Georgia clinches SEC East with win, Kentucky loss
Georgia has clinched its spot in the SEC Championship Game for the fourth time under sixth-year head coach Kirby Smart. In doing so, Georgia ties the league record for earliest a spot in the conference championship has been clinched, tied with 1993 Alabama and 2004 Auburn.
Smart’s Bulldogs defeated Florida 34-7 earlier in the day on Saturday in Jacksonville and clinched at least a share of the Eastern Division title with Kentucky’s loss to Mississippi State. Regardless of how the rest of the season plays out, the Bulldogs will represent the SEC East in Atlanta on December 4 with their 30-13 head-to-head victory over the Wildcats on October 16.
It’s Georgia’s ninth appearance in program history since the SEC started the annual conference championship game in 1992. The Bulldogs are 3-5 with wins in 2002, 2005 and 2017. Other appearances came in 2003, 2011, 2012, 2018 and 2019. Under Smart, Georgia is 1-2, beating Auburn 28-7 in 2017.
“It was a strange game,” Smart said after today’s win against Florida. “It was a game of momentum and momentum plays. Obviously, you just described it. The momentum there right before the half was big. Basically, our turnovers were not as costly as their turnovers. Our turnovers were not very good decisions by the quarterback and then Kenny had the tough one that came out late. But they were basically like punts. Their turnovers were much more expensive. It was definitely a strange game, a momentum game.”
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As for the standing in the SEC West, both Alabama and Auburn control their own destiny. Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide were off this week but are 7-1 on the season with their lone loss to Texas A&M. Remaining games include LSU, New Mexico State, Arkansas and Auburn. Meanwhile, first-year head coach Bryan Harsin has the Tigers 6-2 with losses to Penn State and Georgia. They defeated No. 10 Ole Miss 31-20 tonight at Jordan-Hare Stadium and play No. 14 Texas A&M next week. Other remaining games include Mississippi State, South Carolina and the November 27 matchup with Alabama at home.
Next up for the Bulldogs is a return trip to Sanford Stadium and a date with Missouri. Kickoff time has yet to be determined. Then, the Bulldogs will follow that up with a trip to Tennessee and two non-conference matchups against Charleston Southern and in-state rival Georgia Tech to close out the season.
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