The SEC championship game Saturday night was better for conference coaches than fans.

Fans saw a one-sided 34-14 game that Georgia controlled from the outset. Coaches saw all the seniors they won't have to contend with next season.

Georgia started five seniors on offense and six on defense. LSU started six seniors on both offense and defense.

The Bulldogs will lose three-fourths of their starting defensive line, their three best defensive backs, three offensive linemen and star quarterback D.J. Shockley.

LSU will lose five of its front seven on defense, leading rusher Joseph Addai and three starters in its offensive line.

Both teams also could lose underclassmen to the NFL. A couple of Georgia juniors, tight end Leonard Pope and Quentin Moses, are weighing their pro options. LSU free safety LaRon Landry is another junior with NFL possibilities.

Dogged Consistency: Georgia's recent track record suggests it will overcome the losses. It has become the most consistent program in the conference. Not even a coaching change interrupted their success.

The Bulldogs are headed for their ninth consecutive finish in the top 25. Coach Jim Donnan's last four teams (1997-2000) all finished in the top five; Richt has done even better. After Richt's first team was ranked 22nd in the AP poll, the Bulldogs have posted three consecutive top-10 finishes and can stretch that to four with a victory over West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl.

Quarterback Derby: Finding a starting quarterback will be Georgia's No. 1 challenge in its bid to repeat as SEC champion.

Last year, the Bulldogs lost four-year starter David Greene, but there was no question about his successor. Shockley had backed up Greene for three years.

Replacing Shockley will be more difficult. Junior Joe Tereshinksi has the most experience, but redshirt freshman Joe Cox supposedly has more talent. Incoming freshman Matthew Stafford of Dallas also might be a factor in the competition.

Stafford, one of the nation's top-rated high school quarterbacks, plans to enroll at Georgia in time to go through spring practice.

Best In The Middle?: After his first season in the SEC, LSU coach Les Miles was asked for his perspective on the league. His answer was predictable.

Like every other coach in the SEC, he said it was the toughest conference in the country from "top to bottom." He also said the top teams in the conference could compete with the top teams in the country.

In other seasons, he would have been right. But not this year.

USC and Texas, who will play for the national championship in the Rose Bowl, are helmet and shoulder pads above the rest of college football. Also, the lower-echelon teams in the SEC aren't as strong as usual. If you matched the SEC's bottom five teams against the five worst teams in the Pac-10 and Big Ten, the SEC would probably lose three of five.

You still can make a case that the SEC is the strongest league in the country. You just have to be careful about your criteria.

Five SEC teams ranked in the top 16 in the final regular-season Associated Press poll. The Atlantic Coast Conference placed six in the top 25 but only two in the top 16. The Big Ten placed two in the top four, five in the top 20 but just two in the top 16. The Pac-10 had two in the top six but only three in the top 25.

High Stakes Game: The winner of the SEC championship game is assured of a BCS bowl. The loser can't even count on a New Year's Day bowl.

LSU entered the SEC championship ranked No. 3 in the country. After losing to Georgia, it fell all the way to the Peach Bowl.

Translation: The Tigers would have been better off losing to Auburn.

Auburn, which lost to LSU in October, finished second in the SEC West; received a bid to the Capital One Bowl; moved up to seventh (to LSU's 10th) in the AP poll; and drew an easier bowl opponent. Auburn will play Wisconsin while LSU will play ninth-ranked Miami.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.