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
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:18 pm
Bank on IT
November 28th, 2011
4:52 pm
Tampa Dawg
Real question here. How many OL starters does UGA lose next year?
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3, Glenn, Jones and Anderson
JB
November 28th, 2011
5:20 pm
I really hate hate hate hate to say this, but Crowell won’t finish the first half. Chavous knows Crowell can’t take SEC hits, so he will have it’s guys lay wood the first few times. That bad ankle of Crowell’s will “suddenly flare up” and he will watch the second half. That, I would place a bet on. He’ll have 7-10 carriers for 20 yards total. Yes, I hated to type that.
jason
November 28th, 2011
5:22 pm
@ CHDawg – There are a whole lot of teams that ’should’ be undefeated right now. If Alabama had a kicker, or if the receiver would have held that ball at the 1 yard line, what would the rankings look like? Look at Oklahoma State, Stanford, even Boise State. There are a whole bunch of ‘what ifs’ this season in the NCAA. Unfortunately, we use a silicon chip to decide who gets the right to play for the NC. And as of right now, I would have to agree with that chip.
JB
November 28th, 2011
5:23 pm
My biggest fear Saturday is having a little early bad luck and “cowering”
jason
November 28th, 2011
5:25 pm
Mobile Dawg nailed it on the head. Respect is something earned, not given.
JB
November 28th, 2011
5:26 pm
I can live with a hard fought 24-17 loss Saturday. What will set us back 5 years is a 45-3 loss.
CHDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:27 pm
BG, Shaw has improved a whole lot, and Spurrier is learning how to use his talents. IMO, SC was very strong at the start of the year with Garcia and Lattimore, then after losing both they weakened substantially, one loss at a time. However, I think they have gradually adjusted to not having them on board and they are almost as good as they were with Garcia and Lattimore. If they still had Lattimore, and they had developed Shaw, then I think they would be better than the start of the year. I think that is a real credit to their coaches. They have done a great job dealing with the adversity. I enjoyed watching them beat Clemson. UGA has improved a lot, too, and that is a credit to CMR and Co.
Mobile Dawg
November 28th, 2011
5:28 pm
Once again I agree with JB, did any of you see the AU/LSU game. Auburn took a physical beating that wasn’t pretty to watch. Crowell is soft, difference is I really didn’t hate to say it. Hope we get a solid back, or two in the recruiting process this year. I’m betting that Mark Richt might have finally figured out that finesse won’t win in the SEC, it takes a physical presence, and a solid running game. Not betting a lot though. I thought he had turned the corner a few years back.
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:28 pm
So which 5 years are we talking about Mobile Dawg?
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:29 pm
Was it 2009 when he went 8-5 after losing a QB and RB early to the NFL draft and a really good senior WR that graduated? 2010 when he started a RS freshman at QB? These types of seasons happen in college football. Meyer went through the same thing at UF his last season after losing Tebow and look at UF again this year. I think 2008 was CMR’s worst season considering the combination of talent and experience on the team. Otherwise, which 5 years are you referring to?
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:31 pm
CHDawg, I don’t think if SC had finished the season with Garcia and Lattimore the outcome would have been any different. Now, with Shaw and Lattimore, different story. I think Garcia was a disaster game waiting to happen at any moment.
Mobile Dawg
November 28th, 2011
5:31 pm
Hard to imagine this defense giving up 45, it would take a lot of bad luck throughout the game. I think the only chance we have is the lower scoring version. Maybe LSU has a little bad luck and our D scores a couple of TD’s, or sets up the O with great field position. I don’t think our offense will score more than 10.
CHDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:33 pm
Jason, it is easy to say what if with any team. The question is which has more talent. I would have picked UGA ahead of Boise and SC, and I still would, although both are close and SC is very close. I would have called Bama and LSU a tossup, which is very accurate. And again on the chip, you have to speculate on where UGA sits after an unlikely win. That is where the problems come up. It probably isn’t an issue, but you never know.
Ray
November 28th, 2011
5:33 pm
No matter what this has to be considered one of the more interesting seasons in CFB long storied history I think everyone can at least agree to that.
JB
November 28th, 2011
5:33 pm
Coach T told a friend of mine at the Auburn game at the recruiting BBQ lunch that Crowell never got hit in high school and never really worked at being a well toned conditioned back. coach T told him We’ll see how he responds to me in the off season. That will either make him or break him. Coach T told him he is going to put 10-12 pounds of rock on him and have 0% body fat and work on his Burst with his speed. Coach T said he may be here and he may not in 2012. It’s up to him
Mobile Dawg
November 28th, 2011
5:34 pm
Tampa, the bottom didn’t just fall out in one year. This demise started in 06, check the losses then, remember the lack of discipline in those early years, the penalties. The foundation was breaking up then, the total collapse came in 2010. Check the losses, stats, arrests, etc starting in 2006.
jason
November 28th, 2011
5:35 pm
I am a certified ‘dawg hater’, but I do give kudos where they are deserved. They have come back from the dead after starting off 0-2. My hat goes off to Mark Richt for keeping the ship afloat. They could have just as easily thrown in the towel and prepared for the 2012 season. Although Vandy has long been the doormat of the SEC, I think that game is where UGA turned it around. Vandy will not be a doormat as long as their coach sticks around. I realistically do not see the UGA beating LSU, but this COULD be the game where UGA starts to earn the respect of the ‘talking heads’. If they can somehow keep it close, and win their bowl game, maybe next season they start in the top 10 and move on from there.
CHDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:40 pm
Tampa, Garcia could be pretty good, but he was inconsistent. You have a point there. And, it is hard to imagine how SC lost to Auburn with Lattimore and Garcia healthy. They looked good Saturday, though.
JB
November 28th, 2011
5:40 pm
Jason, you can count on the Dawgs being pre season top 10 next year. They have 15-16 starters coming back and 7 or 8 back ups who could start and will have Murray starting year three, who along with Bray at Tennessee will be the best QB in the SEC. If Crowell pays the price this off season and the we land the Marshall kid out of N. Carolina, this Dawg team will be load. I see us at 11-1 next year and back in the dome….and ranked higher than this 14th BS.
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:43 pm
Mobile, 2006 wasn’t a good year at all. But again, Stafford was a freshman replacing who? Joe Tereshinski .. transition years are tough but they happen. Again, I will give you 2008, but when people mention years like 2006, 2009 and 2010, it’s like looking strictly at the records and not the circumstances surround the records. Arrests? yep and it sucked when they happened. But I believe they have turned the corner in that regard as well.
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:45 pm
CHDawg, Auburn keyed on Lattimore and forced Garcia to do something he couldn’t do. Win the game himself. That’s why Lattimore had crap for stats.
Jason, thanks for that previous post. Added some real mojo to the football conversation.
Bad Bad Dawg
November 28th, 2011
5:46 pm
Just win the friggin game Dawgs! Spoiling LSU’s perfect season would be awesome.
Mobile Dawg
November 28th, 2011
5:49 pm
Tampa, I’m just saying our slide through 2010 was a slow erosion with a lot of things figuring into the equation. I’m not sold on CMR at this point but I am willing to consider buying some of his stock. Let’s see how he handles Crowell, and the rebuilding of the Oline. Does he stand pat with his staff, does Grantham get an extension? Next year “could” be special.
Ray
November 28th, 2011
5:50 pm
Reason why Dogs ranked 14th look at Michigan St. and who they played vs. Who we played
They beat two teams still ranked in Top 25 right now if I believe so that’s why we dropped we might have the same record, but it’s the body of work.
Plus I want most of my dawg fans to be honest with yourself do we really deserved to be ranked higher than say #20 or #18 at best?
hiramtiger
November 28th, 2011
5:51 pm
with the quality of ga.’s wins this year , the only thing they rate playing for is the highschool state championship
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:53 pm
@Mobile Dawg, that’s the truth. I think bringing CTG back at all costs is critical and I bet CMR knows it. Based on that, another year of solid recruiting (Marshall and Gurly would be nice adds) and more experience for Murray, we could see a team next year like none before them.
Red & Black
November 28th, 2011
5:53 pm
@ mobile dawg
I’m sure CMR is holding his breath about you buying his stock.
CHDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:54 pm
I think the elephant in the room on this game is how good Murray and the receivers have become. Murray is deadly accurate much of the time, except when he has an overthrowing jag. The only way to beat UGA, imo, is to pressure Murray, and that doesn’t always work. Most teams have pressured him, with many doing so intensely. LSU is likely the best team we have seen in this respect, so it could be a long day, with Murray running for his life. If we can protect Murray, he can pick any D in the country to pieces. A good running game makes pressuring him a lot harder. I fear for Murray’s health with LSU; I am afraid he is their number one target for winning the game. Mason better be ready.
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:55 pm
Ray
November 28th, 2011
5:50 pm
Reason why Dogs ranked 14th look at Michigan St. and who they played vs. Who we played
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I hear ya, and the numbers next to the Mich State opponents names looks impressive, but we are still talking about the oft exposed Big 10.
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:57 pm
hiramtiger
November 28th, 2011
5:51 pm
with the quality of ga.’s wins this year , the only thing they rate playing for is the highschool state championship
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Ok dude, go back to playing with your blocks.
dawgforlife
November 28th, 2011
5:58 pm
with all due respect to the team I believe is the best in the nation this year, ALabama should not be allowed to play for the mythical national championship. THey did lose to LSU in their own backyard. They out played LSU but still lost. As for the 2007 bulldogs, they were the best team in the country as well. But, this is not apples to apples UGA (as big a fan as I am) was a 2-loss team that year as well. At the end, we were best in the nation; but, we didn’t take care of business on the field and did not get to play for the title. ALabama should have won at home if they wanted to play for that mythical national championship.
