ATLANTA - After the Georgia and LSU captains jogged back to their respective sidelines following the pregame coin toss, Bulldogs junior running back D'Andre Swift remained and knelt at the midfield "SEC" logo for several seconds.
"I was just praying for protection," Swift said. "Whenever my opportunity was called, I just wanted to make plays and be protected on the field."
Swift entered Saturday's Southeastern Conference championship game averaging 6.2 yards per game and bettered that against LSU with a 6.5-yard clip. Unfortunately for Georgia, that average was the result of just two carries for 13 yards during a 37-10 loss to the Tigers inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The health of Swift after last week's shoulder injury against Georgia Tech had been kept under wraps this week during the closed practices in Athens, and the 5-foot-9, 215-pounder from Philadelphia wound up with only five total touches. He had three receptions for 18 yards.
Neither of Swift's two carries were between-the-tackle runs.
"They tried to get me in loose plays to where I could get the ball in space to protect my shoulder," he said.
Swift's biggest gain was a 13-yard run around right end midway through the third quarter. Georgia trailed 20-3 at that point, and that was his final touch of the game.
"As far as I know, he was fine," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "Towards the end of the game, we ended up holding him out once the outcome was decided, but he seemed fine to me."
Saturday could have been Swift's final game for the Bulldogs should he elect to sit out the bowl and bypass his senior season. He has rushed for 1,216 yards and seven touchdowns after compiling 1,049 yards and 10 scores as a sophomore.
"I'm going to talk to my team and talk to my coaches and get treatment to get my shoulder better," Swift said.
Bummed spectator
Georgia graduate transfer receiver Lawrence Cager, who has 33 catches for 476 yards and four touchdowns, watched Saturday's game in a wheelchair and with his surgically repaired ankle upright and heavily wrapped. Cager has played in nine of 13 contests this season.
"As a competitor, you always want to play every game," Cager said. "You never want to get hurt, so it was tough for me to sit on the sideline all day. I was there with the guys, and that's why I came here.
"I didn't want to sit home and watch the game. I wanted to be on the sideline, but I would be lying if I said this wasn't tough."
Cager is not sure whether his ankle will be healthy enough to play in a bowl.
"It depends on how my body heals," he said. "If I can play, I will most definitely play."
Injured Georgia wide receiver Lawrence Cager stands on the field during warmups for the Southeastern Conference championship game against LSU on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. / Staff photo by C.B. SchmelterBlaylock injured
Georgia freshman receiver Dominick Blaylock went to the turf with a knee injury after making an 11-yard reception with less than four minutes remaining in the first quarter. Blaylock was helped to the medical tent on the sideline and then taken from the field on a cart.
The stepson of Chattanooga Lookouts co-owner John Woods has 18 receptions this season for 310 yards and five touchdowns.
Odds and ends
Georgia fell to 13-18-1 all-time against LSU and to 3-5 in SEC title-game appearances. Chamberlain Smith, the Georgia athletic department sideline photographer from Ringgold who suffered a concussion during the Nov. 16 game at Auburn, returned to work Saturday after resting the previous two weekends. Quarterback Jake Fromm threw two interceptions, his first pickoffs since throwing three in the double-overtime loss to South Carolina. In the first 90 seconds of the third quarter, junior outside linebacker Walter Grant sustained a concussion and freshman cornerback Tyrique Stevenson was taken off the field via cart. Rodrigo Blankenship was just 1-for-3 on field-goal attempts and is now 25-of-31 this season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.