ATHENS, Ga. -- In case you haven’t heard, Georgia’s headed to Atlanta and, more specifically, Mercedes-Benz Stadium at regular season’s end. A Bulldog win over South Carolina coupled with a Kentucky loss to Ole Miss allowed UGA to sew up the SEC Eastern Division crown with two league games remaining.

Clinching The East is a big deal in most years and it’s something the Bulldogs haven’t done since 2012. It’ll be Kirby Smart’s first trip to the SEC Championship Game as a head coach but don’t expect him to start savoring it just yet.

“There’s not going to be a celebration,” Smart said. “I mean, what’s there to celebrate? We’re going to play Auburn next week and that’s where our focus is. We control our destiny so we’re a lot more concerned about us than we are Kentucky or Ole Miss.”

Smart has commented before on how winning the SEC East a team goal, but the Bulldogs do have bigger fish to fry at present. As the nation’s No. 1 team according to the College Football Playoff rankings, UGA is in position to potentially challenge for a National Championship.

Those odds greatly increase if it finishes the season with a perfect record. Should Georgia arrive in Atlanta with a 12-0 record and lose to an undefeated Alabama team, the Bulldogs might have an opportunity to slip into the College Football Playoff because of the quality of its wins and one hypothetical loss.

None of that is possible, however, if Georgia doesn’t take care of the business at hand. Smart told reporters after the game that he’s fully aware of how his team controls its own destiny. That in and of itself gives the Bulldogs all the motivation they need to focus on themselves instead of who is winning and losing elsewhere in the league.

His focus tonight will be recruiting and getting ready for The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry next week against Auburn.

As for the players, it’s business as usual. They’ll take the next 24 hours to enjoy a ninth-straight win to start the season then it’ll be on to Auburn.







“Obviously that’s great. That’s our goal,” Sony Michel said of clinching the SEC East. “That’s everybody’s goal but we don’t really focus on that. Our focus was South Carolina. We handled that. We’re going to enjoy this victory.”