Georgia regains control of path to SEC championship game

ATHENS -- Isaiah Wynn spent this past weekend with his family as he finally had some down time during the hectic football season.

While the sophomore left guard had a desire to distance himself from his sport for just one weekend, there was one game he couldn't stay away from. The result of the Alabama-Tennessee game held implications for Georgia in its quest for an SEC East championship.

To Wynn's delight, Alabama came away with a 19-14 victory over the Volunteers, giving the Bulldogs a clear path to Atlanta by winning their remaining SEC games.

"I feel like it brought back momentum for us," Wynn said. "Now we're really in control of our own destiny. We're only going to get better from here."

In the East, Florida sits at the top of the standings at 4-1 with Georgia second at 3-2. Every other team in the division has at least three losses. A Florida win would make things difficult for the other East teams, considering the Gators have Vanderbilt and South Carolina remaining on their SEC slate. A Georgia win would give the Bulldogs a head-to-head advantage over Florida, but the Bulldogs would still need to beat Kentucky and Auburn to ensure themselves of a divisional title.

Given the opportunity Georgia has, receiver Malcolm Mitchell said he team has to do what it can to ensure it capitalizes.

"It's time. We're in the last half of the season," Mitchell said. "If we're going to make a push for anything, right now is the time to do so."

But it can be a bit of a balancing act when it comes to a divisional race and focusing on a particular week's opponent. Inside linebacker Jake Ganus said the topic hasn't been a talking point in the Bulldogs' locker room. At the same time, he's well aware it's something bound to cross his thoughts.

"It's tough, obviously it is in the back of your mind," Ganus said. "But we've got to take this one game at a time. When you start thinking big picture and you start thinking of things like that, then you start to lose focus, and you might slip up."

Tight end Jay Rome, in his fifth year with the program, has seen Georgia in this position before. In 2011, the Bulldogs were 0-2 before winning 10 games in a row to get to Atlanta. In 2012, Georgia hopped back in the East race after South Carolina sustained a second conference loss, which came the week before the Bulldogs faced rival Florida.

"If we keep winning, then we'll keep going," Rome said. "It's just up to the older guys and the ones that have been to an SEC championship before on this team to rally the young guys and let them know how important it is not to look ahead. Just to let them know when you get to this portion of the season, every day is important. You have to look ahead and pay attention to every day, every play."

Each season, Georgia's goal is to win the division. Nothing else can be accomplished without attaining thar particular target first. Once again, Georgia is in the driver's seat to win the division, with the task starting this weekend in Jacksonville against the Gators.

"We want to win the East. That's it every year," head coach Mark Richt said. "I mean, that's our focus, that's our goal. When you think about it, going into the eighth game of the year and we're still right in the heart of it, that's a good thing. So I'm pleased with that. But now we've got to do it."

This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Georgia regains control of path to SEC championship game ."