ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia had 23 seniors playing in Sanford Stadium for a final time Saturday night against Kentucky.

With them went the final links to the last Southeastern Conference championship won by the Bulldogs. Georgia's second of two league titles under coach Mark Richt occurred in 2005, and several of this year's seniors redshirted that year.

"Being part of that team was pretty incredible, especially now that I've been here five years and see how difficult it is to get one," quarterback Joe Cox said. "We got four state championship rings in high school, and then I came to college and got a big ring, and I was like, 'This is just like what we were doing in high school. This isn't going to be too bad.'

"Then you see how hard it is to get back to that game. It's something I cherish more now than when I first got it."

Cox said his '05 SEC title ring is at his Charlotte home and is "still in the nice wooden box it came in." Safety Bryan Evans said his ring is at his Jacksonville residence, and he always assumed it would have company.

"I figured I had four more years to at least win one or two more," Evans said, "but unfortunately, it didn't happen like that."

Defensive tackle Jeff Owens and linebacker Marcus Washington are the lone fifth-year seniors who played as freshmen on the '05 team. The two redshirted last year because of injuries.

True seniors such as defensive tackle Geno Atkins and cornerback Prince Miller arrived in '06 and never experienced a league crown.

Georgia slipped to a 9-4 record three years ago and has struggled this year, but the 2007-08 seasons produced a 21-5 record and plenty of fond memories. In '07 the Bulldogs won their final seven games and finished 11-2 and No. 2 in the Associated Press poll.

There was the rushing of the end zone against Florida and the dismantling of Hawaii in the 2008 Sugar Bowl, but the most memorable moment for most of these seniors was the '07 win against Auburn.

"The 'blackout' would be No. 1," Cox said. "It was the first time that had ever happened, and I don't think too many places could have compared with that atmosphere and what we did in that game. That was No. 1."

Georgia players warmed up in red jerseys before coming back into the locker room and finding black jerseys awaiting them. Auburn briefly weathered the change in color, taking a 20-17 lead in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs closed on a 28-0 run and won 45-20.

The locker-room scene before the game remains vivid for all involved.

"We had no idea at all," Evans said. "We knew it was a blackout with fans, but the jerseys were something out of the ordinary for us. It brought so much emotion inside, which the fans couldn't see when we were changing."

Said Atkins: "I was like 'I can't believe Coach Richt actually broke the rules and got out of his comfort zone and let us wear black jerseys.' It was just a dream come true."

This will be the first senior class Richt has coached from start to finish that will fail to win 40 games. These seniors still can extend Georgia's stretch of eight-win seasons to 13, and they believe this season hasn't soured their experience.

"It's been good and bad, but I wouldn't change anything about it," linebacker Darius Dewberry said. "I've had a great time here at Georgia, and I think the guys here now will have a great time, too."