It wasn’t sexy or convincing, but No. 13 Georgia will be heading back to Atlanta and the SEC title game for the first time since 2007.
After starting the season 0-2 with his butt fully warmed by the seat underneath him, coach Mark Richt will take the 19-10 win over Kentucky, a 30-point underdog heading into today’s game, every time. Now, all the Bulldogs have to do is sit back and wait to see who they’ll be playing in Hotlanta: LSU, Bama or Arkansas. Georgia hasn’t faced any of the three this season.
In fact, and by SEC standards, the Bulldogs had it pretty light this year. In addition to avoiding three of the top six teams in the BCS, Georgia cruised through a very down SEC East. UGA’s only division loss came early to a South Carolina team which eventually got snagged enough through injuries and offensive struggles to allow UGA to slip past.
No matter who Georgia faces, it’s going to be a challenge, and injuries at running back -- Isaiah Crowell left early with a left ankle injury and Richard Samuel is still questionable for the conference title game -- don’t do Richt’s team any favors.
There’s plenty of time to work around that, though; heck, Georgia’s been dealing with RB issues all season. Next week, UGA can play for pride and rivalry bragging rights against Georgia Tech knowing their conference fate is secure. That’s a good place to be.
So will Atlanta in a few weeks.