Georgia received the ball at the beginning of the first half, but they were forced to punt after 5 plays.

Neither team would score for the remainder of the first half. After a potential touchdown pass was erased by a controversial 'pick play' call, Georgia settled for a 27-yard field goal to take their first lead of the game. Auburn was forced to go three-and-out afterwards, and Georgia responded with another scoring drive. Roquan Smith recovered the fumble, and Georgia subsequently scored their first touchdown of the game on a 7 play, 83-yard drive. Early into the second quarter, Auburn drove into the red zone before Jarrett Stidham fumbled the ball as he was sacked by Davin Bellamy. Both teams would go three-and-out on their next drives. The Auburn defense forced Georgia to punt on their first drive after 7 plays. Auburn scored an early touchdown on their first drive of the game, going 75 yards on 10 plays. Georgia and Auburn met in the SEC Championship Game, the first ever in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, for a rematch of the regular-season contest. The Bulldogs bounced back and defeated Kentucky and rival Georgia Tech to set up a rematch with Auburn. However, that week they were defeated handily by Auburn for their first loss of the year. After a win over South Carolina, the Bulldogs were ranked #1 in the CFP poll and #2 in the AP Poll. After victories over lesser conference foes, the Bulldogs had a chance to clinch the SEC East with a victory over Florida. Later in September, they defeated #17 ranked Mississippi State 31–3, solidifying themselves as title contenders. In the second game of the year, the Bulldogs defeated Notre Dame 20–19 on a late field goal. The Bulldogs had a great regular season, going 11–1. It was the earliest a spot in the SEC Championship Game had been clinched since 2009.

The Bulldogs clinched the SEC Eastern Division after beating rival South Carolina on November 4. It was the Tigers who prevailed 26–14, setting up a rematch against Georgia.

After a tune-up game against Louisiana–Monroe, the #6 Tigers faced #1 ranked Alabama, with the winner going to the SEC Championship. The Tigers dominated the Bulldogs 40–17, and moved up to #6 in the polls as a result. The Tigers then defeated conference foes Arkansas and Texas A&M in blowouts before facing AP ranked #2 Georgia on November 11, by which point the Tigers had climbed back up to #10 in the AP Poll. Auburn built a 20–0 lead in the first half, only to see it slip away in the second half as the Auburn Tigers fell to LSU 27–23. However, the Tigers rebounded by winning four straight games, all blowouts, and were ranked #10 going into a game at LSU, in which Auburn was heavily favored. The Tigers got off to a slow start, allowing 11 sacks in a 14–6 loss at ACC foe and #3 ranked Clemson. The Auburn Tigers clinched the SEC Western Division (co-champion) and a spot in the SEC championship game after defeating rival Alabama in the final game of the regular season. It was the last SEC title game to be held at the Georgia Dome, which was demolished shortly before the 2017 title game, following the opening of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In the 2016 SEC Championship Game, the western division champion Alabama defeated the eastern division champion Florida 54–16 in a rematch of the 2015 SEC Championship Game. The game was televised nationally by CBS. This was also the first SEC Championship Game with new SEC on CBS announcer Brad Nessler replacing Verne Lundquist, who retired in 2016. In this rematch, Georgia won the SEC Championship by beating Auburn 28–7. In the earlier game, Auburn beat Georgia by a score of 40–17. This championship game marked the first time Auburn and Georgia had rematched each other in the same year, with the previous iteration having been played on November 11, 2017.

The game featured the Eastern Division Champion, Georgia Bulldogs against the Western Division Co-Champion, the Auburn Tigers. This was the first SEC Conference football championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The 2017 SEC Championship Game was played on December 2, 2017, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, and determined the 2017 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

* Ole Miss ineligible for postseason due to NCAA sanctions.

^ – College Football Playoff participant.

Sec conference games 2016