ATHENS — Former Georgia star David Pollack said on ESPN this week that the Bulldogs and Alabama ‘are on a collision course’” to meet in the SEC Championship Game.

“I wanted to see this past weekend if South Carolina and Will Muschamp was going to rise up in the East, I wanted to see if Dan Mullen and Florida was going to rise up in the East. I got my answers,” Pollack said. “They’re not going to, ok? They’re not there.

“It’s Georgia and everyone else in the East.”

The No. 3-ranked Bulldogs bulldozed South Carolina in the second half of Saturday’s showdown at Williams-Brice Stadium en route to a 41-17 win.

Georgia was so impressive that coach Kirby Smart was jumping up and down dancing wildly in the locker room after that game.

The Gators, meanwhile, lost to Kentucky 27-16, breaking a string of 31 straight Florida wins in the series dating back to 1986.

Todd McShay, appearing on the same ESPN program, was just as confident in Georgia winning the East as Pollack.

“It would be an absolute shocker if Georgia’s not in the SEC Championship Game,” McShay said. “The way they are playing, Jake Fromm at the quarterback position is efficient, seems like they have three new running backs …

“There’s such a difference between Georgia, in terms of talent and depth, compared to the rest of the teams in the East.”

Pollack also explained why he has the Crimson Tide winning the West Division.

“I think Auburn’s schedule is brutal,” Pollack said. “They have to go at Georgia, at Mississippi State, at Bama.”

The 36-year-old Pollack is known for his straight takes, even when that has meant being critical of his alma mater.

Pollack doesn’t need to say kind words to win over any Bulldogs fans when one considers he’s one of the most decorated players in the program’s rich history.

Pollack was a three-time, first-team All-American for Georgia from 2002-2004, winning SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors his senior season (2004).

A two-time winner of the Ted Hendricks Award, Pollack also won the Lott Trophy, the Lombardi Award and the Chuck Bednarik Award.

Pollack’s promising NFL career was cut short with the Cincinnati Bengals on account of a broken cervical vertebrae that, while not leading to paralysis, required fusion surgery.

The former Georgia star created some controversy in July when he spoke out on former Georgia defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.

“The stories that I have heard and some of you all have heard that came out of Athens – that are true, (from) coaches that were on the staff, some of the things Jeremy Pruitt did to Mark Richt, some coaches would tell you are the most disrespectful, most crazy things they heard,” Pollack said on SEC Now.

“So, I’ll be curious to watch Jeremy Pruitt as he evolves with this relationship with Phillip Fulmer because Jeremy Pruitt did a good job when he was with Nick Saban, because he knew where he stood. He did a good job with Jimbo Fisher, they let you know where you stand. The hierarchy was very clear. How does he evolve as a head coach?”