Since arriving in Georgia in 2019, Warren McClendon has had many wins.
A national championship. sugar bowl. peach peel. orange peel. Three SEC East titles.
The only thing missing for the offensive tackle is what can be won against LSU on Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium: an SEC championship.
“This is very important,” said the fourth grader on Monday. “We won the national championship, we won the East, but I haven’t won an SEC championship yet, so that’s very important to me and I know that’s very important for this team.”
Reaching and winning the College Football Playoffs may be the big deal, but winning an SEC title is no small feat for the Bulldogs.
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Especially since the program has seen other teams celebrate on their last three trips there — Alabama in 2018 and 2021 and LSU in 2019.
Georgia’s last SEC title came in 2017, coach Kirby Smart’s sophomore season.
“It’s hard to win an SEC championship,” Smart said. “I’ve been part of this league for a long time. I have almost as many national championships as I have SEC championships. They’re really hard to come by.”
Smart has won six SEC titles (2009, 2012, 2014 and 2015 in Alabama as defensive coordinator and 2017 in Georgia and 2005 as running backs coach) and five national titles (2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015 in Alabama and 2021 at Georgia). ).
His team was the higher-ranked team in just one of the previous four SEC championship games. That was last year when longtime nemesis and No. 3 Alabama and Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young defeated the Bulldogs 41-24
That’s the only blemish in a 30-1 record for Georgia in their last 31 games, stretching back into the 2020 regular season.
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McClendon said winning the SEC is especially important for the senior class. McClendon was part of teams going to the title game in 2019 and 2021. Safety Chris Smith was also part of the team that went in 2018.
“I played this game three times and couldn’t win,” said Smith, a fifth grader. “Hopefully the fourth time is the charm.”
Smith is one of seven Georgia players included in that 37-10 loss to LSU in 2019 along with receivers Kearis Jackson and Dom Blaylock, running back Kenny McInotsh, quarterback Stetson Bennett, inside linebacker Trezman Marshall and outside linebacker Nolan Smith, who is out, saw action for the remainder of this season with a pectoral tear.
“It was tough,” Smart said, “because they had five, six, anything first-rounders. If you throw Ja’marr Chase and the quarterback (Joe Burrow), they had all those first rounds in it. And they were really talented and did a really good job.”
LSU had five first-rounders in 2020, and Chase was ranked #5 overall in 2021
“They beat us up last time,” Smith said. “It left a bitter taste in our mouth.”
Georgia has been through that on its last three trips. Mercedes-Benz can leave with a different feeling on Saturday.
“It kind of gives us the motivation to go out there and get the job done,” said Ladd McConkey, sophomore redshirt wide receiver. “We know what is important. We’ve been in this position before. So we just have to make the best of it, play our game and let the rest take care of itself.”
Smith said: “This is a difficult game, it’s even harder to win. We will do everything we can and risk it.”