Year Game Played: | 2002 |
Game Name: | SEC Championship Game |
Subheader: | Conference Championship |
Football Season: | 2002 |
Visitor Name Short: | Arkansas |
Visitor Nickname: | Razorbacks |
Visitor School: | University of Arkansas |
Home Name Short: | Georgia |
Home Nickname: | Bulldogs |
Home School: | University of Georgia |
Visitor Record: | 9 - 3 |
Home Record: | 11 - 1 |
Visitor Coach: | Houston Nutt |
Home Coach: | Mark Richt |
Visitor Rank Ap: | 22 |
Visitor Rank Coaches: | 22 |
Visitor Rank Bcs: | NR |
Home Rank Ap: | 4 |
Home Rank Coaches: | 4 |
Home Rank Bcs: | 3 |
Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
Visitor 3Q: | 3 |
Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
Home 1Q: | 17 |
Home 2Q: | 0 |
Home 3Q: | 6 |
Home 4Q: | 7 |
Date Game Played: | December 7 |
Stadium: | Georgia Dome |
City: | Atlanta, Georgia |
Mvp: | RB Musa Smith, Georgia |
Odds: | Georgia by 8[1] |
Referee: | Penn Wagers |
Attendance: | 74,913 |
Us Network: | CBS |
Us Announcers Link: | List of announcers of major college bowl games |
Us Announcers: | Verne Lundquist play-by-play Todd Blackledge color Jill Arrington sideline |
The 2002 SEC Championship Game was won by the Georgia Bulldogs 30–3 over the Arkansas Razorbacks. The game was played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on December 7, 2002 and was televised to a national audience on CBS.
The 2002 championship game was unusual in the fact that team in first place in the Western Division did not play in the game. The Alabama Crimson Tide finished with the best SEC record in the Western Division, but could not participate in the conference championship game due to an NCAA probation stipulation which banned the team from any post season play. Instead, the Arkansas Razorbacks who finished in a three way tie for second represented the Western Division after winning the tie breaker over Auburn and LSU. This was not the first time the SEC West leader was excluded from the game. Auburn also finished atop the West in 1993, but was banned from post season play as well by NCAA probation.