered a shoulder injury in the Iron Bowl; however, he wasn't the same, as he finished with 44 rushing yards on 13 carries.

Saturday's victory gave Georgia its first SEC championship since 2005, and it has positioned itself to potentially win its first national title since 1980.

Although Georgia outplayed Auburn for much of the game, the Bulldogs were penalized seven times for 91 yards, which helped keep things close.

Ultimately, Georgia outgained Auburn 421-259 and won the turnover battle 2-0.

Things looked promising for Auburn early, though, when it went 75 yards over 10 plays on its opening drive, which culminated in a six-yard touchdown pass from Jarrett Stidham to Nate Craig-Myers, as seen in this video courtesy of CBS Sports:

Stidham coolly marched Auburn down the field in just over five minutes and appeared to build upon the fantastic performance he put forth the previous week against Alabama.

ESPN's Matt Barrie was among those impressed by Stidham's start:

As it turns out, the opening drive was the high point of the game for both Stidham and the Auburn offense, as the sophomore signal-caller finished with 145 yards and one touchdown on 16-of-32 passing.

The turning point of the night occurred early in the second quarter when Auburn was in the Georgia red zone and driving to take a two-score lead.

Linebacker Davin Bellamy strip-sacked Stidham from behind before linebacker Roquan Smith recovered the fumble to kill the drive:

The Bulldogs capitalized on that change of momentum by going 83 yards on the ensuing drive and finishing with a two-yard touchdown from Fromm to Isaac Nauta to help tie the game at 7-7:

Georgia converted a short field goal on its next possession and entered the locker room with a 10-7 advantage.

Kevin Scarbinsky of AL.com noted Auburn's struggles may have had something to do with a hampered Johnson:

Even so, the Tigers moved the ball well on their first possession of the second half and were poised to tie the game with a 31-yard field goal.

Georgia once again kept points off the board, though, with a huge block by DaQuan Hawkins-Muckle:

The Bulldogs extended the lead to 13-7 in the third quarter and began to impose their will on the Tigers.

ESPN's Peter Burns theorized that playing such a difficult schedule down the stretch may have taken its toll on Auburn:

Linebacker Lorenzo Carter bolstered that idea at the start of the fourth quarter when he stripped Johnson, allowing Smith to jump on the ball for Georgia:

Per Rick Karle of WBRC, the turnover was highly uncharacteristic for the Tigers running back:

The mistake proved costly, as Fromm threw a 17-yard touchdown to Terry Godwin and then connected with Godwin on a two-point attempt to increase the lead to 21-7.

Georgia then put the game away on its next drive when running back D'Andre Swift broke off a 64-yard touchdown run:

The Bulldogs had the ideal formula for beating Auburn, as they played strong defense, ran the ball effectively and didn't turn it over.

With the win, Georgia is in the conversation to be the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, which is a spot Clemson occupies.

Regardless of where the committee places the Bulldogs, there is little debate surrounding the idea that they deserve to vie for a national title after emerging as a one-loss champion from arguably the toughest conference in college football.