Better get used to Dogs, Tigers in Dome clash

ATHENS, Ga. - Listening to Mark Richt matter-of-factly rattle off the merits of Saturday's championship opponent triggered a strong reaction.

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The sheer casualness of the conversation struck like a Greg Blue open-field hit.

Georgia vs. Louisiana State. This is the Southeastern Conference of the 21st century - at least thus far. This is status quo.

The term "new normal" was adopted in the fall of 2001 to illustrate a shift in the everyday balance of American life in the post 9/11 world. We just didn't know at the time that the phrase could be used to describe the annual balance of SEC football.

Before the turn of the millennium, every SEC Championship Game since the event debuted in 1992 was won by either Florida (5), Alabama (2) or Tennessee (2). Since 2001, however, neither Florida nor Alabama has even reached the SEC title game. Tennessee has made it twice, but hasn't won.

The new sheriffs of the SEC East and West reside in Athens, Ga., and Baton Rouge, La. Everybody else is now trying to catch up with the Tigers and Bulldogs the way they once chased the Gators and Tide.

Georgia is making its third championship appearance in four years Saturday night. LSU is making its third in five years.

This is the new normal.

"I would hope so," said Georgia junior safety Tra Battle. "That was one of the goals when Coach Richt came in. His goal was for this to be the type of team that competed for the championship every year. Seems like we're taking steps toward that progression."

Richt understands a little something about gridiron landscape shifts. He was part of the wave swell at Miami that ultimately would redefine the concept of modern dominance in college football. Then he worked on Bobby Bowden's staff at Florida State as it altered the face of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Now he's done the same thing at Georgia, where the results had not always kept up with the reputation before his arrival.

"It's not domination, by any means," Richt said of Georgia's relative control of the SEC East that once was under the bipolar control of Florida and Tennessee. "We're just fighting like mad to get in it. We've been fortunate to be there three times."

You could have labeled it good fortune until this season. LSU and Georgia each won SEC championships in the second seasons under new head coaches Nick Saban and Richt. Clearly they inherited some talent and made the most of it.

But that each program has consistently returned to the annual Georgia Dome affair shows that they have the rarest of traits in major college football - the ability to "sustain." New players - and in the case of LSU, a new coach in Les Miles - perpetuate the success of their predecessors, Before you know it, making the title game seems almost old hat.

The shift kind of crept up on everyone. When Auburn and Tennessee faced off in last year's title game you wondered if the Georgia-LSU era was only a fad. Now that they're both back and playing each other for the second time in three years, players are being asked about a Georgia-LSU rivalry and whether the Bulldogs have too much home advantage with the Georgia Dome as the permanent host site. These questions were non-existent until 2003.

"It is two SEC teams that are competing nationally at a high level," said LSU offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth. "They characterize what the SEC is about."

Those once were words reserved for Florida and Alabama. When the SEC divided and implemented the annual championship game, there was no question where the power was distributed. The Gators and Crimson Tide met each of the first three years, four of the first five and five of the first eight times in the Georgia Dome. Auburn and Tennessee mixed themselves in enough to be considered viable alternates.

It's all changed so dramatically in the past five years that Saturday's matchup is almost anticlimactic.

They have each become so accustomed to getting here that instead of relishing what lies ahead they are inwardly seething about opportunities lost.

"It's just so slight that we're both not undefeated," Battle said.

Slight, indeed. LSU is one second-half meltdown and overtime loss to Tennessee from being perfect. Georgia, just five points from the same status, is left lamenting a sidelined starting quarterback against Florida and a botched fourth-and-10 defensive play against Auburn.

"We were talking about it yesterday," said Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley, "that what separates us from being undefeated is basically five points and how big this game could have been."

LSU has the same "what ifs" to ponder at 10-1.

"I feel like USC and Texas have been the most consistent teams all year, and if they continue to win they deserve to be where they are at," said LSU defensive tackle Kyle Williams. "We weren't able to play that consistent, and I am happy with where we are at."

Maybe not this year, but consistency is the hallmark of the two contenders who share their new station atop the SEC. Everybody else might just have to get used to it.

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.