Outcome of SEC Championship won’t impact LSU’s BCS opportunities
Welcome to championship week. Raise your hand if you expected Georgia to be in this position back on Sept. 11th. That was the day after the supposedly devastating 45-42 loss to South Carolina. To his credit, Bulldogs’ coach Mark Richt did, as his comments after that game indicate.
Since then the Bulldogs won 10 straight, culminating with Saturday’s 31-17 win over Georgia Tech to conclude the regular season. Now it gets real interesting!
Georgia’s season began with a rather lackluster loss to No. 5 Boise State in the Georgia Dome. Now the Bulldogs head back and will face an even bigger challenge in No. 1-ranked LSU in the SEC Championship Game. No one’s giving them a chance to win. The early lines I’ve seen have the Tigers favored by 11.5 to 13 points. So Las Vegas is expecting a rout.
What I think is most interesting about Saturday’s game is the apparent lack of bearing it will have on LSU’s BCS national championship hopes. Virtually every prediction out there has the Tigers still playing in the title game even if they lost to Georgia and even if that loss was a blowout.
There is even some speculation that LSU could clinch a share of the national title with a win over Georgia on Saturday via The AP vote.
That has brought forth some previously unfathomable reasoning. LSU coach Les Miles was asked this past weekend if he had considered resting some of his players and kind of taking it easy for the SEC championship game. Miles’ response was predictable.
“Just so you know, there is no way this football team goes to Atlanta and doesn’t play its best,” he said.
The truth is, the bigger the stage, the better LSU has played this season. The Tigers’ season began with a game against a top 5 Oregon team in the “Jerry Dome” in Dallas and they’ve had “monumental” contests all year, with trips to West Virginia, Alabama and Arkansas. They seem to do their best where the lights are brightest.
“We’re used to being on the big stage,” Miles said Sunday. “I think our guys translate the glare of the lights to making plays in the game. I think they did that against Oregon in Dalaas and they’ve really done it right on through Alabama at Alabama. So we’re kind of comfortable in domes and we’ll look forward to seeing if we can the exact same thing.”
Expect the Bulldogs to get LSU’s best shot.
So does anybody here have a problem with the SEC championship game being rendered moot with regard to the BCS title? And does anybody believe Georgia has a chance in this game?
Meanwhile, we here at the AJC are treating it as a meaningful game. We have a lot of great coverage plans so be sure to check back regularly for updates as we’ll post everything online as quickly as we have it. And feel free to offer suggestions for stories or particular subjects you’d like to see covered.
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573 comments Add your comment
Tyler Durden
November 28th, 2011
4:23 pm
I’m still mad at UGA for giving the idiotic Boise State fans something to squawk about…way to go dawgs….way. to. go.
bucket
November 28th, 2011
4:26 pm
Trust me, Tyler, we’re still mad about that one, too!
Barry Switzer
November 28th, 2011
4:26 pm
Tyler durden
I taught your momma how to read last night, and a few other things.
Is she from Arkansas because she squeals like a pig????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bulldog steve
November 28th, 2011
4:26 pm
How come nobody is bashing the Mad Hatter because he signed a quarterback from UGA that was dismissed for the team for molesting a female? If UGA signed somebody like that, everybody would be all over them. He will be LSU’s starter next season and I bet will be worshiped.
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
4:27 pm
DawgFood
November 28th, 2011
4:16 pm
If Lsu’s plane crashes Friday, do we get the victory????? LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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How you ended that classless piece of crap post with “LMAO” is beyond me .. grow up moron.
Tyler Durden
November 28th, 2011
4:27 pm
ok – I don’t really have any hate for the bulldogs…just trying not to work. I actually bet the game will be close in the first half…and then LSU will actually decide to stop resting the starters and we will win by 3 touchdowns.
randyman
November 28th, 2011
4:28 pm
If and IF UGA beats LSU lets say by 10 or more. Noone else in the nation has been able to do that. So atleast we would have the pride in knowing we beat the national champs and everyone else in the nation will be wondering if LSU really was the best team in the nation at the end of the season. If LSU kills us then i would say they are the best team. But they havent done that yet!!!
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
4:29 pm
Tech Guy
November 28th, 2011
4:22 pm
If the dawgs beat LSU, flying pigs will take them to their bowl game.
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So what’s going to take GT to the “I can’t figure out the forward pass” Bowl?
