Richt: Georgia should be in BCS title game

ATLANTA - Georgia coach Mark Richt turned politician late Saturday night as he lobbied for his No. 4 Bulldogs to land a spot in the national championship game.

Richt stated his case after watching No. 1 Missouri and No. 2 West Virginia lose on Saturday night, opening the way for No. 3 Ohio State, Georgia, No. 5 LSU, No. 6 Virginia Tech and perhaps other teams to be included in the new national championship debate.

``It should come down to who the voters believe are the two best teams in the nation right now,'' Richt said.

``Let's face it, going into today we were ranked No. 4 in the BCS. They ranked us there for a reason. They believed we belonged there. Two teams lost ahead of us. Everybody knew going in we were not going to play for a conference championship and still they voted us there. They voted us there for a reason and I don't know why that should change right now.''

LSU beat Tennessee on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference championship game and may pass Georgia in the polls and BCS standings.

Asked directly if he believes Georgia is better than LSU, Richt didn't back down.

``I think if we'd have played for the (SEC) championship, we certainly believe we could have won the game,'' Richt said. ``Do I think we could beat LSU, yes.''

Richt said he knows many will argue LSU is more deserving because it won the SEC title.

``The rules do not state that you must win your conference championship,'' he said. ``We were co-champion (of the SEC East). We lost in a tie-breaker.''

Richt also noted that his Bulldogs (10-2) ended the season with six straight wins.

``We beat Florida by double digits,'' Richt said. ``We held Kentucky to 13 points and they're hanging 50 on some really good football teams. We beat Auburn by 25. We've just been very, very hot. We've been extremely strong. (Quarterback) Matthew (Stafford) has grown up, (tailback) Knowshon (Moreno) has made his mark.

``I just believe we're one of the two best teams in the nation right now and deserve to play in the game.''

Richt said the good news is his team now is a lock to be in a BCS bowl, perhaps in the Sugar Bowl if not in the national championship game in New Orleans.

``That's fantastic for Georgia,'' Richt said.

Any BCS bowl is nice, but Richt's focus was on the national championship game.

``Let's play for the big prize, you know?'' Richt said. ``That's what we want.''