Hayes: 3-peat? Why not? Nobody is slowing down Kirby Smart’s hungry Dawgs

Jan 9, 2023; Inglewood, CA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart hoists the trophy after defeating the TCU Horned Frogs in the CFP national championship game at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

He was sitting there with a panoramic view of it all, a guest on the ESPN broadcast to offer up analysis of what was unfolding in front of his eyes.

He must have wanted to puke.

There was Georgia, an identical twin of Alabama a decade ago, rushing before the eyes of Tide coach Nick Saban.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

If this is what happens after Georgia loses 29 players to the NFL Draft and transfer portal from the 2021 national champions, what happens when the Dawgs lose half that?

We’re about to find out next year.

That’s all that’s left for the imagination after Monday’s 65-7 emasculation of TCU in the Playoff National Championship Game gave Georgia its second straight national championship.

Because if losing 32 percent of your team doesn’t derail your chances of repeating as national champions, what will?

If losing 5 elite defensive starters — all NFL 1st-round picks — and this year’s team captain and most productive defensive player (who came back instead of being a 6th player picked in the 1st round) to injury doesn’t force a step back on defense, what does?

A 3-peat, just for informational purposes, hasn’t happened since 1936.

Don’t think Georgia’s maniacally obsessive coach Kirby Smart isn’t already thinking about it.

“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.”

The confetti hadn’t even fallen on another season, the trophy presentation hadn’t been made, and Smart already was looking toward what’s next.

Already warning of the ills of those who believe too much in what they’ve done, and not enough of what’s still out there. He made up this contrived notion heading into the season that “everyone doubted” Georgia, and that the Dawgs were the hunter — not the hunted.

And they believed him.

“We know there are doubters out there,” Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett said earlier this week. “That’s fueled us.”

The next question: How does Smart wind up and motivate the 2023 team, and keep them from complacency?

Because I’ve got some bad news for everyone: Georgia might just be better next season.

Georgia will be a prohibitive favorite to win the Playoff again, and as much as we love to glorify the remarkable story of rags to riches quarterback Bennett, the train doesn’t end here.

Carson Beck will play quarterback next year, and he’s far and away a more gifted quarterback than the quarterback who was responsible for many of the 29 wins in 30 games over the past 2 seasons.

Branson Robinson will be the No. 1 running back and Arian Smith and Adonai Mitchell will be 2 dynamic wideouts, and the offense will more than likely be even more efficient — and dangerous.

If you’re not a Georgia fan, or you turned to Netflix after Georgia led by 31 at halftime, those names mean nothing to you. Have patience, they will.

Just like Jason Walker and Mykel Williams and Daylen Everette and Xavian Sorey Jr. and Marvin Jones Jr. They’ll be household college football names in 2023 on the best defense in the nation — like the past 2 plug-and-play defenses that led the nation in scoring defense.

We’re living through what Saban (and Smart, as his defensive coordinator) built a decade ago all over again. Alabama won the national title in 2011-12, the last back-to-back national champions until Monday — but it could’ve been much, much more.

A year later, Saban badgered officials to put 1 second on the clock at the end of the 2013 Iron Bowl because he wanted to try a long field goal to win game — despite Alabama’s history of average kickers. Then Kick-6 happened, and the chance to win 3 in a row ended.

A year later, Alabama lost to Ohio State in the Playoff semifinals, and a year after that, the Tide won the national championship in Smart’s last season in Tuscaloosa. Those 3 titles in 5 seasons could’ve easily been 4 of 5.

Now here we are with Georgia, and Smart orchestrating the same thing.

At one point during the massacre, TCU coach Sonny Dykes watched another Georgia touchdown and simply said, “Wow.” You’re not alone, Sonny.

Smart has figured out the 1 thing that Saban has done better than any other in his unforgettable time at Alabama. Recruiting is important, player development is critical, big game moxie is rare.

But what Saban does better than anything else is convince the next team that even though you reached the mountain and grabbed the gold last year, next year’s gold is even better. It’s shinier and brighter and you’ll want to embrace it like nothing you’ve ever seen.

Now Smart gets a second shot at it, and Georgia — after going 41 years without a national title — will be at the front of the line again for 3 in a row. No team outside the SEC is built at this point to beat Georgia.

