Georgia Football: Mark Richt's Map to Winning the SEC East

Three weeks ago, I wrote an article arguing that Georgia football head coach Mark Richt would be doomed if his Bulldogs lost to Steve Spurrier and his South Carolina Gamecocks.

Having just suffered a one-sided loss to a very average Boise State team, the Dawgs surely could not lose their first two games and expect to accomplish any meaningful goals.  With South Carolina and dreaded SEC East rival Florida appearing rather unlikely to lose many conference games, a demoralized 0-2 (0-1) Georgia team surely would surely not string together six conference wins and challenge for the SEC East Title, right?

Wrong.

After losing a 45-42 heartbreaker to the persistently mercurial Gamecocks, Georgia destroyed FCS competition Coastal Carolina, 59-0, before linking together nice wins over SEC opponents Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

Sure, none of these wins are anything to write home about, but with South Carolina falling 16-13 to Auburn and Florida crashing 34-10 to the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide, the Bulldogs are now tied with their chief competitors atop the SEC East standings.

With the Gators heading to LSU's Death Valley next week and the Plains of Auburn the following week, Will Muschamp's new team could very well enter their October 22nd bye week with a 2-3 SEC record.

Though South Carolina looks likely to cruise past Kentucky and Mississippi State over the next two weeks, they finish their SEC schedule with a brutal stretch against Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida.  Assuming Spurrier's Gamecocks finish in characteristically self-destructive fashion, they'll probably lose two of these games and end with a 5-3 conference record.

Blessed with an easier schedules than either of the other SEC East leaders, Georgia now faces a hugely important contest against the Tennessee Volunteers.  While Georgia has historically struggled within the not-so-friendly confines of Neyland Stadium, an unexpected win would move the Dawgs into pole position in the SEC East.

At 3-1, UGA would need only to collect predictable victories against Vanderbilt and Kentucky and a win against either Florida or Auburn to finish with a 6-2 SEC East record.  Georgia could end up losing to South Carolina and Florida, defeating only a single ranked opponent (at home against Auburn), finishing with an 8-4 record and still win the division.

In other words, the Dawgs wouldn't even really need to deviate from their characteristically sloppy ways to sneak into the SEC Championship Game.

Crazy, huh?

While Georgia would probably certainly lose to Alabama or LSU in the Championship game, Mark Richt would at least have the opportunity to restore his good name by upsetting what will surely be the nation's BCS No. 1 team.

Wishful thinking? Certainly.

Nevertheless, Georgia fans would undoubtedly draw on the stunning 2008 Blackout loss to 'Bama as motivation for what would be surely be an even more stunning victory.