Amid the madness and the losses and the chaos of a beautiful Saturday in college football emerged one inescapable reality.
Perhaps we’re right back where we started.
There was Ohio State, the biggest threat to the Georgia Bulldogs, being pushed around at the line of scrimmage. There was Alabama, the biggest threat to any team over the past 10 years, needing a wild comeback against Auburn as nearly a three-touchdown favorite.
As we emerge from the wreckage and toast one of the more memorably regular seasons in recent memory, we arrive back to a singular thought.
This is Georgia’s year.
I began this college football season on this very website with a simple question regarding Georgia.
If not now, when?
And as we barrel forward, that question has been amplified.
Georgia is now -220 to win the national title. The Bulldogs, win or lose against Alabama, are a lock to make the College Football Playoff.
Alabama, Georgia’s opponent in the SEC Championship game, is next down the board at 6/1.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season 12-0, and they only lost three times against the spread. For the entire regular season, Georgia allowed a grand total of 83 points. That is absurd. (And some of this was due to special teams.) Clemson was second best in the nation and allowed 180 points.
Historically speaking, we are witnessing one of the greatest seasons in recent memory. It’s different from what we saw with Joe Burrow and LSU in 2019 and Alabama’s high-octane run last year.
Those teams were built on fireworks and touchdowns. This one would prefer to stuff you in a trash can and roll you down the nearest hill.
As the losses pile up and the entertainment starts to mount, Georgia’s greatness simply lingers.
To be clear, that doesn’t mean Georgia is a lock to win the title. We know better than to make such declarations in a sport this unpredictable. But as most teams simply struggle to hang on, Georgia’s powers seem to grow.
The true test is coming. Not just next week, but the games to follow. And as we move forward and the College Football Playoff finally sorts itself out, we will once again revisit those four words.
If not now, when?
SEC Championship game
No. 1 Georgia (-6, 51) vs. No. 4 AlabamaÂ
For the first time in 93 games, Alabama is an underdog. That is remarkable. It’s also the appropriate time for the streak to end. We’ve already touched on both teams in this piece, although let’s zero in on the Crimson Tide a bit more. Since the LSU game, this team hasn’t looked quite right. Alabama is 1-3 ATS in that time, and both the offense and defense have struggled in stretches.
Georgia, meanwhile, has allowed just 37 points in the past five games. The Bulldogs are also hitting a rhythm offensively, and QB Stetson Bennett has played very well of late. I imagine a lot of people are going to like Georgia given what it just saw from Alabama, and it’s hard to blame them.