On Saturday, LSU and Georgia will meet in the 12th installment of the Southeastern Conference Championship game.
Before 1992, the SEC champion was determined much in the way the Pac-10 or Big Ten champions are determined – during regular season play.
But when the SEC expanded to 12 teams – adding Arkansas and South Carolina in 1992 – the conference was able to carry a championship game at the end of the season to determine the outright conference champion.
For the first five years of the championship game, SEC East powerhouse Florida dominated the conference. Under the direction of Steve Spurrier and future NFL quarterbacks Shane Matthews and Danny Wuerffel, the Gators played in the first five SEC Championships, winning four of the five.
The one loss for the Gators came in the first ever SEC Championship game in 1992. No. 2 Alabama defeated No. 15 Florida 28-21.
With the score tied at 21 late in the fourth quarter, Alabama cornerback Antonio Langham intercepted a Matthews pass at the Florida 27-yard line and Langham returned the pick for six points and a ‘Bama win.
With the win, Alabama advanced to the National Championship game against No. 1 Miami. The Crimson Tide won the title, beating Miami 34-13 in the Sugar Bowl.
The loss in the first SEC game must have left a sour taste in Spurrier’s mouth. Spurrier dictated the Gators to four consecutive championship game appearances after the 1992 loss. The Gators won all four of those appearances – three against Alabama and one against Arkansas.
Some big names have graced the fields of the Georgia Dome in the SEC Championship game in the past 11 years. Wuerrfel won the Heisman trophy for the Gators in 1996 and played briefly in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. Wuerffel ended his NFL career in 2002 with the Washington Redskins, a gig that reacquainted Wuerrfel with ex-Florida coach Spurrier.
Florida tailback Fred Taylor found a home with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL after helping the Gators win the 1996 title. New Orleans product Peyton Manning won the Heisman trophy in 1997 and led the Tennessee Volunteers to an SEC Championship. Shaun Alexander, tailback for the Seattle Seahawks, helped lead the Crimson Tide win the 1999 SEC Championship game against Florida.
LSU made its first SEC Championship appearance in 2001, led by coach Nick Saban. In Saban’s second year at the helm, the Tigers faced No. 2 Tennessee – a team on the verge of heading to the National Championship to play No. 1 Miami.
Saban and the Tigers spoiled the party for the Volunteers. Behind the surprise emergence of quarterback Matt Mauck, No. 21 LSU came back from a 17-10 halftime deficit to upset Tennessee 31-20. The Tigers outscored Tennessee 21-3 in the second half.
Mauck replaced Rohan Davey in the game, completing 5-of-15 passes for 67 yards. But Mauck’s main contribution came on the ground, rushing 12 times for 43 yards and two touchdowns.
Georgia coach Mark Richt led the Bulldogs to the school’s first SEC Championship appearance last season. The Bulldogs triumphed against SEC West participant Arkansas 30-3.
Bulldogs’ tailback Musa Smith scored two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter and kicker Billy Bennett added three first half field goals for a 23-0 Georgia lead at halftime. It was the first time in SEC Championship history a team had been shut out in the first half. Arkansas avoided being the first team shut out in the championship game with a third quarter field goal.
Saban and Richt look to begin a trend of SEC dominance once reserved for Spurrier and then-Alabama coach Gene Stallings in the early ’90s. This is the second appearance for both teams in the last three seasons, but the first meeting between Georgia and LSU in the championship game.