ATHENS — It will be a rematch in Atlanta, as the Georgia Bulldogs will take on the Texas Longhorns in the SEC Championship game.

The Longhorns punched their ticket on Saturday with a 17-7 win over Texas A&M.

Georgia got to Atlanta with a win over Tennessee on Nov. 16. The Longhorns went 7-1 in SEC play, while Georgia went 6-2.

Georgia had Saturday off after beating Georgia Tech 44-42 in eight overtimes. Smart knew his team couldn’t spend too much time fretting about who they would play, given how physical Friday’s game had been.

“We’ve got to turn around and play a stellar opponent, no matter who it is, next week,” Smart said. “And it’s going to be physical. And I told the guys in the locker room, you can rub your bruises and pout and do everything to say, I could have done better, but you better get ready to strap it on and play again.”

Georgia has already faced Texas this season, beating the Longhorns 30-15 in Austin. Georgia had 7.0 sacks in the game defensively and forced four turnovers. But quarterback Carson Beck had three interceptions in the game.

Beck has been on a tear of late, throwing 11 touchdowns and no interceptions in his last three games. GEorgia will need him to be at his best against Texas, as the Longhorns will be eager to avenge their earlier loss.

“Momentum is a real thing,” Beck said. “But I mean, every week is separate from each other. Now we start the postseason, you know. And it’s one week at a time. 1-0. I know I’ve probably said that like 20 times this year. But shoot, rest tomorrow. A much-needed day off for all of us. And then we’ll get back to it on Sunday.”

This is the first rematch in the SEC Championship game since the 2017 edition. Georgia, which had lost the first game against Auburn, came away with a 28-7 win over the Tigers to punch its ticket into the College Football Playoff.

The winner of the Georgia-Texas game will likely earn a bye into the College Football Playoff as the SEC champion and one of the top four conference champions. The winner of the SEC Championship game will play in the Sugar Bowl.

Both teams should be safe in terms of the College Football Playoff. Texas was the No. 3 seed prior to this week, while Georgia was the No. 7 seed. The No. 2, No. 6 and No. 12 teams all lost on Saturday. It is worth noting that we do not yet know how the College Football Playoff committee will punish teams that lose during in the conference championship game.

The 2024 SEC Championship Game is set for a 4 p.m. ET start, with ABC broadcasting the game. The game will be played in Atlanta. Georgia is 2-4 in SEC Championship games under Smart, winning in 2017 and 2022.