TAMPA, Fla. - Georgia offensive guard Max Jean-Gilles still hopes to be where he and his teammates wanted to end this season - at the Orange Bowl national championship game in Miami.
"I'm trying to get tickets," said Jean-Gilles of Tuesday night's national title game to be played in his hometown.
Jean-Gilles and the eighth-ranked Bulldogs will be a few hours away in Florida at 11 a.m. today, hoping to end their season on an up note against No. 16 Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium.
"We fell short of our goals so we have to make a new one and go out with a bang," Jean-Gilles said.
The new benchmark Georgia (9-2) has focused on reaching is to clinch its third straight season of at least 10 wins, something the Bulldogs haven't done since 1980-83 under Vince Dooley.
"I think 10 wins is important," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "For whatever reason the difference between eight and nine doesn't seem to be as big as between nine and 10. When you get to double digits, it just looks better. I think when you get a little bit of a streak going it's something worth fighting for, and I hope our guys will fight hard to continue double digit victories."
Georgia can join Oklahoma, Texas, Southern Cal and Boise State as teams that have posted 10 or more wins each of the past three seasons. Michigan (in the Rose Bowl) and Iowa (in the Capital One) also can join that club with bowl wins today.
"With the fact that we didn't accomplish the SEC and national titles, 10 wins will pretty much brighten up our season for us," safety Thomas Davis said.
The Bulldogs began the season with a program-best No. 3 preseason ranking and were a fashionable pick to play in the national title game. Those dreams were essentially smashed with a loss to SEC East rival Tennessee in the fifth game of the season.
"We've learned a lot this year about ourselves and about handling adversity," defensive end David Pollack said. "We should already (have) a 10-win season, but we shot ourselves in the foot against Tennessee."
A November loss to Auburn ensured Georgia would not be headed to a BCS game.
"I don't know how they feel about being at the Outback Bowl," defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder said, "but I like their focus, I like their concentration. I feel like they're excited about it."
Wisconsin was a surprising 9-0, ranked fourth in the nation, in the thick of the national title race and seemingly headed to at least a Rose Bowl berth before losing 49-14 to Michigan State and 30-7 to Iowa.
Wisconsin (9-2) will also gladly take a 10-win season instead of a three-game losing streak to head into the off-season. The Badgers have just three 10-win seasons in program history.
"That tells you how difficult it really is," Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez said. "It's very meaningful when you reach that level."
Georgia also is aiming for its third straight top 10 poll finish and still could end up in the top five. Fourth-ranked California already is one team above the Bulldogs in the polls that lost its bowl game.
"People ask was it a good year, was it a disappointing year?" Richt said. "Personally, I think it's been a very good year. If we win, I think it will be a great year."
Wide receiver Reggie Brown said a win today won't change the fact that the Bulldogs will be watching Oklahoma and Southern Cal play in the game they really wanted to play at in South Florida.
"It won't erase it because we didn't get there," Brown said. "It's always in the back of your head. At least it's good that we're disappointed with 10 wins."
Reach Marc Weiszer at marc.weiszer@onlineathens.com.
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