Georgia looks to redeem itself from ‘only blemish’

Each player on Georgia’s roster has had the same experience at the end of their previous seasons. When the Bulldogs would finish off their regular-season finale against Georgia Tech, they would have the week off prior to bowl preparation.

It served as a nice break for Georgia after a continuous four-month process of preparing for and playing football games, but there was one thing missing -- an opportunity to play for something significant.

When the conference championship slate began, many of the Bulldogs would be sitting on their sofas at home to watch two of their SEC foes clash. In most cases, they would be watching at least one of those teams contend for a national title.

As the action went on, a certain feeling started to set in. Georgia hadn’t made a conference championship appearance since 2012, when it narrowly fell to Alabama.

None of these current Bulldogs were participants, but instead watched Missouri and Florida each represent the East division twice since then.

“We all had that urge to be there,” Georgia wide receiver Terry Godwin said. “We knew we could beat the team that was there.”

After an 11-1 campaign under second-year head coach Kirby Smart, this Georgia group finds itself vying for a championship for the first time against its archrival Auburn. Just as the stakes are high for Georgia, so is the excitement to compete at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“There’s no rest now, and I wouldn’t want it any other way,” outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter said. “I’m excited to go out there and work this week.”

Not only does Georgia have a chance to earn its first conference title since 2005, it gets to do so against a team it played just a few weeks ago. It marks the first time that permanent cross-divisional opponents have played each other in SEC Championship history, dating back to 1992.

To add more pre-game excitement to the festivities, the Bulldogs have the opportunity to relinquish a Nov. 11 loss, which Georgia admittedly got dominated in. The Bulldogs fell to Auburn 40-17 at Jordan-Hare Stadium, and the emotions were raw as the clock hit triple zeroes.

In his final chance to lead the Bulldogs toward their desired goal, Carter looked miserable in post-game media interviews. Far from his usual demeanor after the Auburn loss, Carter gave one-word responses to questions to reporters and made his displeasure apparent.

Georgia insisted that it didn’t matter if it played Auburn or Alabama in the championship game, but a rematch with the Tigers presents a unique opportunity. Four weeks after taking the loss, Carter was all smiles Monday.

“It was exciting (to learn the opponent) because Auburn was the only blemish on our record,” Carter said. “It sucks to lose that way and walk off the field with that emotion. It’s another chance to redeem yourself, and we have to be ready to do that.”

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart deemed Auburn to be “one of the hottest teams in the country” after it rattled off five consecutive wins -- two against top-ranked teams -- since losing to LSU on 27-23.

While a revenge factor may exist, Smart said his team is handling this contest no different than any other.

“It really doesn’t revert back to who won the previous game,” Smart said. “It matters a lot more about what you do in that game because the other game is past history. I think you should prepare the same, regardless of your record, regardless of a revenge factor and be real consistent in your approach.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2017 at 6:56 PM with the headline "Georgia looks to redeem itself from ‘only blemish’."