2006 SEC Championship Game

NCAAFootballSingleGameHeader
Name=2006 SEC Championship Game
Year=2006
Type=ccg


Date=December 2, 2006
Stadium=Georgia Dome
City=Atlanta, GA
Visitor Name Short=Arkansas
Visitor Nickname=Razorbacks
Home Name Short=Florida
Home Nickname=Gators
Visitor Record=10-2
Home Record=11-1
Visitor Coach=Houston Nutt
Home Coach=Urban Meyer
Visitor1=0
Visitor2=7
Visitor3=14
Visitor4=7
Home1=3
Home2=14
Home3=7
Home4=14
Visitor

Visitor Coaches=8
Visitor BCS=
Home

Home Coaches=4
Home BCS=
MVP=QB Percy Harvin, Florida
Odds=Florida -3
Anthem=
Referee=
Halftime=
Attendance=73,374
US Network=CBS
US Announcers=Verne Lundquist & Gary Danielson
Ratings=
Intl Network=
Intl Announcers=

The 2006 SEC Championship Game was played on December 1st, 2006, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The game matched SEC Western Division champion Arkansas against SEC Eastern Division champion Florida. The second meeting between the two schools in the championship game, it led to a 38-28 victory for Florida. The two teams had previously met in the championship game in 1995, with the #2 Gators winning 34-3 against Arkansas.

election Process

College football rules dictate that if a conference has twelve or more teams, an extra 9th conference game may be played as a championship game to determine the conference champion. The SEC Championship Game matches up the winner of the Eastern and Western divisions of the Southeastern Conference. The game was first played in 1992, when the conference expanded from 10 to 12 teams with the addition of Arkansas and South Carolina. The SEC was the first conference in college football to have a conference championship game. Four other conferences currently have conference championship games (Big 12, ACC, CUSA & MAC).

Regular Season

Entering the championship game, both Arkansas and Florida were the subject of mass hype. Ranked #8 and #4 respectively, Arkansas was led by the dynamic running back tandem of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, while Florida was led by star duo quarterback Chris Leak and wide receiver Dallas Baker.

Arkansas

The preseason for Arkansas began as a disaster, with star running back Darren McFadden dislocating his toe, leaving Arkansas without its best weapon for the first game of the season. The regular season began just as disastrous, with a humiliating 50-14 loss against the USC Trojans. Coach Houston Nutt replaced starting quarterback Robert Johnson with star freshman Mitch Mustain after the former's poor play in the loss, and the latter's stellar performance. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2572221 Mustain to start at QB for Hogs; Johnson moves to WR] ESPN, accessed January 14, 2008] The change was instantly apparent for Arkansas, as Mustain helped to lead Arkansas to eight straight victories, including an overtime victory against the then #22 Alabama Crimson Tide [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=262660008&confId=80 OT kicking woes doom Alabama in loss to Arkansas] ESPN, accessed January 14, 2008] , and a startling 27-10 victory at the then #2 Auburn Tigers [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=262800002 No. 2 no more: Auburn stunned at home by Arkansas] ESPN, accessed January 14, 2008] . Relying on a powerful running game and a limited but efficient passing game, Arkansas handily won the games on the middle of its conference slate. Midway through the South Carolina game, Mustain was benched [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15566129/wid/7279844 Hogs earn spot in SEC title game with wins in two of last three games] MSNBC, accessed January 14, 2008] , and replaced with Casey Dick in a controversial move. Although Dick led the Razorbacks to 2 more victories against Tennessee and Mississippi State with the latter clenching the Western Division for the Hogs, a poor performance contributed heavily in a loss to the LSU Tigers. Arkansas finished its regular season at 10-2, with a 7-1 mark in conference play.

Florida

Florida entered the 2006 season in the top 10 of many preseason lists. [cite web | url=http://www.collegefootballnews.com/2006/Rankings/PrePreSeason_NationalTitleContenders.htm | title=2006 Pre-preseason Rankings | publisher=CollegeFootballNews.com | language=English | format=HTML | accessdate=2008-01-15 | date=2006-01-25 ] The Gators followed these high expectations by winning six straight games, including a 21-20 victory at #13 Tennessee [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=262592633 Gators stage second-half rally, knock off Vols at Rocky Top] ESPN, accessed January 15, 2008] and a 23-10 victory against #10 LSU. [ [http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=639073 Turnovers Costly in Football Loss at No. 5 Florida, 23-10] Louisiana State University Athletics, accessed January 15, 2008] But on October 14th, 2006, the Gators were defeated by #10 Auburn 27-17. [ [http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Oct14/0,4670,FBCT25FloridaAuburn,00.html No. 11 Auburn Ousts No. 2 Florida 27-17] Associated Press, accessed January 15, 2008] But the Gators rebounded, and won the last 5 games of the regular season, winning the SEC Eastern Division title. Florida finished its regular season at 11-1, with a 7-1 record in conference play. Using a two quarterback system, Coach Urban Meyer would employ Leak and freshman Tim Tebow, with the latter using his running ability to catch defenses out of position.

Matchups

The game presented a wide variety of offensive and defensive matchups, with each team possessing advantages in various areas.

Offensive Matchups

Defensive Matchups

References