Tyler Durden
November 28th, 2011
4:30 pm
Metenberger didn’t actually ‘molest’ anone (not in the sandusky way) he grabbed a girl while he was drunk in a bar…true, it was low class and stupid…but it wasn’t something to crucify the kid for. His problem was he did it around the same time Big ben from the Steelers got in his mess so they kicked him off the team
bgdawg
November 28th, 2011
4:30 pm
just think if we beat LSU our opponent in the sugar bowl would be none other than…Houston!!!
hahahahah how crazy would that be?
Tyler Durden
November 28th, 2011
4:31 pm
he will be an awesome QB though….damn our team is deep…you guys should just sit it out for the next 3 years.
DawginLex
November 28th, 2011
4:32 pm
Tyler
Tell that to the dad of the girl he groped.
Revisionist thinking always makes it less than it actually was.
DawginLex
November 28th, 2011
4:34 pm
Our team won’t be slouches next year either. 17 starters returning
SEC East will be better than the west next year overall
Joey
November 28th, 2011
4:34 pm
The real question today:
If we UGA fans just say, “WE HAVE NO CHANCE SATURDAY!”, what will the techie idiots do the rest of the week?
Get Real
November 28th, 2011
4:34 pm
Guess it’s pretty hard to recover from having your hooter touched.
bgdawg
November 28th, 2011
4:36 pm
UGA has some great young talent i think in murray’s senior year we win the BCS. all those WR will be Jr’s Crowell a junior Gurley and Marshall both sophmores, Jones a Sr. Olgetree a SR. Geathers a SR. we would be naaasssty
Tyler Durden
November 28th, 2011
4:36 pm
DawginLex….I’m not saying he shouldn’t have his teeth knocked down his throat…I’m just saing he isn’t hitler and maybe he learned his lesson….
Joey- my guess is the Tech fans will have to go back to work supervising the UGA fans.
bgdawg
November 28th, 2011
4:37 pm
Houston = Hawaii if they played an SEC team Keenum would be injured at the half with like 2 int’s.
Dang Good Dawg
November 28th, 2011
4:39 pm
@Tyler
Speaking of work.. Please get that order at the drive-thru now..
Norm Chow
November 28th, 2011
4:40 pm
UGA has some great young talent i think in murray’s senior year we win the BCS
————-
Gotta love UGA fans. LOL. You guys will never learn…always next year, or the year after that, or the year after that.
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
4:41 pm
Amen Lex .. tack these charges on to it ..
The dismissal apparently is related to Mettenberger’s March 7 arrest outside a bar in Remerton, which is near Valdosta. Mettenberger, 18, was charged with underage possession/consumption of alcohol, disorderly conduct, obstruction and two counts of having false identification .
from AJC
DawginLex
November 28th, 2011
4:41 pm
funny thing in 30 + years in the workforce, I have never had a boss who went to Tech…………..
And no i don’t work in fast food
DawginLex
November 28th, 2011
4:42 pm
norm chow
You are one of the same losers who predicted we would never sniff ATL again
Say Whut
November 28th, 2011
4:45 pm
Depends on the score. LSU should win easily. But, say they stink it up and Georgia wins in style. Why shouldn’t the team that slayed the big dragon play Alabama for all the marbles?
Just saying. LSU ought to win by three TD’s.
Norm Chow
November 28th, 2011
4:47 pm
DawginLex , I have no idea what you are taking about. I didn’t predict anything. I’m a UGA fan but I’m realistic about this football program. I’d love to see UGA win it all. BUT…it’s not going to happen while Richt is the HC. Call me names and think what you want. The only thing UGA proved this year was that they are better than a bunch of bad teams.
Vance
November 28th, 2011
4:48 pm
Of course it’s a meaningful game…the winner is the SEC champion. If LSU lost that game, then went to the BCS title game and lost, they have no championship at all. At least a victory over our Dawgs would give them the SEC title. In college football anything can happen during any game, so our Dawgs do have a chance. I’m calling for a major upset with a Dawg victory; however, if we are not on our A+ game, we will not prevail. Even if we lose this game, our season has been a triumph of accomplishments. Go Dawgs!
Dang Good Dawg
November 28th, 2011
4:48 pm
Win or lose, I’m in the GA Dome this sat!!!!!! Thats why they play the game!!!
I bet Steve Spurrier, Will Muschamp, or Derek Dooley would love to be able to say that this coming weekend.
Bank on IT
November 28th, 2011
4:49 pm
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
4:13 pm
Bank on IT
November 28th, 2011
4:04 pm
If OKSU loses, VT loses who would you put in the title game?