Ohio State will have a new quarterback, and Michigan could have a new coach. USC doesn’t have a defense, and Clemson isn’t the same Clemson of years past.

LSU might still be a year away, and Oregon doesn’t want this heat again.

The only team that could derail the train is You Know Who.

The same program whose coach sat in the broadcast booth Monday night watching his identical twin of a coach/program take control of college football.

Earlier this week, with the long grind of a season winding down and a mentally and physically tired Georgia team running on fumes, Smart turned up the wick and practiced good on good.

The hunter had prey in the way. Why stop now?

Meet the new boss, everyone. Same as the old boss.

For now, anyway. Give him another season to change that.

View Comments

    • Gators tend to just sign qb's who spend their free time diddling themselves to pictures of children....I'd rather lick my own slobber. Go dawgs.

        • Our coach is too abhorrent to talk about. He has zero credibility in acquiring good players as evidenced by the acquisition of Miller as quarterback. That alone tells exceptional recruits to play somewhere else if you want to win a championship. His five star quarterback will transfer out next year after he watches this boring uninspired offensive game plan he plans on using. I don’t care what anyone says about Napier he simply has done nothing in the portal to improve this team….nothing!
          Florida football fans better get used to being bottom feeders because that’s exactly where this team is and is going to be until the administration hires a real football coach.

    • Gators literally had murderers on their team and couldn't go back to back. As great as Spurier was...and he was great he couldn't win 2...let alone back to back. What the Dawgs have done is incredible. But some really incredible teams havent won 3 straight. But hey, records were made to be broken.

      • Florida had a tougher road to travel when Spurrier was head coach in terms of SEC schedule. Also with the current playoff format I suspect had that format been around 25-30 years ago....Spurrier's gators would've been in that playoff a number of times.

      • Why not a 3 peat?

        The 2023 schedule by SEC standards is Charmin soft. GT is the only OOC P5 opponent.

        At TN looks like the only Game Day possibility on this schedule.

        Of course, UGA is likely to face a very worthy opponent in SEC Champ game.

        BTW, Oregon does want more of 'this.' But the Ducks likely face 5 top 25 AP preseason teams - USC, OR ST at home; at TX Tech, Utah and UW.

        SC plays at OR and Notre Dame and gets UCLA, Utah and UW at home. Riley is keeping DC Grinch. I don't see SC improved enough on D to go 13-0/12-1 against its 2023 schedule.

        I see another season with the Pac-12 likely to have 5 or 6 teams ranked at season's end, like 2022, but no team finishing 12-1 or better. In 2024 the Pac-10 champ will be in, but not in 2023.

        Again, hats off to UGA and its fans on another great season in 2022. OH ST had the roster to match up against UGA; one of the very few teams outside of the SEC that has a roster capable of matching up with the top SEC team(s.)

    • Come on DABO - you HAD your run - until EVERYONE could PAY PLAYERS! I've seen a lot of posts on here that I thought were just simply STUPID, but I'm nominating YOU for the SPOTY!! STUPID POSTER OF THE YEAR! You have some GREAT competitors but your vile, hateful, and STUPID comments are STETSONLIKE in comparison! Lordy I wish there was a BLOCK or IGNORE button!!

      • Good to see my trademark phrase still being used. I coined the term "poster" to describe commenters on al.com articles back in 1998 and it took off. A lot of people are still using it. I just thought it worked and sounded better than the word commenter, or blogger. or whatever was the correct term.

      • Same could be said of Saban and others. NIL and the modern transfer portal have changed a lot of things in college football.

    • ITS NOT EASY TO DO. BUT THIS GEORGIA TEAM WILL LIKELY 3PEAT!!!! I'VE PREDICTED IT LONG AGO......

      This team will almost certainly be better on defense than they were this season. And Georgia was #1 in the country on defense most of this season and I haven't paid attention recently to the ranking!#!!!

      The offense has a ton of talent coming back and a ton coming in. Including an all SEC wide receiver from the portal!!! In fact Georgia is getting 2 extremely good receivers from the portal!!!!! We have Brock Bowers for at least one more season. AND BAD NEWS FOR RIVALS BUT GEORGIA HAS ANOTHER ONE EXACTLY LIKE BOWERS!!! Hands, speed, size and the whole deal named Oscar Delp the former 5 star TE with receiver skills!!!!!!

