Georgia’s football itinerary changed this past Saturday, when Ole Miss and Alabama suffered their third Southeastern Conference setbacks and were eliminated from the Dec. 7 league championship game in Atlanta.
As a result, the Bulldogs can no longer view Friday night’s home finale (7:30 on ABC) against state-rival Georgia Tech as the last game before a decent break. They now have to turn around and play the Texas-Texas A&M winner for the SEC title on Dec. 7 inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Which, of course, has been their post-Thanksgiving ritual in recent seasons anyway.
“It’s a great honor to be able to play in the SEC championship game,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Monday afternoon in his weekly news conference. “It is probably one of the greatest events in all of sports, because the games that you play in are great matchups, but at this point in time, we don’t even know who that is, nor do I care.
“My concern 100% is with Georgia Tech because of what that game means to so many in this state and to so many on our team. That’s the focus.”