———————
Perish the thought. The Houston faithful would come out in droves. I guess we are assuming that we are not talking about Bama so I guess you have to look at either BSU or Stanford. As I said first, perish the thought.
Stanford is not in their conference championship game. An according to many Bulldawg logic that rules Stanford out. Houston has zero wins against a top 30 team.
Clemson is due for a bounce back game. Oklahom’s season is riding on this game. Those two games will be close even in Sillwater.
bgdawg
November 28th, 2011
4:49 pm
@ Norm Chow- you got some info that would prove otherwise? we are young, our starting qb is a sophmore and he leads the SEC in pass efficiency. Crowell is 5th in rushing he’s a freshman. jarvis jones is 1st in sacks he is a sophmore. Olgetree has 3 FF he played like 5 games! Rambo will be back, Williams will be back. Commings will be back and we will have a “dream teamer starting corner next year. what here doen’t make uga seem like a favorite?
jason
November 28th, 2011
4:50 pm
My brother-in-law is a UGA grad, and a huge dawg fan, but not delusional like a lot of you folks are. He said it best this weekend while we were watching the UGA-Tech game, UGA won the games they were supposed to win, and lost the games they were supposed to lose. They are a decent team, their ranking is just about right, but no way do they DESERVE to play for a NC. DESERVE is the key word here. He supports and defends the dawgs, but he is also logical.
Bank on IT
November 28th, 2011
4:52 pm
Tampa Dawg
Real question here. How many OL starters does UGA lose next year?
Say Whut
November 28th, 2011
4:53 pm
Gotta admire “Silly thinking,” and his/her ilk. Gets the crap kicked out of ‘em every year by Georiga, then has the nads to diss the Dawgs on this site. Must be, P____Envy!
Dang Good Dawg
November 28th, 2011
4:54 pm
@ Jason
If you told me 10-2 at beginning of yr. with a shot at SEC champ. game, I would have taken it. Very hard to have everything fall in place for a NC.
jason
November 28th, 2011
4:54 pm
@ bgdawg – “we are young, our starting qb is a sophmore and he leads the SEC in pass efficiency. Crowell is 5th in rushing he’s a freshman. jarvis jones is 1st in sacks he is a sophmore. Olgetree has 3 FF he played like 5 games! Rambo will be back, Williams will be back. Commings will be back and we will have a “dream teamer starting corner next year. what here doen’t make uga seem like a favorite?”
Well for starters, how about history. How many top recruiting classes have you had in the Richt era? How many NC’s do you have? Case closed.
bgdawg
November 28th, 2011
4:55 pm
who cares about logic? we are fans! we’re supposed to make wild and crazy statements about what our team is gonna do. what’s the fun in thinking you are gonna lose to every team? i think we’ll beat LSU. our O is better than bama’s and our D is better than ARK we are gonna be more balanced than those two.*
* if our RB’s are 100%
Baddabing
November 28th, 2011
4:56 pm
Gary Danielson CBS CF analyst said it best. GA lost to the two best teams they played this year. They did what they had to do to be in a position to play for the Conference Championship and have improved. Now let’s see how they do against the big boys. I agree. Even if GA loses, if they keep it within 10pts or so, I’ll give them the credit some think they already deserve. As far as BAMA is concerned, nobody played LSU tougher than they did. If they make just one of the three missed field goals, we are not having this conversation. BAMA is the concensus number two team in the land by 57 of the 60 voting coaches who know a little more about football than most. I want to see the two best teams play in the Championship game.
llf
November 28th, 2011
4:57 pm
Thanks logic man. We all needed that dose of reality. Do you have any logical thoughts of your own?
Also, has GT, or its center, apologized for the dirty, blind side cut block the GT center through on D. Tyson? He targeted the guy’s knee. Do any of those people have the character to apologize?
jason
November 28th, 2011
4:58 pm
@ Dang Good Dawg – All the experts were saying after the 0-2 start that the schedule works out in UGA’s favor for the remainder of the season. The only obstacle was Florida and Auburn. I don’t think it is a big shock that they won the rest of their games, the shock is that SC lost Lattimore and Garcia, and that helped UGA win the East.
bgdawg
November 28th, 2011
5:00 pm
do you know how much luck you need to win a NC? you have to have everything fall into place. in 02(or 01) and 07 we had had chances to win NC but luck didn’t fall our way, we probably shoulda won in 07 but the espn ppl kept us out.
bgdawg
November 28th, 2011
5:02 pm
Lattimore inj hurt them for sure, but garcia? naww he isn’t good enough to win them any more than shaw would.
