LSU head football coach Les Miles, left, and Georgia coach Mark Richt pose with the Southeastern Conference Championship trophy during an NCAA college football news conference Friday, Dec. 2, 2011, in Atlanta. The two teams are scheduled to face each other on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in the SEC championship football game.LSU’s place in the BCS title game appears set regardless how the Tigers fare in today’s Southeastern Conference championship.
So does the future of Georgia coach Mark Richt.
Richt led the Bulldogs to three SEC title-game appearances in his first five seasons in Athens, winning the league in 2002 and ’05, but he entered this season needing a big year after the 2010 team went 6-7 and lost the Liberty Bowl to Central Florida. When Georgia lost out of the gate to Boise State and South Carolina, it left the Bulldogs 6-9 in their last 15 games and 15-15 in their last 30, but those numbers have been supplanted by 10 straight wins and a shot at the nation’s best.
“We love Coach Richt, and I know that’s one of the main reasons why I committed here,” Bulldogs sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray said. “I wanted him here all four or five years that I was here, and I know everyone on the team feels that same way.
“We were definitely playing hard to be a great team and be SEC champions, but also we wanted to win for Coach Richt and this coaching staff to have them know they have the security of being here for a while.”