So Georgia will play in the Sugar Bowl against Hawaii.

After a 20-year absence, this will be the third sUGAr Bowl and BCS appearance in Mark Richt’s seven seasons at Georgia.

There definitely was the case for Georgia to play in the BCS championship game, but there was the case for several other teams as well. I’m disappointed but not devastated. Naturally we are most disappointed for the seniors who will not get another shot at playing for the title. If we dwelled on the inconsistencies and double-speak that played a part in the final rankings, we’d run out of bits and bytes. It could be worse – we could be Missouri dropping out of the BCS completely after entering the weekend ranked #1.

Georgia and their fans have two choices now:

One – we can mope about the process and the perceived quality of the matchup. That worked out real well for us in the 2006 Sugar.

Two – we enthusiastically give our best effort and support and take care of business as if we were playing LSU, Southern Cal, or Ohio State.

I don’t buy that this game is a no-win situation for Georgia. At the most basic level, it’s an opportunity for our 11th win and another Sugar Bowl title. Even in this relatively high-water era for Georgia football, a BCS bowl victory is nothing to sneeze at. Beyond that, we must consider positioning for next year. A win in New Orleans puts Georgia in all likelihood among the top three at the end of this season and among the top five starting next season. Oklahoma dropped their BCS game with Boise State and began this year ranked around #10. LSU won the Sugar Bowl and started 2007 ranked #2 even after losing the top draft pick. Starting position matters if Georgia plans on being in the national title picture again next year.

Hawaii is a great story this year and will draw a lot of viewers to see if their pass-happy scheme and players can match up to an SEC power. A lot of people seem to think that Georgia is one of the best, or at least the hottest, teams in the nation right now, and they can add to that momentum and carry it on to next season by winning the Sugar Bowl.

A big part of the challenge against Hawaii will be matching their intensity. If you saw the bowl selection show last night, you saw a Hawaii team and fan base genuinely excited by the opportunity. That will carry over to their bowl preparations. Like West Virginia, Hawaii’s not a team you want to get very far behind out of the gate.