The 2013 SEC Championship Game was a college football game that was played on Saturday, December 7, 2013 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, with the kickoff at 4:12pm ET. The 22nd annual SEC Championship Game, determined the 2013 champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game was played between the Auburn Tigers, champions of the SEC's Western division, and the Missouri Tigers, champions of SEC's Eastern division. The winner of this game had the chance to play Florida State for the National Championship if Ohio State were to lose to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship (which they did). In the highest-scoring contest in the game's 21-year history, Auburn won 59–42. They narrowly lost the BCS National Championship to Florida State 34–31 and finished #2 in the nation with a 12–2 (7–1 SEC) record. Missouri won the Cotton Bowl Classic 41–31 over Oklahoma State and finished #5 in the nation with an identical 12–2 (7–1 SEC) record.
Auburn was the designated home team. The game was televised by CBS Sports for the 13th straight year.
Notes
The winner of this game the last seven seasons has gone on to play for the BCS National Championship posting a record of 6–1. In 2011, SEC Champion LSU played fellow conference and division team Alabama for the national championship, marking first time two teams from the same conference and division played for the title. Alabama won 21–0.
Neither 2013 division champion was bowl-eligible the previous year. In 2012 Missouri had a record of 5–7 (2–6 SEC), and Auburn was 3–9 (0–8 SEC).
Missouri and Auburn combined for a total of 101 points the most in the history of the SEC Championship Game.
After missing out on a bowl the previous season, the Tigers rebounded to win their first-ever SEC East title. They had won three division titles in the Big 12 in 2007, 2008, and 2010.
Only a year after their worst season in 60 years—including a winless SEC record—Auburn completed one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA history. An upset win over rival Alabama gave them the SEC West title and a chance at playing for the national championship.
Scoring summary
1st quarter scoring:
Mizzou – Andrew Baggett 42-yard field goal, Mizzou 3–0.Drive: 5 plays, 19 yards, 1:08.