LSU, Joe Burrow dominate Georgia, 37-10, for emphatic SEC Championship win

Coach Ed Orgeron consistently shrugs off any notion of LSU concerning itself with impressing the College Football Playoff Committee.

But if "style points" exist, the No. 2 Tigers (13-0, 9-0) are on their way home from Atlanta with a few peach baskets full, a 37-10 rout of No. 4 Georgia (11-2, 7-2) and their first SEC championship since 2011.

"I'm just so proud of our football team, of our coaching staff, and again, so happy for the state of Louisiana and LSU," Orgeron told CBS during the postgame trophy presentation. "But we said tonight, this is not our final destination. Wherever they tell us to play, whoever they tell us to play next, we're gonna be ready."

A team criticized for not being as "complete" as No. 1 Ohio State (12-0) certainly looked its part.

The defense held the Bulldogs out of the end zone until the fourth quarter en route to a season-low 10 points.

Freshman cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. intercepted two passes to take sole possession of the conference lead with six on the season.

LSU held Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm to 20-for-42 (47.6 percent) passing in all and three sacks by juniors Grant Delpit, K'Lavon Chaisson and Patrick Queen.

The Bulldogs finished with 286 yards, including just 61 on the ground.

"Our play on defense, it was amazing, but this is what we've been working for since the summer," Stingley said. "We knew that if everybody worked together, nobody could really compete with us."

He added, when asked further: "This game kind of proved a point, because a lot of people didn't really respect us, but we came out and played and showed everybody what we were made of."

Heisman-hopeful quarterback Joe Burrow and the Tigers' offense meanwhile continued their unquestionable, record-setting campaign.

The senior found Ja'Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall Jr. for touchdown passes on two of their first three possessions.

LSU never let Georgia back any closer than 11 points.

The teams traded field goals — and missed opportunities for more scoring — the rest of the first half.

"I don't know how many drops we had tonight, but I felt like we had to have five or six that you could say should've probably been caught," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "And we probably would've been more explosive if that were the case."

But the Bulldogs couldn't contain the Tigers' high-powered attack much longer.

Burrow led four straight scoring drives to start the second half, including another pair of field goals by freshman kicker Cade York and touchdown passes to Marshall and Justin Jefferson.

"They did a great job of disguising their blitzes," Burrow said. "They had a new package for us that I hadn't seen on film. So that was why I was having to make those scrambles. And I told the O-line before the game, I said, 'This one's gonna be a lot of fun.' I could just feel it, and that's exactly what it was."

Burrow finished 28-for-38 (73.7 percent) for 349 yards and four touchdowns, connecting with eight different receivers in all — including his own 16-yard reception off a pass deflected back to him at the line.

The SEC Championship MVP exited the field in Mercedes-Benz Stadium with about four minutes remaining and a portion of the crowd chanting, "Joe— For— Heis— Man." and clapping.

"In my opinion, he's the best player in the country," Orgeron said. "In my opinion, he should win it. In my opinion, I think that he's gonna win it. But you know the best thing about Joe? He's a team player, and all he wanted to do was win this game."

Burrow took sole possession of the conference's single-season record for touchdown passes, now at 48, and continued shattering the passing mark he surpassed last week against Texas A&M.

Jefferson led all players with seven catches and 115 yards, including a 71-yard dash to set up one of York's kicks and then his own 8-yard scoring catch on the next possession.

"That (71-yard pass) was frustrating, because we thought we had a pretty good call on," Smart said. "We had pressure, and we had a guy come sky-free. He missed him, and then I think we missed him again on that same play. You know, hey, I thought that was a perfect call by our defensive coordinator, and they made a better play than we did a call.

"And sometimes players do that. And you learn in coaching that good players make big-time plays, and that was an incredible play by Joe Burrow."

Added senior defensive back J.R. Reed: "He's just a great athlete, man. We had a lot of plays out there that we were supposed to make, and he just squirms out of it, gets out of it and makes plays for his team."

Marshall caught five passes for 89 yards and two scores.

Chase hauled in three passes for 41 yards and the game's first points, which tied him atop the SEC history books with former Florida receiver Reidel Anthony with 18 receiving touchdowns this season.

Junior running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed 15 times for a game-high 57 yards and caught seven balls for 61 yards.

Burrow rushed 11 times for 41 yards, as LSU racked up 481 yards of total offense.

"I've been in this league for a long time, and I don't know that I've seen the combination of things they've got," Smart said. "They've got an elite quarterback who's a really good athlete. They have a back that is a matchup guy. He can matchup on anybody and go win. They've got really good wideouts, and they've got experience at the offensive line.

"So they go tempo, but they don't go tempo to just run the ball. They go tempo and take shots. They never change personnel. They play 28 consecutive snaps with the same people on the field. So it does not allow you to substitute in the pattern that you want to, so it's a combination of a lot of things."