Football: Tigers’ only loss in SEC Title game came to Ga.

The No. 1 LSU football team may wind up in the BCS National Championship game regardless of its result in Saturday's Southeastern Conference Championship.

But if the Tigers know their history, they'll want to win the game against the Bulldogs.

Since 2006, the team that wins the SEC Championship game has gone on to win the BCS National Championship every year.

LSU has only hoisted the SEC Championship trophy once during that time, in 2007.

But the Tigers have a better winning percentage in SEC Championship games than any other team.

LSU has gone 3-1 in its four trips to the game in the Georgia Dome, with the lone loss coming to Georgia in 2005 when No. 13 Georgia upset No. 3 LSU dominantly, 34-14.

This season's game will mark Georgia's first trip to the SEC Championship game since 2005.

Sophomore safety Eric Reid said the Tigers won't be looking for revenge against Georgia for the 2005 defeat.

"We're not too concerned about what's happened in the past," he said. "We're just focused on what's happening now, so we've got to win this one."

Some of LSU's players are looking for their first football championship ring.

"I've never won a championship in football at any level," Reid said. "Having an undefeated season would be amazing because I've never done that. Winning an SEC Championship would be even bigger."

Sophomore cornerback Tyrann Mathieu said the team has fared well in championship games in the past because of both players and coaches.

"It's a combination," he said. "Those guys on our coaching staff definitely prepare us well enough, and the guys on our team just want to go out there and play hard."

Georgia has only played in the SEC Championship game three times, but the Bulldogs won two of the games.

Georgia will have the advantage of playing the game in its home state, but LSU players say they don't fret about the prospect of the neutral game becoming an away game.

"That doesn't intimidate us at all," said senior cornerback Ron Brooks. "We've gone into opposing stadiums and played well on the road before. It's really not going to bother us."

Mathieu said he has faith in LSU fans to make their presence felt in Atlanta.

"We pretty much had the whole Ole Miss game purple and gold, and when we went to West Virginia, we had a lot of fans there, too," he said. "The fans do a great job of following us and supporting us."

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Contact Albert Burford at aburford@lsureveille.com