It didn't take a genius to see this one coming from a few months away. Throughout the offseason, Georgia and LSU were seen as top contenders to reach the SEC championship game, along with Auburn and Florida.

Even on Sept. 20, in the aftermath of LSU's 17-10 home victory over Georgia, it was easy to picture these two teams playing a rematch in Atlanta for Saturday's conference championship game.

"We talked in the locker room about the possibility of taking care of our business and trying to get another opportunity to play them again." Georgia coach Mark Richt said.

"I think everybody's excited about playing LSU again, but I think we're more excited about playing in the SEC Championship game than we are thinking about a rematch. Just to get to this game and get in position to possibly defend this title, that's exciting for everybody. It just happens to be LSU. If we were able to beat them, it sure would make everyone feel better about the one we lost early in the year."

Now that the fifth-ranked Bulldogs (10-2, 6-2 SEC) have done their part to earn another shot at third-ranked LSU (11-1, 7-1), the hard part will be doing something with that opportunity.

The last time these two teams met, LSU used its blitz to torment Georgia's young offensive line and quarterback David Greene. LSU leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 10.6 points per game, and leads the SEC in sacks, with 33. Georgia, meantime, leads the SEC in sacks allowed, with 38. Four of those sacks came against LSU.

Pass protection has continued to be a problem for the Bulldogs, and injuries up front and in the backfield haven't helped. Starting guard Bartley Miller has missed the past three games with a left shoulder injury, forcing sophomore center Russ Tanner to move to guard and adding true freshman Nick Jones to the starting lineup at center.

"I'm not sure we've gotten a whole lot better," Richt said. "Our offense is getting better, but we're still kind of hopping along. Our offense really has to answer the call. If we don't, it could get nasty."

It should help to have wide receiver Fred Gibson and tight end Ben Watson healthy after they missed the LSU game because of injuries.

"That ought to help us." Richt said. "We've still got to protect and we've still got to make plays. Hopefully, we'll be able to make a few more than we did the last time."

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