Tag: College Football Playoff

Georgia Is Still The Team To Beat, Until Proven Otherwise

A lot of noise has occurred during the college football season, but one item stands as the loudest

During the course of any season, there are many “statements” that are made, and college football isn’t any different. Texas going on the road to defeat Alabama is one. Oklahoma beating the aforementioned Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry is another. The latest statement wins came when Washington outlasted Oregon in a Pac-12 showcase, and one can bet Ohio State defeating Penn State will qualify as such noise from the Big Ten perspective. Many voices will scream and rant about which team is the best after said statement victory, while others will act as if they’re taking an extra step in their analysis to pick the top team. Through it all, one constant remains, and that is Georgia, the two-time defending national champion and reigning No. 1 rated team, is (and will be until someone knocks them off) the top dog.

It’s no secret how dominant the Bulldogs, and the SEC as a whole, have been recently and in the past two decades. Including Georgia winning the last two versions of the College Football Playoff, the conference has won four in a row (LSU in 2019, Alabama in 2020). Going back to 2003, the SEC has won 14 of the 20 national championships. While the Crimson Tide went through an unprecedented run of dominance since Nick Saban became the head coach before the 2007 season (and remain a threat for titles), the Bulldogs have emerged as a team that can get on a roll similar to that under Kirby Smart, who took over at Georgia in time for the 2016 campaign after being Saban’s long-time defensive coordinator. Their team is constantly loaded with NFL-caliber talent, and it’s to the point where the roster is reloaded instead of rebuilt. The statement wins haven’t been on Georgia’s schedule so far in 2023, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less dangerous.

That’s not to say the Bulldogs come without flaws, and just like anyone else in sports, they can be beaten at any point. Georgia is still first and undefeated, but it’s been far from pretty. They have had slow starts in many of their games, and needed big second halves to stave off challenges from South Carolina and Auburn. The ones who look for the new hot thing would look at these performances as signs of weakness, but the reality is not many champions go through seasons without being tested a time or two. It’s about surviving and advancing, and the Bulldogs have done that for over a year and a half without defeat. Instead of looking at it as a team being far from perfect, how about giving credit to the fact Georgia hasn’t lost a game since Alabama got them in the 2021 SEC Championship Game? Every program dreams of having the consistency the Bulldogs have enjoyed in recent years, and still enjoys up to this point. It’s funny how people want to say they strive for sustainability, but want something to derail the train when it’s happening in their faces.

Now, the question to ask is who can take Georgia down. In the SEC, the Crimson Tide (as usual) seems to be the most logical choice, but could Florida, Ole Miss or Tennessee rise up? Maybe a surprising Missouri squad could get the Bulldogs “between the hedges.” Going outside of the SEC, the Buckeyes were a missed field goal away from defeating Georgia in last season’s CFP semifinal, but questions remain about how good they truly are. Oddsmakers have made Michigan as the favorite to win the title this year, but we’ve seen the Wolverines crumble under the CFP spotlight the last couple of years. Does Oklahoma and/or Texas make some noise from the Big 12? Is this the season the Pac-12 (in their final season of existence) breaks through and win a championship for the first time since USC in 2004? Washington, Oregon and Utah appear to be the biggest threats from that conference. How about Florida State from the ACC? The point is while Georgia reigns over the college football world, it may not be as clear cut as it has been lately.

Understand this is a forum that welcomes multiple perspectives and dialogue. Everyone has opinions, and the reasons for them could take us anywhere. If you’re on the side wanting the Bulldogs to lose, then any reason validating that will dominate the thought process. Georgia fans would obviously disagree with those views, but that’s what makes these debates interesting, at least the non-scripted ones. No matter what side is taken, there’s no debating the fact the Bulldogs are still the team to beat, even if oddsmakers and analysts want to push narratives that say they aren’t. Georgia hasn’t lost in quite a while, and someone has to go through them to see their own title aspirations come true. Until that happens, the Bulldogs still own the yard, like it or not.

