ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- Georgia dropped one spot in the BCS standings released Monday, but the Bulldogs still appear to have the upper hand for returning to the Southeastern Conference championship game.
If Georgia (9-2) beats Georgia Tech and Tennessee (9-2) wins at Kentucky on Saturday, the Bulldogs would likely get a chance to defend their SEC title on Dec. 6 at the Georgia Dome.
With a victory over Ohio State, Michigan passed both Georgia and Tennessee in the new Bowl Championship Series standings. The Bulldogs are No. 7, remaining one spot ahead of the Volunteers.
Florida (8-3) jumped from 13th to 11th -- within 5.86 points of Tennessee -- but BCS experts say it's probably too much of a deficit for the Gators to overcome in the final week, even with a victory over Florida State.
The BCS standings will be used as a tiebreaker if the Eastern Division winds up in a three-way tie. Florida and Georgia already have clinched a tie at 6-2, and Tennessee can finish with the same record.
Under the tiebreaker, the top BCS team gets the nod, unless the next-best team is within five places of the leader. In that scenario, the head-to-head matchup would determine which team goes to the SEC title game.
If it comes down to Georgia and Tennessee, the Bulldogs would get the nod because of their 41-14 victory in Knoxville. They wouldn't win a head-to-head with Florida, which defeated Georgia 16-13.
Georgia must beat Georgia Tech, pull for Tennessee to defeat Kentucky and hope Florida doesn't get enough of a boost. The Gators are hurt badly by having one more loss than their two rivals.
"It's crazy how the whole tiebreaker works out," Georgia quarterback David Greene said. "We're fortunate that if we win this week and Tennessee wins, we'll represent the East in the championship game. That's been our goal all along: make it back and hopefully win it again."
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If Georgia (9-2) beats Georgia Tech and Tennessee (9-2) wins at Kentucky on Saturday, the Bulldogs would likely get a chance to defend their SEC title on Dec. 6 at the Georgia Dome.
With a victory over Ohio State, Michigan passed both Georgia and Tennessee in the new Bowl Championship Series standings. The Bulldogs are No. 7, remaining one spot ahead of the Volunteers.
Florida (8-3) jumped from 13th to 11th -- within 5.86 points of Tennessee -- but BCS experts say it's probably too much of a deficit for the Gators to overcome in the final week, even with a victory over Florida State.
The BCS standings will be used as a tiebreaker if the Eastern Division winds up in a three-way tie. Florida and Georgia already have clinched a tie at 6-2, and Tennessee can finish with the same record.
Under the tiebreaker, the top BCS team gets the nod, unless the next-best team is within five places of the leader. In that scenario, the head-to-head matchup would determine which team goes to the SEC title game.
If it comes down to Georgia and Tennessee, the Bulldogs would get the nod because of their 41-14 victory in Knoxville. They wouldn't win a head-to-head with Florida, which defeated Georgia 16-13.
Georgia must beat Georgia Tech, pull for Tennessee to defeat Kentucky and hope Florida doesn't get enough of a boost. The Gators are hurt badly by having one more loss than their two rivals.
"It's crazy how the whole tiebreaker works out," Georgia quarterback David Greene said. "We're fortunate that if we win this week and Tennessee wins, we'll represent the East in the championship game. That's been our goal all along: make it back and hopefully win it again."
www.11alive.com
