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Georgia meets LSU in SEC showdown

Oct 25, 2008 - 10:35 AM (9) Georgia (6-1) at (11) LSU (5-1), 3:30 pm EDT

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (Ticker) -- Georgia begins a two-week stretch that could determine if it has a date in December for the Southeastern Conference championship.

First up for the ninth-ranked Bulldogs is Saturday's difficult road test at 11th-ranked Louisiana State, which likely kept alive its SEC title hopes with a 24-17 come-from-behind victory at South Carolina last week.

Next week, Georgia (6-1, 3-1 SEC East) and No. 7 Florida clash in their annual battle that may decide the East's representative in the SEC title game. The two schools are tied for first place in the division.

"Right now, we're concentrating on the LSU game, period," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "We're trying to go to 7-1 and keep ourselves in shape in the Eastern Division."

The Bulldogs are in a stretch in which they are facing three straight ranked opponents for the first time since 1969. They kicked it off with a 24-14 victory over then-No. 23 Vanderbilt last week.

LSU (5-1, 3-1 SEC West) erased a 17-10 halftime deficit against South Carolina to avoid consecutive defeats for the first time since 2001. The Tigers held the Gamecocks to minus-7 yards in the fourth quarter and sacked first-time starter Stephen Garcia six times.

LSU heads into the Georgia game after playing perhaps its most dominating half of football this season with its second-half performance against South Carolina.

In the final 30 minutes against the Gamecocks, the Tigers outscored South Carolina, 14-0, had possession of the football for over 18 minutes and held South Carolina to just 42 total yards.

"We watched some film on them," Richt said. "They are big, strong, fast and get after you. They win, that's what they do. They have been national champions twice the last few years. It's a great challenge. We're not worried about the polls or what's going on after that."

LSU's win kept the Tigers one game behind No. 2 Alabama in the SEC West. LSU hosts Alabama on November 8 following a non-conference contest next week against Tulane.

Saturday's contest begins a five-game homestand for the Tigers, their longest since opening the 1970 season with five straight at home. LSU plays eight of its 12 games this season in Baton Rouge.

"It's nice to get off the road swing and look forward to several weeks in Tiger Stadium," LSU coach Les Miles said. "Getting home at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. in the morning is not near as much fun as being home after the game."

Saturday's game is a rematch of the 2005 SEC title game, won by Georgia, 34-14. The teams have combined to win five of the last seven SEC titles.

"This is going to be a significant game for both of our teams," Miles said. "I think our guys look forward to Georgia in our stadium. I think this will be a great week to prepare."

The Tigers have won six straight games against top-10 teams, including a 26-21 win over Auburn earlier this season. Since taking the LSU job, Miles is 8-3 against top-10 teams.