History only tells part of the tale for once storied programs

Championship weekend in college football has come and gone. A few of the big winners for the day were Alabama, Michigan and Cincinnati, who along with Georgia, make up the four teams who will battle it out in the College Football Playoff. While watching the conference title games, one couldn’t help but notice how a few of the most storied programs in the history of the game were not playing on this day. While these teams have rich traditions, it’s been a long time since the word “elite” could be used to describe these teams, let alone be mentioned in any sort of national championship discussion. What’s sad for the fan bases (I’m a fan of one of the teams that will be detailed) is it could still be a while before that title talk becomes a topic. In other words, a person can only hold onto history for so long before it becomes ancient.

The first team holding onto past history is USC (University of Southern California). The Trojans haven’t had a lot of fight in them lately. Their last title, which was won in 2004, was vacated because of NCAA sanctions connected to running back (now FOX Sports analyst) Reggie Bush. Other than that, it’s been since the 1970s when USC could claim a national title. Ever since Pete Carroll left the college to coach the Seattle Seahawks in 2009, it’s been a nightmare finding another head man that can rekindle the long lost glory days. Five men have taken over the position after Carroll left, with minimal success. The sixth comes in the form of Lincoln Riley, who was coaching Oklahoma before heading out to Los Angeles last weekend. It’s no secret the Trojans have all of the ability to run the Pac-12 Conference, and possibly be back in the national championship conversation, if used correctly. Is Riley the man to lead them? Most people think so, but let’s remember it’s not the same situation it was with the Sooners, where he was promoted to head coach after being the offensive coordinator for a already-loaded roster. Only time will tell if Riley can actually build a program from scratch, but the contract he has says he nothing less will suffice.

Another team that’s holding on to the glory days from yesteryear is Texas (this is the team I’m a fan of). The Longhorns haven’t won a national title since 2005, and 2009 was the last season they won the Big 12 Conference (and last appearance in a national championship game). After ’09, the eyes of Texas have been constantly crying, seeing the Mack Brown tenure come to an ugly end, three rocky seasons under Charlie Strong and four underachieving years with Tom Herman. Now it’s Steve Sarkisian‘s turn in an attempt to bring the Longhorns back to prominence. If the first year in Sark’s tenure is any preview, that won’t happen anytime soon. Texas was 5-7, making it all but a guarantee they’ll miss out on bowl season. The campaign was filled with games that saw the Longhorns pull defeat from the jaws of victory, including one to Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout (I know it’s called the Showdown these days) that saw the Longhorns blow a 21-point lead. A loss to Kansas was also included in the record, and that’s probably a fireable offense in and of itself if this wasn’t a first year head coach. Needless to say, Texas has a lot of work to do if they’re ever going to get back to being mentioned with the great programs in the state, let alone the country. For the fans, they can only watch so many replays of the 2006 Rose Bowl on the Longhorn Network, reminiscing about the past success.

Finally, it’s time to take a look at “The U” for another institution still holding on to back in the day. Miami was once known as a university that had NFL-caliber players being grown from the roots of south Florida. Anyone who remembers the 2001 version of the Hurricanes know how many players went on to have sustainable pro careers. Unfortunately for Miami and their fan base, that was the last year they could claim a championship, and there hasn’t been much to celebrate in the two decades after. Any hint of a return to dominance gets swallowed up by the media, only for those hype machines to get shut down when the Hurricanes catch a humbling defeat. Since the end of the 2003 season, which was right before they joined the ACC, Miami has only been to one Bowl Championship Series or New Year’s Six bowl game. Like USC and Texas, the Hurricanes have had bad recent history, but hope comes with the arrival of coach Mario Cristobal, who is taking over for Manny Diaz after spending the previous four seasons in Oregon. Games aren’t won off the field, but the Hurricanes might have won a battle with the hire of Cristobal.

While these three universities all have storied traditions, recent history says they’re yesterday’s news. Having said that, there are reasons to believe the future can be brighter. One is with these respective schools being in California, Texas and Florida, the resources and talent available to assist in a rebuild are practically unlimited. Another is they can look at the Wolverines as a model for returning to the glory days. Before breaking through against Ohio State and ultimately winning the Big Ten Conference, Michigan was in a long drought that had them missing out on title talk since their last victory in 1997. If the Wolverines can do it, there’s no reason to believe USC, Texas and Miami can’t do the same. No longer should it be acceptable to keep living in the distant past. Enough time has gone by since these institutions were good in football. The only thing I ask is to wait until they at least win their conferences before we say they’re officially “back.”