      It absolutely doesn't matter which Georgia QB is the starter. All 3 are former 5 stars! All 3 can run and all 3 have a laser cannon for an arm and they are all accurate!!!! Our receivers will be a better group with experience and some young dudes. Running game will be special!!!!! We have signed another running back that is under the radar for most. But he has a real chance to be the next TRULY ELITE RUNNING BACK AT GEORGIA!!!! I believe lots of Georgia running backs are ready to breakout!!!! Branson Robinson is also going to be a beast if he stays healthy!!!!!

      If any of Stetson Bennett's magic or leadership rubbed off on our QB room. We've always known we had elite talent behind Stetson Bennett!!! What made Stetson Bennett special is his heart!!!!!!

      If any team ever had a shot at 3 straight it's Georgia!!!! I wouldn't even rule out 4 straight!!!! But let's go for 3 in 2023 and worry about that now and doing the little things that make all the difference in a great team and a legendary championship team!!!!

      PS. The legends put in the unseen effort that people never see!!!!!!

      GO DAWGS!!!!!!!

      Negan

    • The Dawgs aren’t licking their own slobber. They’re licking their chops at the thought of taking another bite out of the Gators.

    • Thanks Bama and tony. Incredible two year run. Been a Dawg fan since the mid-70s and this is a lot of fun.

      The Bama mountain is still there but Kirby is climbing it at a fast rate. We shall see, cause for all the talk about his recruiting, Saban is still doing a tick better.

      • I think Kirby has achieved parity regardless of the different time spans. Make it a 3-peat - and I don't see any reason for that not happening - and the discussion is over. As hard as it is for a Gator to say this, GO DAWGS!

  • Kirby’s back on the recruiting trail tomorrow ,or actually later today, visiting Cali kids.
    He is the best salesman and like the best salesman I ask my reps the same: “when is the best time to make a sale? Right after you make a sale. That’s the best time to go out and make a sale.”

    • “Kirby’s back on the recruiting trail tomorrow ,or actually later today, visiting Cali kids.”

      Meanwhile billy has his pencil and paper out starting on his sequel to “Cry Me a River”.
      I believe the title is “ It’s Miller Time Pour Me a Loser”.

    • doubledeuce...You hit it right on the head. As Florida State's great Head Coach, Bobby Bowden once said "The reason we coaches spend so much time in recruiting is that the team with the best players usually wins; unless we coaches screw it up". End of Quote.

  • RaRa Thomas, Dominic Lovett, the #3 and #8 Tight Ends...

    The offense is looking good for 2023. Tighten up the Secondary then maybe we could make a run at a 3-peat.

  • The Dawgz certainly are in great position to three-peat. I wonder if they can keep Monken? He has shown he is one of the best offensive minds in the game, but I can't see him leaving unless he wants to be a head coach and gets the right offer.

    • Given his career I'd be more worried about losing him to the NFL than another college. I'd bet he stays for at least 1 more season though.

    • Truth, you speak truth. Keeping Monken is going to be the key. He is THE BEST play caller in CFB right now and proved it time and again in '22 and put on a clinic last night.

      Right now there is no noise of him leaving before next year but if he stays, there will be HC opportunities very soon.

    • Before he starts collecting social security and his pension?

      What a great game by SB. NFL teams best smarten up and take this young man far earlier than projected.

      Will Levis ahead of SB? COME ON MAN!

      • NFL teams are a bit dogmatic about size because of durability concerns, but he'll get a shot. It will be up to him to do what he can with it.

        Wherever he ends up they probably won't doubt him as much as Kirby did.

        Heck of a player.

      • Stetson has big game moxie, but he lacks the big game arm. Yeah he can get the ball down the field, but it takes a while to get there. At 5'11" with good college speed and a medium arm, I don't see Stetson as anything more than a good backup QB in the NFL. Yes, he has the heart of a lion, but the problem is that in the NFL the defense has the speed and the power of a lion too.

        Stetson is a legend in college football. One of the best winners to ever play the game. I wish him nothing but success in whatever he chooses to do with the rest of his life.

        • I'd certainly take a chance on him were I an NFL GM. Stetson is a winner...pure and simple. Reminds me of Joe Montana.

