ATLANTA (AP) — Given little chance to knock off the nation’s top-ranked team, Georgia doesn’t have a lot to lose in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Then again, No. 1 LSU probably doesn’t either.

In all likelihood, the Tigers have already put together a resume that’s impressive enough to get them to New Orleans for the BCS title game — even if the 12th-ranked Bulldogs pull off a huge upset Saturday.

Count Georgia coach Mark Richt among those who feels LSU (12-0, 8-0 SEC) deserves to play for the national championship, whether they win or lose to his team. He can certainly read a schedule, noting the Tigers have already beaten three teams among the top eight in The Associated Press poll — No. 2 Alabama, No. 6 Arkansas and No. 8 Oregon — as well as 22nd-ranked West Virginia.

“If you look at all the one-loss teams and if, in fact, they became a one-loss team, just look at who they played,” Richt said Friday. “I would think they’d be a shoe-in to play (for the national title). I know that’s not what they’re focusing on, because you don’t go 12-0 unless you can focus on every game.”

LSU’s Les Miles, whose team is a two-touchdown favorite, refused to get dragged into the debate. No need to, really, since he’s coaching the last unbeaten team from one of the major conferences.

To some, this game is just an afterthought, something the Tigers must get out of the way before they get on with their rematch against SEC West rival Alabama for an even bigger crown. Miles doesn’t see if that way.

“I do know that’s an issue for other folks,” he said. “It’s not one for us. We’re very, very focused on the next game and a very quality Georgia opponent.”

Indeed, there’s a sense this team wants a national title that includes no ifs, ands or buts. In 2003, LSU defeated Oklahoma for the BCS title but Southern Cal was voted No. 1 in the AP poll. Four years later, the Tigers became the first two-loss team to win it all, getting plenty of help from other schools along the way.

This time, it’s all in their hands.

“We’ve talked about it several times, but not about the what ifs,” Miles said. “It’s all about what we’ve accomplished to this point. We’ve put ourselves in position to play a championship game. That’s this Saturday against a very, very talented Georgia team. I promise you, our football team understands that.”

Georgia (10-2, 7-1) might be the hottest team in the country outside of LSU. The Bulldogs have bounced back from an 0-2 start with their longest in-season winning streak since 1982, removing any doubt about Richt’s coaching future. But their schedule hasn’t been nearly as tough as the Tigers’ because of a quirk in the rotation that allowed them to avoid all three of the top teams in the SEC West.

Still, given the pressure his program was under coming off its first losing mark in 14 years and then dropping its first two games, Richt and his staff have engineered an impressive turnaround that bodes well for the future, given the youth of the team (only five starters are seniors).