Athens — Georgia didn't care who it played in the College World Series.

The Bulldogs just cared that they would play in the College World Series.

The latter was assured about 8 p.m. Sunday. The former took a couple of hours more, but eventually Miami beat Arizona to set up the game between the No. 8 Bulldogs and No. 1 Hurricanes. Georgia will face Miami at 7 p.m., Saturday on ESPN.

"We have been pretty good against the ACC this year," said Georgia coach David Perno. "But whoever you play this time of year it is going to be a difficult task."It is about as difficult as it gets when it comes to Miami. The Hurricanes (52-9) are headed to their 23rd College World Series. Georgia has been to six. On top of that Miami has won 19 of its last 23 games. Only LSU has a better record down the stretch.

In addition, Georgia may have had two players selected in the first round of the MLB Draft last week. But Miami had three — first baseman Yonder Alonso (seventh, Cincinnati), second baseman Jemile Weeks (12th, Oakland) and pitcher Carlos Gutierrez (27th, Minnesota). Three more players were taken on the first day.
Then there is national freshman pitcher of the year Chris Hernandez. He is 11-0 with a 2.65 ERA.

But no matter the gaudy stats — Miami ranks top 25 in batting average (.329), scoring (9.0), and ERA (3.96) — Georgia appears calm. That might be because of what the Bulldogs have been through.

The team's darkest-before-the-dawn moment came almost three months ago.
Georgia, coming off a terrible 2007, was suffering through an equally disappointing 2008. The Bulldogs' record was less than .500 after playing a non-conference schedule that featured games against Arizona, Florida State and two-time defending national champ Oregon State. The Bulldogs lost the first game in the Southeastern Conference to Arkansas. And they were losing 10-1 in the second one.

Then, with a Bryce Massanari RBI double to right in the sixth, came the first crack of light. Georgia came back to beat the Razorbacks, 15-11.

"That was probably the most emotional I have ever been after a game," said Georgia coach David Perno, whose team won the SEC, before winning elimination games in the regional, and super-regionals.

"You play that tough schedule for a reason and that is to be ready for the postseason," said Georgia's Gordon Beckham. "And that is basically what helped us. It helped us build a lot of character. We didn't give up and kept chugging and look at where we are."