The SEC East was a crapshoot back in 2005. Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, the top three teams, all beat up on in each other in close games.
Georgia beat South Carolina by two, then lost to Florida by four. South Carolina beat Florida by eight. The east of the southeast was on a carousel, trading wins and losses with every go-around.
Georgia prevailed from the contested bunch with a 6-2 conference record to secure a spot in the SEC Championship Game against LSU.
It was all business once they took the field at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. An early big play from quarterback D.J. Shockley and wide receiver Sean Bailey set the tone for a dominating performance.
D.J. Shockley's 45-Yard TD Pass to Sean Bailey vs. LSU
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The Georgia Bulldogs received the ball to start the game and went three-and-out. LSU and QB Jamarcus Russell had a disastrous first drive that also resulted in a punt.
Now that the early game jitters were shook, it was time to really start the game. On first-and-10 near midfield, Shockley goes into play action and looks deep. He fires an absolute dime down the left sideline to a streaking Bailey, who snuck behind the LSU defense. Bailey hauls it in and strolls into the end zone to give Georgia the early lead.
The 45-yard score was just what Mark Richt's team needed to get rolling. The Bulldogs piled on LSU thanks to another touchdown pass from Shockley to Bailey and a 7-yard QB scoring run. The score ballooned to 34-7 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
LSU scored a garbage time touchdown to bring the score to 34-14, but the game was all Georgia. UGA secured its second conference championship in Richt's tenure and Shockley proved he was a dynamic playmaker on the big stage.
These days, Shockley is going to be a playmaker on the sidelines. The former Georgia QB is the new sideline reporter at Georgia football games. He's had a long career as a sports reporter and now he's going to be back on the field for his alma mater.
