Georgia and LSU aren’t permanent rivals, but the Bulldogs and Tigers are familiar foes having met a year ago in Baton Rouge. Ed Orgeron’s squad won that meeting 36-16. At Friday’s SEC Championship Game press conference, UGA coach Kirby Smart was asked for his thoughts on how the 2019 Tigers compare to last year’s squad.

“Yeah, extremely different,” Smart said of how the teams differ. “You can see remnants, some hollow elements, but the unique thing now is they’re really just doing anything they want to do. They don’t have to do anything. They do anything they want to do, and whatever they want to do, they’ve been really successful at in all the games.

“Outside of maybe the Auburn game, they did whatever they wanted to do whereas last year they were probably a little bit more predictable, and they wanted to be a little more run-oriented. They’ve gotten to where now they can do what they want to do offensively and then they’re successful doing that.”

The only thing missing from Smart’s answer is a mention of Joe Brady. Orgeron installing the former New Orleans Saints staffer as LSU’s passing-game coordinator and play-caller helped turn the LSU offense from “predictable” to a unit that now allows the Tigers to do “anything they want to do.”