JB
November 28th, 2011
5:05 pm
This is why no love…and I love my Dawgs, but there is a NATIONAL PERCEPTION that the Dawgs won 10 in a row over cupcakes. Most were, some weren’t…But you can argue that all day. The talking heads “think” we cruised through that schedule. We get a chance to see how far we’ve come………….or not come Saturday….Go Dawgs
jason
November 28th, 2011
5:06 pm
Sure do IIF. UGA doesn’t beat LSU on Saturday. Logic tells me that if you struggle to beat Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky, then what chance do you have against an LSU team that has beaten Oregon (easily), Arkansas (easily), and Alabama (OT win in Tuscaloosa). Logic also tells me that LSU and Alabama are the 2 best teams in the country and should play for the NC. UGA has improved every week this season, but they are not on the same level as those 2 teams are.
JB
November 28th, 2011
5:09 pm
jason, your logic is correct…………I’m concerned we couldn’t run on a inferior, smaller Tech defensive front. Bobo better have a short passing game in the works, because we will meet a stone wall into their line. Saying this with my eyes, not my heart.
CHDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:09 pm
Jason, sorry to disagree with the BIL, but UGA really should be undefeated right now. They lost to Boise because they were out coached and they weren’t ready, and they lost to SC because of turnovers and special teams. I consider both upsets, and I give kudos to Boise’s coaches and players especially for pulling it off. Saturday is the first game where I would have picked the opponent and 10-15 points looks about right. LSU has blown everybody out except Alabama, whom they just whipped, and they will win the NC unless they lose. UGA certainly doesn’t have an argument, unless they beat the top team in the country, a feat no other team could accomplish this year. On the ranking, UGA is tough because they have won ten in a row. They have improved a lot. I certainly would not pick them to do it, but if they win 11 in a row and whip the clear number one team in the nation, then they have a claim that they should be in the BCS imo. I doubt that is in the cards, but if UGA beats LSU then they could beat any other team at this point. That is how good LSU is this year.
bgdawg
November 28th, 2011
5:10 pm
Tennesee was a struggle? we beat them with bray. we inured bray. we broke bray. we stopped one of the best WR in the SEC.
Integrity
November 28th, 2011
5:12 pm
Should Georgia win this game and not go into the national championship game as SEC Champs, I think the time has come to eliminate all future SEC championship games. A national champion should be all about which ranked team has proven on the field that it is best at the end of the season. If LSU were to lose to Georgia, would there then be a rematch for the SEC crown? I think not! Unfortunately college football is losing much of its integrity as “dream matches” are being created by the media by biasing pollsters, thus manipulating BCS positioning. This in turn creates opportunity for huge pay offs back to television media.
BO JACK
November 28th, 2011
5:14 pm
Bama is a corrupt bunch of tree killing cheaters, Nick Saban is a bigger liar then Urban, The most overrated team ever in the history of college football. There is no way Alabama is #2 with the weak schedule they played. Why does anyone want to see the most over hyped game which turned out to be a hugh dud again.TOTAL CORRUPTION IN THE SYSTEM AND BCS COMPUTER IS RIGGED.
jason
November 28th, 2011
5:15 pm
@ JB – To me, UGA has to have Crowell play the entire game. Without a strong running game, LSU’s front line will just pin their ears back and go after Murray. And I don’t think anyone doubts that the LSU secondary is pretty good. That honey badger dude is a freak!
JB
November 28th, 2011
5:15 pm
A LSU -Bama rematch will create a lot of Doubt on any fairness of the BCS .A one loss LSU -Bama rematch will create a Congressional investigation, like that body of men is honest…LOL
Mobile Dawg
November 28th, 2011
5:18 pm
I go one step further than JB, respect is earned. Those of you out there whining about UGA getting no respect take a look in the mirror. You earned your respect back in 2007, started the season ranked #1 in 2008. What did we do with that respect? So stop whining. When Georgia demonstrates they can “consistently” play with the big boys once again we may start earning some respect back. The only two games we had a true opportunity to “earn” some respect this year what happened? I don’t even want to go down the Mark Richt road again, I’m still irritated as to how he got away with the ineptitude he displayed as a Head Coach for 5 years. Now most of you are annointing him once again for finally doing his job.