SEC Championship: Georgia and Alabama Battling for More Than Conference Title

Talk about a high stakes game. 

On Dec. 1, the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs and the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide battle for a SEC championship, but there is an even bigger prize at stake.

The Bulldogs haven't won a national title since they beat Notre Dame in 1980, despite fielding one of the most consistently successful teams in the country. As Dan Wolken of USA Today put it, "There aren't many opportunities to put 30 years of frustration aside as a program, but Georgia is on the doorstep of one of them."

To get in the door, the Bulldogs have to defeat No. 2 Alabama, no easy feat. Seth Emerson reports for the Ledger-Enquirer that the teams are pretty evenly matched, with Georgia bringing the nation's No. 1 quarterback in pass efficiency and Alabama bringing No. 2, and with similar defenses owing to Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham's mentor, Bama Coach Nick Saban.

The biggest difference between the squads, Georgia head coach Mark Richt told reporters, is: "They've been winning national championships, and we've not."

So what must the Bulldogs do to pull off the upset? On the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Junkyard Blawg, fans offer a broad range of advice, from a perfect game by quarterback Aaron Murray (who avoided the media limelight this past week) to an "Ogletree and Jarvis Jones sandwich sack on Bama’s first play from scrimmage."

Whether these fans get their wishes is anybody's guess, but one way or another, it's likely to be a heck of a game.

Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS.

Will the Dawgs beat Alabama and go on to play for the national championship? Or are Georgia fans in for another letdown? Tell us in the comments below.

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