The 2005 SEC Championship game featured the second time in three years that the Georgia Bulldogs would face the LSU Tigers in Atlanta. It was also the third time in four years that the Bulldogs would see the inside of the Georgia Dome for a chance to be crowned kings of the SEC. Mark Richt and the Dawgs would avenge their loss from the 2003 season and win the game by a score of 34-14.
The 2005 season was quite a year for all of college football, but particularly for the SEC. Steve Spurrier returned to the SEC, taking over the South Carolina Gamecocks program and leading them to a 7-5 record in his first year. Les Miles took Nick Saban's place as LSU's head coach and would continue the Tigers' winning ways. Urban Meyer saw his first year as Florida's head man, beginning the process to returning that program to the top of the SEC after the Ron Zook debacle. Auburn continued to be a factor in the SEC West, losing only one conference game. That loss was to LSU, however, and was the tie-breaker that kept Auburn from returning to Atlanta. Alabama continued to languish in mediocrity under Mike Shula, adding NCAA sanctions to the pain of four consecutive losses to Tommy Tuberville. All these factors made for an interesting but middle-of-the-road SEC season, and no team was a real factor in the National discussion, though (as usual) many believed any number of teams could have been worthy.
It was the first time in a while that the BCS would not see any major controversy (thought that changed pretty quickly) and it would see the USC Trojans go down to the Texas Longhorns in the Championship game, despite USC being the defending National Champs and the favorite to repeat. LSU destroyed Miami in the Peach Bowl despite an injury to JaMarcus Russell (current NFL flop), but Georgia would be surprised by the game plan of West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl and lose that game.
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