The 2007

SEC Championship Game The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. The championship game pits the SEC East Division regular season champion against the West Division regula ...

was played on December 1, 2007 in the

Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of the Georgia World Congress Center ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. The game determined the 2007

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

champion of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

. The

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...

, winners of the Western division of the SEC, defeated the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

, who won the Eastern division, by a score of 21–14. This was the second time the two teams have met in the conference championship game.

Selection process

The

matches up the winner of the ''Eastern'' and ''Western'' divisions of the

. The game was first played in 1992, when the conference expanded from 10 to 12 teams with the addition of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

and

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. The SEC was the first conference in college football to have a conference championship game.

Regular season

LSU was ranked as high as #1 in the country and was a favorite to play in the national title game, however those dreams were thought to have been shattered when the Tigers lost to unranked

in 3 overtime periods at home on the final game of the regular season. LSU finished the regular season with a 10–2 record. They were 6–2 in the SEC and won the SEC Western Division outright. Tennessee began the season with a highly anticipated out-of-conference matchup with

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in Berkeley. The 15th ranked Vols lost to the 12th ranked Golden Bears, 45–31. Tennessee slipped in the polls, eventually losing twice more to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, however, they finished the season strong, winning their last five games. In the final game of the regular season, the Volunteers needed to beat Kentucky in order to secure a berth in the SEC Championship Game. If Kentucky won, then

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

would be the representative from the Eastern division. The game was an exciting one as it went into 4 overtime periods. The Volunteers eventually won it by sacking Kentucky QB Andre Woodson during a 2-point conversion attempt. Tennessee finished the regular season with a 9–3 overall record and a 6–2 record in the SEC Eastern division. They tied with Georgia as champions of the SEC East, however, by virtue of a head-to-head victory over Georgia, the Volunteers were the SEC East representatives in the championship game.

Pre-Game

Prior to the game, LSU was faced with many distractions. On Friday, November 30, news sources leaked that

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

had hired defensive coordinator

Bo Pelini Mark Anthony "Bo" Pelini (born December 13, 1967) is a former American football coach and former player. He was most recently the defensive coordinator for the Louisiana State University Tigers football team. He is the younger brother of forme ...

to be their new head coach. On the morning of game day, ESPN reported that LSU head coach

Les Miles Leslie Edwin Miles (born November 10, 1953) is a former American football coach. He most recently served as the head coach at Kansas. His head coaching career began with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, where he coached from 2001 to 2004. Following t ...

would be announced as the new head coach of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Later on that day, Les Miles called a

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

to announce that he was would not be leaving LSU to coach Michigan. Also on the minds of the Tigers, quarterback

Matt Flynn Matthew Clayton Flynn (born June 20, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He was a member of the Packers when they won Super Bowl XLV over the Pitts ...

would not start due to an injury. Instead,

Ryan Perrilloux Ryan Anthony Perrilloux (born January 1, 1987) is an American football quarterback that played in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, Arena Football League and Ligue Élite de Football Américain in France. He played colleg ...

would get the start.

Game summary

LSU won the game by a score of 21–14, after Erik Ainge threw two interceptions in the 4th quarter.

References

External links

2007 SEC Championship Game at SECSports.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:2007 SEC Championship Game

SEC Championship The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. The championship game pits the SEC East Division regular season champion against the West Division regula ...

SEC Championship Game LSU Tigers football games Tennessee Volunteers football games December 2007 sports events in the United States 2007 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state) 2007 in Atlanta