All along, Georgia has been here. Winning. Winning ugly. Progressing on its own terms. Struggling at times like so many. And all along, if we’re being completely honest, we never took the Bulldogs seriously.
Not this year. Not this team.
But after Saturday night’s dominating win over Texas, that should change. No, that must change. In a year with so much seemingly up in the air, Georgia is suddenly very much in the mix.
Not just to win the SEC or make the College Football Playoff. At this point, that part should be assumed. No, as much of the contenders struggle in their own ways, Georgia is live to win every single game it plays.
History says that shouldn’t be a surprise. In the last four years, this program has won two national championships. For as fast as the sport moves these days, those are hard to forget.
In fact, one could argue that no team has defined winning both big and consistently, going up against the absolute best, quite like this one. For as much as the sport has changed since then, Kirby Smart, who called one of the best football games of his life on Saturday, has been the constant. Â
But this team, staying with the theme of honesty, never felt like those historically good Georgia squads. The wins were too close. The defense was never good enough. The quarterback, who also has flown far too under the radar, wasn’t good enough.
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There are future NFL players up and down the roster, but this team doesn’t ooze star power the same way it has in the past. Struggles against teams like Auburn and Florida, both currently in the market for new head coaches, didn’t inspire a lot of confidence, either.
Gunner Stockton, fresh off a five-touchdown performance, has settled in at quarterback. The defense, which struggled early on, just held Texas to 23 yards rushing on 17 carries. The aura that has hovered around this team for as long as we can remember is suddenly very much alive. Â
Sure, Georgia has struggled. But outside of Ohio State, which hasn’t exactly played the world’s most merciless schedule, which team hasn’t struggled?
In the past two weeks, we’ve seen Indiana, currently No. 2 in the College Football Playoff Rankings, nearly fall to Penn State, another team looking for a head coach, needing a miraculous play late to stay unbeaten.
The No. 3 ranked team, unbeaten Texas A&M, nearly lost to South Carolina earlier in the day. The Aggies needed a miraculous second-half comeback to avoid the same fate.
And Alabama, the only team to beat Georgia this season, could not avoid a loss to Oklahoma at home earlier in the day. That outcome is a significant one for the Bulldogs, which are one step closer to the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.
For most, including Georgia, the year has been imperfect. For most, including the best teams in the country, this is pretty normal.
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Georgia, however, is constantly held to a different standard, a product of its incredible success over the past decade. We expect more, because we know deep down this program is capable of more. Â
Over the last two games, Georgia has shown us more. Against Mississippi State last weekend, the Bulldogs made it look easy when nothing has been all that easy this season.
And against Texas, which was suddenly surging and nearing serious College Football Playoff consideration yet again, the Bulldogs showcased a complete game—complete with a perfectly called onside kick in the second half—that seemed to crush all hopes of a close game.
Suddenly, Georgia is back. The Bulldogs are very much in a position to win their third national championship in five years. With that in mind and so much still to play for, perhaps they never left.
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