Georgia looks to pull off upset of season

Associated Press

ATLANTA

Georgia knows just about everyone is looking past this game, figuring it’s nothing more than a mere inconvenience for top-ranked LSU on the way to playing for the national championship.

The Bulldogs would love to pull a shocker.

No. 12 Georgia (10-2) is on quite a roll heading into next Saturday’s Southeastern Conference championship, winning 10 straight since starting the season with losses to Boise State and South Carolina.

Still, outside of those wearing red and black, no one gives the Bulldogs much of a chance against the mighty Tigers (12-0).

That’s OK with defensive back (and occasional running back) Branden Smith.

“We’ve been an underdog ever since those two games we lost,” he said. “We’re used to it. We believe in ourselves. Even when no one else believed, we still believed. Even though we’re an underdog now, we keep believing.”

A big reason the Bulldogs have yet to garner a lot of national attention, even while winning week after week, is their schedule. Georgia played two teams still ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 — and lost to them both. By a quirk of the rotation, they didn’t have to play any of the top teams in the SEC West and benefitted from a weak year in the East, especially from traditional power Florida.

Georgia coach Mark Richt was on the hot seat early in the season, especially coming off his program’s first losing record since 1996. But the Bulldogs have bounced back with their longest winning streak within a season since 1982.