BIGDAWG1980
November 28th, 2011
5:59 pm
I totally disagree with Bama or LSU being in the NCS if they do not win the SEC…I can remember in 2007 that Georgia got denied a shot at the NCS because they did not win the SEC that year. Instead on the last week they moved LSU ahead of Georgia because Georgia did not win the SEC. Georgia was the better team that year and everyone know that. Someone care to explain that??
highcountry dawg
November 28th, 2011
6:01 pm
If the Dawgs beat LSU, LSU then plays Bama like the media wants for the NC and wins a 2nd time against the Tide, and the dawgs go on to win the Sugar Bowl (3 BIG “if’s”), then the dawgs could share the NC title – the BCS and all the pagentry surrounding it would “say” LSU is the best team, but UGA would be the only team to actually be better than LSU at their “best game” on the field. I’m looking for the Dawgs to create some chaos on Saturday!!! Hunker Down You Guys!
Mobile Dawg
November 28th, 2011
6:02 pm
Tampa, as far as CTG goes, I hope if he wants to stay McGarity gets it done quickly. We don’t need any distractions.
CHDawg
November 28th, 2011
6:03 pm
BigDawg, it does beg the question: why is there a playoff if it doesn’t count? Can you imagine taking a wild card team in the Majors, and after defeating an opponent in the playoffs, telling them, sorry, you lose anyway because they won more games in the spring? It is a silly proposition. I suspect LSU will take care of business, but it does make for interesting fan talk.
Mobile Dawg
November 28th, 2011
6:06 pm
Thanks for the input Red & Black. It added a lot to the discussion.
munsondawg
November 28th, 2011
6:15 pm
I remember sitting in “tiger stadium on a Saturday afternoon” just a few years ago when GA trounced them on their home turf. We were not given a chance then either. In fact, most of them left late in the 3rd quarter. Strange things happen when you tee it up boys!!!!!!!!!! Go Dawgs!!!!!
Red & Black
November 28th, 2011
6:18 pm
You are quite welcome.
Dwayne
November 28th, 2011
6:27 pm
i dont like bama at all, but don’t blame them because all the one loss teams got beat by pansies, geez, bama lost to lsu, who beat oregon, arky and everyone else they played, i could care less what saban said, all coaches would have said that to improve their teams chances of a better bowl or a shot at the MNC. go uga…mess the bcs up by upsetting lsu…even if their is a rematch between the sec, sec wins another MNC. eat that blurbstreet, leesa corsit, and marky gay may….
Dawg48
November 28th, 2011
6:27 pm
How do we know that bama is better than okie st?
jason
November 28th, 2011
6:33 pm
OK, so I asked my die hard dawg brother-in-law this question over the weekend. The dynamic between Richt and Grantham is a strange one. Richt is more the low key, ice in the veins kind of coach, where Grantham is more of a fire in the pants type of coach. Do you dawg fans see a point where their coaching styles clash?
ARdawg
November 28th, 2011
6:36 pm
TampaDawg
I haven’t never understood the idea of finesse. Some teams demand a bruiser, in such instances pound one of those big @zz Fullbacksup the middle
ARdawg
November 28th, 2011
6:39 pm
Bama lost, at home, late in the season. It would only matter if LSU should lose. As it is, Bama’s had their shot and blew it. I think Bama is the #2 team in the nation but playing LSU again won’t make them #1. Just beaten twice by the number #1
Badland Dawg
November 28th, 2011
6:46 pm
This is gonna be real mean for GA we have NO Running Backs…we got people that take themself out of the game! LSU knows THIS our qb is going to be running for his life…..Ga is going to atlanta this is LSU home field……..LSU 42 GA 3
bgdawg
November 28th, 2011
6:46 pm
@ jason-who cares?!?
both are doing their jobs to the upmost of their ability. it’s bobo that still upsets me. we lost the boise game on bobo’s play calling
hiramtiger
November 28th, 2011
6:48 pm
i think uga should just be given the n.c. for the next ten ’cause all of you delusional puppy fans could argue as to how they are better than anyone….except boise and s. carolina
Dwayne
November 28th, 2011
6:49 pm
cmr=good cop…ctg=bad cop….it always works
hiramtiger
November 28th, 2011
6:49 pm
puppies score 10 in the 3rd qtr as lsu pulls it’s starters–final-lsu 62 puppies 10
bgdawg
November 28th, 2011
6:50 pm
umm badland dawg we get crowell back and samuel is supposed to be back too. malcome has gotten his carries and CT has been able to get some yards too. i think we’ll be healthy.
by the way, how can you give a score so lopsided? you are supposedly a UGA fan show some pride man! we’re facing the #1 team!!
BoykinWillShutHImDown
November 28th, 2011
6:50 pm
CHIP: Will you please post the halftime tribute to Larry Munson video or a link to it. Thanks in advance