ATHENS – Greetings from sun-splashed Sanford Stadium. What a gorgeous day for football. Supposed to be a high of 75 degrees today and the only clouds in the sky seem to be there only for decoration.

It’s fitting backdrop for what should be a classic football game between Georgia and LSU today. My advice is to kick back and really enjoy this one.

I say that because it’s so rare when these two teams play. Yes, they’ve gotten together a little more lately, eight times since 2003 counting today’s game. But this will be just the 30^th meeting overall, and both programs have been playing football since the 1890s.

In fact, Les Miles will be facing Georgia for the second time in Athens today. That makes  him only the second coach in LSU history – Gaynell Tinsley (1948-54) was the last – to play in Sanford Stadium twice. Even Charles McClendon, who coached the Tigers for 18 years from 1962-79, came here only once.

So it’s a rarity indeed. And the games always seem to be exciting, even when there have been lopsided results. The Bulldogs are 3-4 against LSU under coach Mark Richt. The Tigers won the first two, 17-10 in Baton Rouge in  2003 and 34-13 in the SEC Championship game later that season. Georgia came back with a vengeance, winning three straight by an average of 21 points  in 2004, ’05, and ’08. Included was a 34-14 win in the SEC Championship game in 2005.

The last two have been wild and wacky, with the Tigers winning both. No. 4 LSU had a controversial 20-13 win over No. 18 Georgia in Athens in 2009 when A.J. Green was wrongly flagged for excessive celebration on a late TD. The No. 1-ranked Tigers won again in the 2011 SEC Championship 42-10. But the score is somewhat deceiving. The Bulldogs had a 10-0 first-half lead and held the Tigers without a first down for the entire first half before explosive special teams plays tilted the game in LSU’s favor.

And special teams should play a big role in today’s contest. I give the Tigers a big edge in that department. I think Georgia has a slight edge on offense and LSU a slight edge on defense. But where I think the Bulldogs have a decided advantage is in the area of “intangibles.”

Georgia is playing the game at home and has already encountered this type of environment, with national attention and a Top 10 opponent on the opposite sideline. LSU has played a relatively tame schedule, winning its four games by an average of 27 points. In a nutshell, the Tigers haven’t been tested. They will be today.

So, like I said, kick back and enjoy this one. With the SEC schedules about to be remade yet again, it could be a long while before we get to watch these two programs go at it again.