The Georgia Bulldogs didn't exactly have their road to the SEC Championship Game paved with rainbows and kisses, but they did have about as accommodating a schedule as one could ever construct for an SEC team.
No games against the Alabama Crimson Tide, LSU Tigers, or Arkansas Razorbacks, not to mention only three games outside the state all year (if you count Jacksonville as being temporarily half-Georgia). LSU, meanwhile, has beaten Bama and West Virginia on the road, Arkansas at home, and Oregon sort of at home.
UGA's best win this year was over F/+ No. 34 Florida. LSU has beaten two top-five and three top-16 F/+ teams. This isn't to say Georgia can't win or that nobody can beat LSU. But we know exactly how good LSU is. Outside of that loss to Boise State and wins against Florida and Georgia Tech, it's still very hard to know what to make of the Dawgs.
So when Mark Richt's asked how these teams stack up after the paths they've taken, it's not entirely coachspeak for him to say he's not sure yet.
I really don't know. We're going to find out this Saturday.
We're a team that certainly improved as the season has gone on, and we've done a lot of good things since game two.
Until you play a team, you really don't know how you match up against them. I've spent most of the day watching them, mostly on defense. They're just very, very strong and quick and physical up front. The front seven is very, very tough, very athletic. Their DBs are very fast, great cover guys, guys with a lot of confidence, and they'll hit you. Everyone on that defense is going to hit you good.
I've seen enough film of them on offense as we watched other people's defense throughout the season, that they tend to wear people out by the end of the game. So once the resistance has been broken down a little bit their goal is to break the spirit of whoever they play. They've been successful most of the time.
For more information and coverage on the Georgia Bulldogs visit SB Nation's Dawg Sports, and for LSU visit And The Valley Shook.