The 2012 SEC Championship Game between #2 Alabama and #3 Georgia will be a classic.  College football fans will have the chance to see two very good football teams square off against one another.  This game will determine who will face Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship Game.  Most people are already putting Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game before they even step on the field against Georgia.  Not so fast my friends!  Georgia has more overall talent than Alabama on both sides of the ball.  The game is being played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, which really makes it a home game for Georgia.  This piece offers five ways Georgia can defeat Alabama and win the 2012 SEC Championship Game.

1.  Throw the football early and often.  You have to be willing to exploit Alabama’s weak secondary.  This year, teams who have seriously committed to throwing the football have had success against Alabama.

2.  Don’t abandon the run.  Just because Alabama gets some tackles-for-loss in the run game does not mean you should not make an effort to run the football.  You must run the football to open up the play-action pass game, which Georgia is one of the best teams in the nation when it comes to play-action passing.

3.  Match Alabama’s physicality.  Alabama will try to simply beat you up if you let them.  Georgia can be just as physical as Alabama and will need to be as physical as Alabama to defeat them.  Georgia will match Alabama’s physicality.

 4.  Bring pressure often on defense.  It’s important for Georgia to put pressure on the quarterback.  When Georgia gets to the quarterback, they must sack him with great force.

 5.  Protect the quarterback.  If Aaron Murray gets the proper time, he can do real damage to the Alabama defense.  If Georgia’s offensive line protects Murray, and the offensive will protect him, Georgia will defeat Alabama.  Murray must be willing to take short passes, considering Alabama’s defense loves to give opposing offenses the short yardage passes.

 Georgia will defeat Alabama 21 – 17 and become the 2012 SEC Champs!

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison  

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