ATHENS — There wasn’t much celebrating for Georgia after it punched its ticket to Atlanta, as the 45-19 win over Mississippi State locked up the SEC East for Georgia.

“We have bigger goals than just winning the SEC East,” wide receiver Kearis Jackson said. “On the record, I have no SEC championship wins and that’s something I’m looking forward to.”

The win gives the Bulldogs another marquee game, as LSU will represent the SEC West. The No. 7 Tigers clinched the SEC West this past weekend thanks to their win over Arkansas and Alabama’s win over Ole Miss.

While the Tigers have two losses on the season, LSU still has the opportunity to play its way into the College Football Playoff. Should Georgia and LSU keep winning — both teams will be favored to do so in their final regular season games — the SEC championship will double as a de-facto College Football Playoff quarterfinal.

Heading into Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings, LSU is the highest-ranked two-loss team. The Tigers have losses to Florida State and Tennessee, but both of those teams are likely to find themselves in Tuesday night’s rankings. LSU also has wins over Ole Miss and Alabama on its resume as well.

A win over Georgia would help the resume in a number of ways. For one, an SEC champion has never been left over the College Football Playoff. Secondly, a win over the clear No. 1 team is a mighty big feather to have in the cap.

For the Bulldogs, the carrot of winning the SEC is a big one for this team. For all last season’s team did, it failed to win the SEC. That is a motivating factor for this group.

“To win that is the first stepping stone to whatever else is after the season,” defensive lineman Tramel Walthour said. “In November that’s the only time they remember you, so we got to come in every day and just work each week out trying to win that next game.”

Georgia would also benefit greatly from being the No. 1 seed because that would give the Bulldogs first pick for the location of the College Football Playoff semifinal. In the event Georgia finishes as the No. 1 ranked team, playing in the semifinal in Atlanta would seem like a no-brainer. The alternative would involve a trip to Phoenix to play in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Bulldogs have already won one game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium this year, besting Oregon 49-3 in Week 1. A win against LSU — and Kentucky and Georgia Tech — would likely mean a third game in the stadium. Whether it be against TCU, USC or a rematch against Tennessee, Georgia would feel very comfortable playing in Atlanta again.

Of course, Georgia coach Kirby Smart will want to hear none of this. LSU star Harold Perkins or possible playoff matchups are far from his mind this week. Instead, he’s worried only about beating Kentucky.

Related: Kirby Smart’s response to winning the SEC East shows how much Georgia football has changed

“Their defense is one of the tops in the conference year-in and year-out, but that way this year as well,” Smart said. “So a great challenge for us to go on the road, tough environment, day game, and looking forward to the opportunity.”

For those wondering about the latest College Football Playoff rankings, those will drop Tuesday evening around 9:15 p.m. on ESPN following the Kentucky-Michigan State game.

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