ATHENS, Ga. — While Georgia’s 2008 senior football players prepare to take the field at Sanford Stadium for the last time Saturday against Georgia Tech, the 2009 seniors are suddenly realizing they’re down to one final shot.

Whether next year’s senior Bulldogs signed in 2005 and redshirted or signed in 2006 and didn’t, they will enter next season never having played in the Southeastern Conference championship game. Georgia made it to the SEC title game three times from 2002 to ’05, winning championships in ’02 (30-3 over Arkansas) and ’05 (34-14 over LSU).

The ’02 title ended a record 20-year drought for the program.

“Naturally, I think you do start thinking about that,” said junior defensive end Roderick Battle, who redshirted in 2005. “We’ve been on the brink and have been so close these last couple of years, and it makes you want it more the longer you don’t have it. It was a huge goal this year to get back to that game.”

When the Bulldogs open next year at Oklahoma State, the only players who will have played in the SEC title game are linebacker Marcus Washington and defensive tackle Jeff Owens, both of whom are out this season with injuries. Washington and Owens played as true freshmen in ’05 — Owens even had a sack against LSU — and are redshirting this season for a first time.

Owens tore his ACL in the season opener against Georgia Southern and has yet to rule out leaving for the NFL.

Junior cornerback Asher Allen and junior receiver Kris Durham enrolled at Georgia several days after the Bulldogs won the ’05 title and were able to participate in on-campus workouts for the Sugar Bowl. They figured there would be more SEC crowns on the horizon, but it hasn’t worked out that way.

Georgia went 4-4 in SEC play in 2006 and has gone 6-2 the past two seasons, losing the East Division last year on the head-to-head tiebreaker with Tennessee.

“Last year was a good run, playing in a BCS bowl,” Allen said. “We wish we could have gotten to the SEC championship, but we were in the top two of the final poll. We didn’t do as well as we wanted to my freshman year, but we got a lot of good experience that we were able to build on.

“I think the fans and town deserve an SEC championship, and hopefully we can get one next year.”

Memories of the ’05 SEC title are cherished by outgoing seniors such as receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, fullback Brannan Southerland and linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. Massaquoi is the only player left in the program who started in that game.

“It was great to come through the door and have so much success like that,” Massaquoi said. “It develops a winning tradition and a winning mindset, but I think we’ve just had some bad breaks along the way the last couple of years. Hopefully, we can get back where we’re in that game almost every year.”

Said Southerland: “One of my best experiences at Georgia was on the field after we beat LSU. Confetti was falling. It was a great feeling. We’ve obviously wanted to go back. We just never went.”

Georgia began this season as the No. 1 team nationally, but the Bulldogs were no match for Alabama and Florida. The Crimson Tide and Gators will be playing for the league crown next week and should be the overwhelming preseason divisional favorites next year.

Florida may not be an overwhelming East choice, however, if quarterback Matthew Stafford and tailback Knowshon Moreno return to Georgia.

“It’s just a tough conference, and you never know what’s going to happen throughout the year,” said Moreno, who arrived in ’06 and redshirted. “You play some great teams, and even though you may be doing great things, they’re doing great things also. Hopefully we can get one next year.”

If not, the mini-drought will lengthen.

“I remember coming in for bowl practice in 2005, and now it’s almost 2009,” Allen said. “Time waits for nobody.”