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The Georgia Bulldogs defeated their arch rivals, the Florida Gators, on Saturday, 17-9 in Jacksonville. The win allows the Bulldogs to control their own destiny in the SEC East, which would allow them to possibly face the SEC West champion in Atlanta. SB Nation college football blog Sunday Morning Quarterback has a thorough breakdown of not only the game itself, but also its ramifications in the conference.
On Georgia coming up with a win against a highly ranked opponent:
Again, for an ostensibly elite program, Georgia has been terrible in these moments. Prior to Saturday, UGA was 1-9 in its last ten games against top-10 opponents, including the 35-7 debacle at South Carolina just three weeks ago. Only one of those nine losses had come by single digits, against an LSU outfit that wound up finishing nowhere near the top ten in 2009. Since opening at No. 1 in both major polls in 2008, Georgia was 2-15 against teams that landed anywhere in the final polls, and came into the weekend riding a ten-game losing streak in that category. Needless to say, it's been awhile.
The win was Georgia's second straight over Florida, who had won an incredible 18 of the past 21 prior meetings, going all the way back to 1990.
On the effect of this win on Georgia's season:
Florida came into this game hoping to clinch the East Division and a return to the SEC Championship Game after two years in the wilderness. Instead, it's Georgia that emerges in control of its own destiny down the stretch: If they avoid an unthinkable stumble against Ole Miss (in Athens) and Auburn (at Auburn, or what's left of it) over the next two weeks, the Bulldogs are back to Atlanta for the second year in a row against (presumably) the winner of next week's "Night of the Crimson Tiger" showdown between Alabama and LSU. Unlike last year, they'll go into that game with a big, validating win that finally clears away four years' worth of accumulated disappointments; with enough help in the BCS standings – and they certainly got plenty of it on Saturday – they may also go in with the national championship within their grasp.
Georgia's last four games are fairly manageable. After Ole Miss and Auburn, the Bulldogs host Georgia Southern, and then host rival Georgia Tech to end the regular season. How much the Dawgs have to play for at the end of the season will be up to them.