  • Bama ain't going anywhere. We all no that but I'm going to enjoy this for while it lasts and look forward to at least a half decade of Dawgs and Tide battling for supremacy. Should be fun.

      • Probably lol.

        Bama can't worry about Georgia right now. They have to worry about beating TN and LSU first. They have to earn the right to play Georgia.

  • HATS OFF TO GEORGIA! An emphatic, devastating championship win.

    Greg Sankey should simply pull the trigger, although I know FOX and The B1G Network could get in the way.

    Add Notre Dame, USC, maybe Oregon and UW, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Clemson, UNC, FSU, and a few other top teams in top media markets and call off the Dawgs.

    UGA had more 5* players on its roster than the entire B12 and it showed. Awesome performance by Stetson Bennett who unlike Tom Brady should go well before the 6th round.

    A pheltora of talented players on both sides of the ball.

    Let us just move on to a Super Conference. And let it be officially NFL-Lite and have an NFL like playoff. And these teams with Sankey as Commish can negotiate with a CFB players union. Agreement on NIL salary cap, contract restrictions on transfers and a HS draft so the conference and PO is competitive. And perhaps, a competitive playoff?

    Starting with the brilliant and deserved Hall of Fame member Roy Kramer, CFB was monetised with the BCS in 1983. We have a Power 1 conference today; perhaps, a Power 1 and a half conference. It's just silly to think otherwise. Oregon,Illinois, Maryland etc. are simply not capable of putting the same talent on the field.

    Expanding the PO field will do nothing to stop the best players from going to a handful of SEC schools, Ohio State, maybe USC and Michigan. Uncompetitive schools have to be eliminated.

    As an old grey beard I do not like to see this but it was over in 1983 with the BCS and 1 true champion.

    But tonight? Nothing matters except the brilliant performance by Georgia.

    GO you hairy Dawgs!

        • Um ... not exactly.

          Bowl Coalition: 1992
          Bowl Alliance: 1995
          BCS: 1998

          The only significant thing in this arc that happened in '83 was Oklahoma filing suit against the NCAA to play more on television. Prior to that the NCAA controlled who played on TV (and it was just 1-2 games a week and bowl games). OU won it in the Supreme Court in '84, opening the door to the cash cow CFB has become.

          It can be argued that football has been more than just a regional game since the advent of the Rose Bowl in 1902, specifically intended to promote intersectional play with Eastern teams.

          However many teams, notably Notre Dame, requently traveled long distances by rail to play in other regions.

          Penn State proposed a 'Jet Conference' in the late 70's to band together with other then-independents (there used to be a *lot* of them) who traveled often (by jet) to play across the country. It didn't happen.

          It's more accurate to say that cfb was (once?) a game of tradition and regional rivalries ... primarily because those rivalries became tradition before air travel and the interstate highway system.

        • Go look at the scores of the old Orange, Sugar, and Cotton as well regarding matching tip teamscfrom across the country in big games ... frequently with titles decided (albeit usually indirectly so prior to '92).

        • Thank you for the correction on the year but I stand by the BCS beginning the change from regional and and it today being a national sport.

          Look at the guys on the UGA roster from the Pac footprint. Before the BCS and the domination of the SEC these guys were for the most part staying home.

        • 1984 is when the NCAA lost control of television and conferences were free to go after their own TV contracts.

        • I respectfully disagree.

          If by "national game" you mean roster make-up, most major programs were recruiting nationally in the mid-80s (when the covetted pipelines were California, Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania ... in fact, PSU's move to the B1G was considered by many to be a deliberate attempt to get stronger in OSUs recruiting territory). ND has always been national.

          Look at the 90s rosters at schools like Tennessee and FSU ... lots of California kids. Osbourne's Nebraska famously recruited Florida heavily.

          This isn't my opinion. There are plenty of contemporaneous articles written on it.

          OldBaldFrog: Yes, the decision occurred in 1984. That's why I very clearly said 'filed' in my comment.

  • It is really hard to win one. Two is special. I look at the teams that haven't three-peated...Bama, Nebraska in the 90's. On paper could they? Sure. But the games are played on the field and winning 3 straight has proven very difficult. How about we enjoy this run.

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