By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- Vince Dooley's eyes were red and moist. His voice was crackly and hoarse. But he couldn't get that smile off his face.

As Georgia's athletic director walked out of Jordan-Hare Stadium, he reached up to touch a T-shirt that a fan dangled over the railing, bearing a message that made it all official.

"Georgia. Southeastern Conference Eastern Division Champions."

The drought was over.

Twenty years after winning its last championship, Georgia got to experience the feeling again on a cold, damp night in east Alabama. Michael Johnson made an improbable fourth-down touchdown catch with 1:25 remaining, giving the seventh-ranked Bulldogs a 24-21 victory over No. 24 Auburn on Saturday.

"That's what is so great about this team," said Dooley, who coached the Bulldogs for a quarter-century and won six SEC championships. "They never quit. They just keep going and going."

OK, so this is only a division title. Just try telling it to the thousands of red-clad fans who remained in one corner of the cavernous stadium, screaming, crying, laughing and singing.

"Glory, Glory To Ol' Georgia," they yelled, over and over.

"I'm speechless, really," Johnson said as he stood in the end zone, hugging the teammate who threw him the ball, David Greene. "I just want to go to the locker room and celebrate."

Then he looked up at all those long-suffering Bulldog faithful, the ones who were exorcising two decades of frustration.

"I wish all the fans could come in the locker room and celebrate with us," Johnson said.

Georgia won its last SEC championship in 1982, when Ronald Reagan was a first-term president and Herschel Walker was taking handoffs in the Bulldogs' backfield.

Since then, plenty of great players have come through Athens -- Garrison Hearst, Eric Zeier, Andre Hastings and Champ Bailey among them -- but none got to experience what it felt like to finish first.

As the day turned to night, it looked as though this team would let another chance slip away.

Already, the Bulldogs had missed an opportunity to clinch the SEC East by losing to Florida two weeks ago. Lose again, and Georgia knew it would give the Gators a chance to slip in the back door and steal the division title away.

At the end, it came down to a play known as 70-X-Takeoff, thrown to a guy who only found out a few days ago that he would be starting in place of the most prolific receiver in Georgia history.

"I just hope I don't mess up," Johnson had said on Tuesday, upon learning that he would go for the injured Terrence Edwards.

When Saturday came around, Johnson didn't mess up. He came through with one of the biggest plays in Georgia history.

Johnson, who has only 18 career catches coming into the night, pulled down 13 for 141 yards against Auburn -- 11 in the second half alone. The last of those receptions came with Georgia facing fourth-and-15 on the Auburn 19.

Greene feigned a throw toward Fred Gibson, hoping to lure the safety away from Johnson. Then, the left-handed quarterback turned toward the receiver he was going to all along. The ball hung in the air, Johnson leaped up and somehow pulled it down over Tiger cornerback Horace Willis.

After being pummeled by his teammates in the back of the end zone -- in front of a stunned Auburn student section -- Johnson sprinted off the field with the ball still firmly lodged in his arms.

Greene, meanwhile, leaped into the arms of D.J. Shockley, knocking over Georgia's backup quarterback.

Of course, Auburn still had time to get in position for a tying field goal.

Edwards, his left arm hanging in a sling because of a separated shoulder, exhorted the Georgia fans with his healthy right limb. When Auburn's final play came up short, he ran toward a group of reporters standing along the sideline.

"Tell Florida they don't have to play more," Edwards said, gleeful that the Gators' night game against South Carolina wouldn't affect the standings.

The Bulldogs have a week off, then they'll play Georgia Tech in the regular-season finale before moving on to the SEC championship game in Atlanta on Dec. 7. There's still plenty of work to do -- winning the conference title would ensure a trip to a BCS bowl.

But those ambitions can wait. The Bulldog Nation wants to celebrate. After 20 years, they deserve it.

"It's so hard to believe," linebacker Boss Bailey said. "It came down to the last game. We had to get it done. It couldn't have been any better. This is the sweetest."