ATLANTA — Georgia football has recaptured the momentum it started the season with in this very same city, in this very same stadium against another orange-clad team.

Albeit, it was a different shade of orange in the form of the then-No. 14-ranked Clemson Tigers, when the Bulldogs broke loose in the second half for a 34-3 victory.

An amazing season filled with ups and downs has unfolded since then, perhaps the most amazing journey yet for Coach Kirby Smart.

The No. 5-ranked Bulldogs now play against No. 2-ranked Texas — another amazing story as the Longhorns look to win the conference crown in their first year in the league — at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the SEC Championship Game.

Georgia has had to overcome injuries and attrition to top players on the defensive line, offensive line, receiving corps and offensive backfield.

All this while navigating the No. 1-ranked schedule in the country, which included SEC road trips to a game Kentucky squad back in September along with Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas.

There’s no doubt Smart’s team deserves everything they have put themselves in position to win, starting with the the game on Saturday.

Georgia can earn a much-needed bye and trip to the Sugar Bowl (8:45 p.m., Jan. 1) with a victory over the Longhorns, while a loss will mean a first-round game on Dec. 20 or Dec. 21 at Sanford Stadium or an opponents’ campus site yet to be determined.

Interestingly enough, it’s possible the Bulldogs could face Texas, yet again, in the Sugar Bowl.

In the event UGA loses, it may or may not play its first-round game at Sanford Stadium, depending on how far the CFP Selection would drop the Bulldogs in the rankings.

Most believe that, barring a blowout loss, Georgia would remain ahead of 10-2 Ohio State in the CFP rankings and face Indiana in Sanford Stadium in a first-round playoff game on Dec. 20 or Dec. 21.

It does seem hard to imagine the Buckeyes would stay ahead of any team that played in the SEC Championship Game after Ohio State lost at home to an unranked Michigan team and missed the Big Ten Championship Game.

If the Bulldogs beat Indiana in the first-round game, the most likely projection would have them playing the Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl.

But Smart and his players won’t approach this game with any sense of comfort or sense of accomplishment.

Remember how a No. 1-ranked Georgia lost to Alabama by a 27-24 count in the SEC Championship Game and fell out of the top four of the CFP rankings and missed the playoffs last season?

Several of these Bulldogs players certainly can recall that, and they aren’t apt to place any faith in the CFP Selection Committee to decide their future.

Georgia, once projected out of the playoff, is back in control of its destiny, and only Texas stands between that and an SEC championship.