georgia football sec east lsu

Georgia has a few stated goals every season. One of those is winning the SEC East, something the Bulldogs can do this week.

The Bulldogs have won the SEC East in four of the six seasons under Kirby Smart, including last season. Saturday’s win over Tennessee put Georgia in a position to do that once again this season, as the Volunteers are the only SEC East team that does not have multiple conference losses at this point.

There are two ways Georgia can clinch the SEC East this weekend. The simple way would be for Georgia to beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs, with the two teams meeting in Starkville, Miss., at 7 p.m. ET. ESPN will broadcast the game.

Mississippi State is coming off a 39-33 win over Auburn this past Saturday and is 6-3 on the season.

The other way the Bulldogs can clinch the SEC East would involve Tennessee losing to Missouri. The Tigers and Volunteers kickoff at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, so the Bulldogs will be aware of what they need to do on Saturday night in order to clinch.

In the event that Georgia was to lose and Tennessee win, the Bulldogs could still clinch next week with a win over Kentucky.

Of course, the Bulldogs would much prefer to handle things this weekend.

“They understand that humility is a week away,” Smart said. “They’ve got to go to Starkville the next week, which is a tough game.”

By the time Georgia starts its game against Mississippi State, the SEC West could be wrapped up as well. Following LSU’s stunning win over Alabama, the Tigers find themselves in the driver’s seat of the SEC West.

Should LSU beat Arkansas this Saturday and Alabama beat Ole Miss, LSU would punch its ticket to Atlanta. LSU has the tiebreakers against both Alabama and Ole Miss, having beaten both teams. Alabama is 4-2 in SEC play, while Ole Miss is 4-1.

LSU has just two SEC games left, facing the Razorbacks this weekend and Texas A&M on Nov. 26. Arkansas is coming off a 21-19 loss to Liberty, while Texas A&M has lost five straight games.

In the event that Ole Miss wins and beats Alabama, LSU will have to wait to possibly lock up the SEC West. Ole Miss still has games against Arkansas and Mississippi State as well. For Alabama to get to the SEC championship game, it would need to beat Ole Miss and Auburn and have LSU drop its remaining two SEC games.

Should Georgia and LSU meet in the SEC championship game, it would be the fourth time the two have met. The last time it happened came in 2019, with LSU winning 37-10.

LSU is one of two SEC teams that Smart has not yet beaten as the Georgia head coach. He is though 2-0 against Brian Kelly, with both of those wins coming when Kelly was at Notre Dame. LSU has lost twice this season, falling to Florida State 24-23 and to Tennessee 40-13.

The Bulldogs have only once won the SEC championship under Smart, doing so back in 2017.

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