When LSU takes the field at the SEC Championship in Atlanta, they'll do so against a team that's playing in the title game for the 4th time in the past 5 years.
It's also the No. 1 team in the country and the game kicks off just over 70 miles away from campus. But when asked what types of advantages that will give the Tigers' opponent, Brian Kelly said it's quite the opposite.
"I think that their team, you know, clearly has themselves in a mindset that this is where we should be and we expect to be here and we expect to win," Kelly said. "And any time you face an opponent that's confident and believes they're going to win, you got to beat that. You've got to go ahead and take that from them."
Georgia has lost its last two appearances in the SEC title game including a 37-10 defeat at the hands of LSU in 2019. Georgia also fell in the 2021 edition of the game, xx-xx to Alabama, but still qualified for the CFP and avenged that loss in the national championship. Even with a loss in this game Georgia would almost certainly remain in the CFP bracket.
And while pulling off the upset will be a monumental task, LSU's head coach thinks his team already has valuable experience in that department. Alabama walked into Tiger Stadium this season as a heavy favorite with wins in 9 of its past 10 games in the series. They had the winning confidence in that matchup, too.
LSU took it from them, just like they'll have to with the Bulldogs.
"This is a team that believes they should be there and they should win the SEC championship," Kelly said. "So we have to overcome that."
The larger disappointment has already occurred for the Tigers in their loss to Texas A&M in the regular season finale, however. A win over the lowly Aggies would've meant the Tigers headed to Atlanta with College Football Playoff hopes still intact.
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Those dreams are now dashed, but Kelly said he doesn't anticipate any sort of emotional letdown. An SEC Championship is still a monumental achievement, and it's one his players very much value and will fight tooth and nail to get.
"The least concern I have is a letdown," Kelly said. "We didn't play up to our standards and so our guys know it and they care about that. And you could sense it and feel it over the last couple of days. ... Our guys know they let something slip away and they're upset about it. And they know how they have to play. We don't have a margin for error. We have to play with grit, we have to play with fire, we have to play up to our identity. And if we don't, you know, we're not the kind of team we need to be. So I think they're anxious to go back out and play up to their standard. And that's the way I feel that they will play."
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IMPRESSIONS ON QB STETSON BENNETT
"I think when you turn on the film he just exudes confidence. He's a guy that has mastered the position in what Coach [Todd] Monken and certainly coach [Kirby] Smart are asking him to do within that offensive structure," Kelly said. "He just, he moves around with confidence. You know, he's only got very few rushes. He's not a guy that's looking to run, though he can run away from you. In the Auburn game you could see him accelerate and separate from some defenders. But he wants to get the ball to his playmakers. Just smart, careful with the football. Yeah, he just, I think the confidence level that he brings brings up the level of confidence around him and all the playmakers that he has."
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WHAT WOULD AN SEC CHAMPIONSHIP IN YEAR 1 MEAN TO LSU?
"I think it would be, obviously, something that we would all feel great about in our first year here at LSU. But I think, you know, overall, it's hard to win SEC championships," Kelly said. "It's so hard. I mean, there's so many good teams. We just talked about how you have to play week to week in the regular season, but to get there and then win it all. It's that's why somebody asked me yesterday about, do you think that if they expand the playoffs that an SEC championship would be devalued? And I said absolutely not, you don't know what you have to go through to actually get here. And that's why I think it would never be devaluing and would be such a huge thing for this football program."
BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM YEAR 1 IN THE SEC WEST
"This past weekend, you know, how you have to bring your best each and every week. If you don't bring your best, you'll get beat. And so I think that, to me, more than anything else is the takeaway. You cannot play without the energy and the identity of your football team. There's just too many talented players. And if you're not ready to play and play at your best, you'll get beat. That's the SEC West."
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