With a shot at the SEC championship game on the line, the second-ranked Auburn Tigers delivered, defeating the Georgia Bulldogs 49-31 in a packed Jordan-Hare Stadium.
The Tigers, 11-0, will face South Carolina in the SEC championship game in Atlanta Dec. 4.
"We have goals at the beginning of the year, and this was the first one," said coach Gene Chizik.
Senior linebacker Josh Bynes said winning the SEC west is special for some of the veteran Tiger players.
"It's a great feeling," Bynes said, "especially for us guys that's been here four or five years that went through that 5-7 (2008) season."
Junior quarterback Cameron Newton started the game, despite speculation that he might be held out.
Newton accounted for 299 total yards and four touchdowns against the Bulldogs, passing for 148 yards and two touchdowns on 12 completions and running for 151 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries.
Newton's 18-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen, which tied the score at 21 with less than a minute to go until halftime, gave Newton more than 2,000 passing yards for the season, making him the first player in SEC history to have 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a season.
Lutzenkirchen caught two passes for 31 yards, both of which resulted in touchdowns. His 13-yard touchdown reception midway through the fourth quarter gave Auburn a two possession lead at 42-31.
Sophomore quarterback running back Onterio McCalebb had a big night, rushing for 71 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries.
True freshman running back Michael Dyer ran for 60 yards on 13 carries, giving him 850 yards on the season, which broke former Auburn running back Bo Jackson's Auburn freshman running record of 829 yards.
"What a great accomplishment. It's a great honor for him," Chizik said. "We're not trying to break individual goals here, but certainly, that's one that he's always going to be proud of until the next guy comes along and breaks his."
Jackson didn't seem to mind, as he found Dyer on the sideline and gave him a hug before raising Dyer's arm in a gesture of recognition.
"That's something else," said offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn when asked about Dyer's record. "Mike--he showed a lot of toughness, and (he's) got a great future. He's a big part of what we're doing. He does a lot of the dirty work when they know we're running."
The Tigers had 463 total yards on offense: 315 rushing and 148 passing.
Chizik praised the offensive line for their performance against the Georgia defense.
"At the end of the day," Chizik said, "that was a really good defense, so I was proud of our offensive line."
The Tigers' defense held Georgia to 354 total yards, 273 yards passing and only 81 yards rushing.
Georgia redshirt freshman Aaron Murray passed for 273 yards and three touchdowns on 15 completions, while junior wide receiver A.J. Green caught 9 passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns.
After their first week off since before fall practice began, the Tigers will travel to Tuscaloosa Nov. 26 to face the Alabama Crimson Tide. The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. and be televised by CBS.
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