And roughly 70 miles as well, which was about how far most preseason prognosticators thought the Georgia Bulldogs would be from the Georgia Dome come early December.
Instead, they’re just one win away from a date with the best the West has to offer in the SEC championship game next month.
UGA entered Saturday atop the SEC East at 5-1, a half-game ahead of 5-2 South Carolina. The Bulldogs exit with the same half-game cushion, thanks to a 45-7 pounding of Auburn -- its eight straight since opening the season with back-to-back losses -- and the Gamecocks’ win over Florida, a game that wrapped up USC’s conference slate.
But their path to Atlanta remains a simple one, both in theory and in competition: beat Kentucky -- which lost to Vanderbilt 38-8 to drop to 1-5 in conference play -- next weekend and claim the SEC East crown.
However, if the Bulldogs were to inexplicably fall to the Wildcats -- at home, no less -- they would also lose the division; UGA and USC would be tied at 6-2, which would hand the East to the Gamecocks thanks to the 45-42 win over the Bulldogs the second week of the season.
But surely nothing could go wrong against UK next weekend, right? Right???
