Georgia Football: Georgia’s history in the SEC Championship

Georgia football is making its return to the SEC Championship this year. This is the third straight year the Dawgs have won the SEC East and played in the SEC Championship. This is also the last year of the SEC division. The Dawgs have won the East 12 times since the SEC created divisions in 1992.

This will also be the Dawgs’ 12th appearance in the SEC Championship. That is third in appearances, only behind Alabama and Flordia. Georgia’s first SEC Championship game appearance was in 2002. Before the 2002 season, Georgia had not had a conference since 1982. The Dawgs would go on to beat Arkansas 30-3 and would go on to win the Sugar Bowl and finish #3.

The Dawgs’ most common opponent in the SEC Championship game is the LSU Tigers. They have faced each other a total of 5 times. LSU has the lead in the series, but not by much. LSU leads it with three wins and two losses. Georgia and LSU are the second most common matchup in SEC Championship history, only behind Florida and Alabama, who have faced each other ten times.

This will be the 4th time Georgia and Alabama have faced each other in the SEC Championship game. Furthermore, this is the 3rd most common SEC Championship match-up. Georgia has lost all three previous meetings with Alabama in the SEC Championship.

The first match-up was in 2012. That game will be forever remembered by Georgia fans for coming up 5 yards short of having the right to play Notre Dame in the BCS Title game. Other matchups between the two schools are 2018 and 2021. Both games were classics, with Georgia losing both after having a lead early.

Georgia is 4-6 in SEC Championship games. So, the one place that still haunts Georgia and Kirby Smart is the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. Hopefully, they can get rid of some of those demons this weekend.