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Someone somewhere has blessed Mark Richt, the head football coach of the Georgia Bulldogs.

Just when he seemed to be teetering, after a couple of years on the coaching hot seat, he pulled his rump roast out of the fire by reaching the SEC championship game.

Bulldog fans climbed off Richt's back as they made reservations in "Hotlanta." Never mind that his team was torched by LSU in that game, nor that the Dawgs lost to Boise in “neutral” Atlanta in the season opener and lost to South Carolina in Athens the next week. Never mind that the guy has averaged 10 wins a year.

Well, there's that and the fact that Richt can't seem to beat Florida often enough. It's not like Georgia has done well against the Gators since the legendary Vince Dooley retired in 1988, but Dawg fans have been growing impatient.

And along comes 2011.

After those two early losses, Georgia went on a 10 game winning streak and captured the SEC East crown.  Along the way to those 10 wins, Georgia defeated the South Carolina Chanticleers, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida, New Mexico, Auburn, and Georgia Tech.

Dawg fans should pray for such a schedule every year that Florida and Tennessee are rebuilding. No Alabama? No LSU? No Arkansas? South Carolina at home? Praise UGA and pass the biscuits!!

The powers that be in the SEC are aware of the scheduling inequities inherent in the 2 division format. Those inequities are addressed by "marrying" one team from each division to each other as annual opponents and having the rest of the out of division teams rotate onto any team's schedule periodically. For example, Florida faces LSU every year, but Alabama, Auburn, and the others every few years. In the end it will all even out, but from year to year it can be a bit of a grind.

Back to Georgia's schedule and Georgia prayers. Alabama was scheduled to rotate onto the Dawgs' schedule next season.

But, with the addition of Texas A & M and Missouri to the SEC schedule, and consequent revisions, Georgia will again avoid conflicts with the three best teams in the West. Georgia opens SEC play at Missouri and will play no one of particular concern from the West.

Dawg fans should already be booking rooms in "Hotlanta" and checking Travelocity for arrangements.

Praise UGA and pass the biscuits!