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Steve Spurrier Shares His Gut Feeling On The SEC Championship Game

Originally posted on The Spun | By Matt Hladik | Last updated Dec 3, 2024 4:15 PM ET

The legendary Steve Spurrier has extensive experience coaching in SEC Championship games.

During his tenure at Florida, Spurrier led the Gators to seven conference title game appearances, winning five. He later took South Carolina to the SEC Championship in 2010, where the Gamecocks fell to eventual national champion Auburn.

When it comes to this year's SEC title matchup between Georgia and Texas, Spurrier shared his thoughts on Monday's edition of the "Another Dooley Noted" podcast.

“Since it’s in Atlanta, I would sort of think that Georgia would get really up for it,” Spurrier said, via On3. “But then I heard Coach Sark say, ‘Hey, if we can win the SEC in our first year ever in the conference, … that’d be something special.’ So, he’s smart enough to say, if we can win the SEC, it’s right there under the national championship. And that’s how I always looked at it.

“Those coaches that said we may not want to play in the conference championship game because someone might get hurt, nah, he didn’t say that. He wasn’t one of those guys.”

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Spurrier didn't pick an outright winner, but since old rivalries never die, he couldn't resist poking fun at Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, who is just 2-4 in his career in SEC Championship matchups.

"Kirby will say the same thing, Kirby will say, ‘We want to win the conference championship,’” Spurrier said. “You know he’s only got two of them in his eight years (at Georgia), and he said it’s just as hard to win the SEC as the national (championship) for him, because he’s 2 and 2."

Smart does have Spurrier beat 2-1 in national titles, but he needs three more wins to catch him for SEC conference crowns.

He'll look to get one of them Saturday afternoon when the No. 7 Bulldogs take on No. 3 Texas in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET on ABC.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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