Georgia head coach Mark Richt calls out from the sideline in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Clemson on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014, in Athens, Ga.A Tennessee victory over Missouri this Saturday night at Neyland Stadium would clinch bowl eligibility for the Volunteers for the first time since the 2010 football season.
It also would put Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship game for a third time in four years. The Bulldogs have wrapped up their league schedule with a 6-2 record, but Missouri leads the SEC East with a 5-1 mark, leaving Georgia coach Mark Richt a big Tennessee fan this week.
How big?
"Very big," Richt said.
A second league loss for Missouri would ensure an East crown for the Bulldogs because of their 34-0 head-to-head win over the Tigers in Columbia, Mo., on Oct. 11. Should the Tigers defeat the Volunteers this week, the Bulldogs would have to turn their support to Arkansas, which visits Missouri next Friday.
Georgia hosts Charleston Southern this Saturday at noon on the SEC Network, while the Missouri-Tennessee game has a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.
"I will hopefully be settled in on my lounge chair ready to cheer for the Vols," Richt said. "Whether or not I wear orange is still up in the air."
Bulldogs senior inside linebacker Ramik Wilson laughed after Monday night's practice when asked if he could wear orange while pulling for the Volunteers.
"I'm fine wearing the red and black," Wilson said. "Tennessee has become a really good team right now, and they're on a roll. Missouri still has to play Arkansas, too, so they've got two tough games.
"We'll see what happens."
The Bulldogs are in a similar situation as state rival Georgia Tech, which wrapped up its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule at 6-2 this past weekend with a 28-6 trouncing of Clemson. The Yellow Jackets lead the ACC's Coastal Division over Duke, which is 4-2 in league play but could win the Coastal with home wins over North Carolina on Thursday night and Wake Forest next Saturday.
Duke holds the tiebreaker over Georgia Tech as a result of its 31-25 win at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Oct. 11.
Georgia practiced Monday for 90 minutes in shoulder pads and shorts in preparation for Saturday. Charleston Southern is a Championship Subdivision program that is 8-3 overall and 3-3 in the Big South Conference.
"The weather was a challenge tonight," Richt said, "but our guys are tough, and they fought through it."
On his weekly radio show that followed practice, Richt said freshman tailback Sony Michel (ankle) practiced and has a good chance to play Saturday. Richt also said that Todd Gurley's ACL injury was similar to the one suffered last season by former quarterback Aaron Murray in that it was a clean tear with no additional damage.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.