UGA eyes CFP next, but winning SEC 'a big deal'

ATLANTA -- No. 1 Georgia's spot successful the College Football Playoff was unafraid adjacent earlier it bushed No. 14 LSU 50-30 to triumph the SEC title crippled Saturday. But Bulldogs manager Kirby Smart and backmost Stetson Bennett weren't looking past the value of a league rubric -- not aft coming up abbreviated past season.

A twelvemonth agone successful Atlanta, Georgia mislaid to Alabama successful the SEC rubric game, earlier beating the Crimson Tide successful the rematch successful the CFP nationalist title game.

"Winning the SEC is simply a large deal," Bennett said. "This is the champion league successful football. The nationalist title is immense and a large woody -- that's our adjacent goal. The SEC is the archetypal goal."

Bennett threw 2 interceptions successful past season's SEC title-game loss. Against LSU connected Saturday, helium was astir flawless, completing 23 of 29 passes for 274 yards, 4 touchdowns and nary interceptions.

"I had respective radical travel up to maine and accidental they thought helium played the champion crippled of his vocation tonight," Smart said of Bennett. "He played truly good."

Smart said helium told his team, "I don't privation 1 kid to locomotion retired of our programme without an SEC title ringing for their career."

Georgia past won the SEC successful 2017, meaning 4 classes of players hadn't been champions of the conference.

"That was astir to hap if we didn't get that one," Smart said. "They said capable was capable tonight. They got 'em one."

Smart said helium wasn't wholly pleased with the game, however, particularly the defense, which allowed 549 yards. Asked what the Bulldogs person to enactment on, Smart said, "Everything. There's thing that we can't enactment connected the adjacent 4 weeks."

Smart said teams thin to tackle poorly arsenic the play goes connected and defence "deteriorates."

"That's not the civilization here, and it won't beryllium accepted oregon tolerated," helium said. "So we've got to hole it."

As the imaginable apical effect successful the playoff, the Bulldogs would person their prime of the semifinal crippled site. They could enactment adjacent to location and play again successful Atlanta successful Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

"I mean, we similar this place. We play beauteous bully here," Bennett said, smiling. "I don't cognize if it's the turf oregon humidity."

LSU manager Brian Kelly credited Georgia for making the plays to win, but helium insisted that the disagreement betwixt programs "is not huge."

Georgia capitalized connected a blocked tract goal, returning it for a touchdown. It besides intercepted a walk disconnected an LSU receiver's helmet, mounting up a 22-yard touchdown pass.

Add everything up, Kelly said, and it could person been a adjacent crippled successful the 4th quarter.

"Proud of my team," helium said. "Proud of the combat they gave today. We were conscionable a small short."