Somewhere in the Hollywood hills, “Hypno-Toad” was rendered utterly worthless by the Bulldogs.
Georgia’s 65-7 rout of TCU will leave some to wonder if the playoff got it right with TCU, considering the lobbying made by Nick Saban during halftime of the Big Ten Championship Game.
Ultimately, in my mind, the playoff got it right. And outside of Ohio State, no one in the playoff had the ability to compete with Georgia. This was an historic Georgia team that should and will be compared amongst the greatest teams of all time.
The 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers domination is what last night reminded me of. I can still remember “Sunshine Scooter” Lee Corso‘s “homer” pick of Florida over Nebraska and what transpired in the Fiesta Bowl is still shocks many in the college football world when Nebraska routed the Gators 62-24.
In my mind, what common traits Tom Osborne‘s Cornhuskers and Kirby Smart‘s Bulldogs share is they both are they both are physically strong teams that dominate the line of scrimmage like very few ever have. Defensively both the “Blackshirts” and Georgia’s defense are both physically strong, very active around the football to the point they swarm to the point of attack in such a suffocating fashion leaves little doubt to the opponent.
In 1995, Nebraska defense gave up 14.5 points per game, 78.4 rushing yards per game, and 294 yards of total offense per game. Georgia, who played in three more games than Nebraska did in 1995, surrendered 14.3 points per game, 77.1 rushing yards per game, and 296 yards of total offense per game
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Another comparison that is appropriate between the 2022 Georgia Bulldogs and one of college football’s immortal teams is the 2001 Miami Hurricanes, especially at the quarterback position. I don’t think anyone would mistaken Stetson Bennett for Caleb Williams or Bryce Young, Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks that will be highly sought after in the NFL Draft as NFL franchise cornerstone quarterbacks.
Bennett is like his 2001 Miami Hurricanes counterpart Ken Dorsey. The current Bills OC was mechanically and fundamentally sound, had the ability to make the key throws, and simply made the right decision when his teams needed most and just won.
Bennett’s walk on story is one that is unrivaled. Nicknamed “The Mailman,” because of wearing a US Postal Service hat to recruiting camps in high school, Bennett out dueled Justin Fields for the Georgia job and eventually left for Jones County Junior College in 2018 before returning the following season. Some at the time wondered if Smart made the right call backing Bennett. Any critics of that decision then are non-existent today.
Dorsey finished his with career at Miami with a 38-2 record, that included a 34 game winning streak, two time Heisman finalist, Maxwell Award winner, and a national champion. Bennett fished at Georgia with a 29-3 record, a trip to New York as a Heisman finalist, Burlsworth Trophy winner (as nation’s top walk on), and two national championships.
I am willing to bet Dorsey would trade a Heisman finalist and a few victories for a pass interference call for another crack at a national championship.
The 2001 Miami Hurricanes are also really known for the amount of players sent to the NFL. Miami had 38 players selected from the 2001 team, Georgia expects to have plenty of talent called this spring.
While this bodes well for the 2021 Georgia team that had 15 players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, that number looks to increase, and with the amount of talent Georgia is recruiting, that number will be challenged by Georgia for the forseeable future.
Last year Travon Walker was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft following a strong season and a legendary combine performance. This year, defensive tackle Jalen Carter is right in the mix to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Carter is currently rated as the top overall prospect by Mel Kiper Jr.
Back in August, AL.com ranked their Top 10 SEC coaches of all time and omitted Kirby Smart. I wrote a piece at the same time prior to the 2022 season defending Kirby Smart being in the Top 10 SEC Coaches of all time.
After last night, I expect those over at AL.com to revise their list to include Kirby Smart. But what must scare the rest of the conference the most is just how great Smart has the potential to be.
In the last 50 years, Smart joined Barry Switzer (Oklahoma 1974-1975), “Bear” Bryant (Alabama 1978-1979), Tom Osborne (Nebraska 1994-1995), Pete Carroll (Southern Cal 2003-2004), and Nick Saban (Alabama 2011-2012) as the only coaches to win back-to-back national championships by major selectors or playoff. Smart has now done something legendary coaches like Steve Spurrier, Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden, Lou Holtz, Urban Meyer have not accomplished, and in doing so became the third SEC coach to win back-to-back.
No program in the AP era since 1936 won three national championships in a row. (Bernie Bierman‘s Minnesota Golden Gophers won three in a row from 1934-1936.) The closest we have seen it approached was the 2005 Southern California team that fell short in the Rose Bowl for the national championship. Some may argue that Alabama was a “Kick-Six” away from playing Florida State in the BCS National Championship game, regardless of SEC Championship Game outcome, but that’s the closest anyone has come in the past 15 years.
The 2023 Georgia Bulldogs will be a prohibitive preseason favorite to run it back again, and how can you not bet against them? The 2022 team entered the season losing 15 players to the NFL Draft and actually improved by going undefeated.
“As long as you don’t have entitlement in your program, you’ve got a shot,” Smart told ESPN’s broadcast minutes after another Georgia championship season. “Right now we don’t have that. It’s creeping, and games like (TCU) make it that way.”
For most who read this article, some will reject the notion that the 2022 Georgia team is among the greatest teams of all time. But let’s look at the facts: In winning back-to-back championships the way they did, the litany of NFL talent, and the sheer dominance they’ve had in the stretch, they are as good as any team we’ve seen.
Each era brings in unique challenges and difficulties, and this era has its unique set of challenges that somehow Georgia has figured out to distinguish themselves ahead of the pack and Alabama.
For now the proverbial table of greatest teams of all time has just welcomed its newest member.
