Hayes: Georgia is on the verge of completing the greatest 2-year run in college football history

Jan 10, 2022; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart holds the National Championship trophy after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2022 CFP college football national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

They’re not the most talented team to reach this point, not by a long shot.

They haven’t been through the most adversity, or navigated the toughest schedule or dealt with debilitating drama.

But Georgia is a game away from the most impressive back-to-back championship run ever.

That’s right, ever.

“There’s just as much pressure from year 1 to year 7,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of his time in Athens. “The expectations don’t change. We embrace that.”

It’s not so much the expectations as it is the product on the field. And it’s not so much years 1 through 7 as it is the past 2 seasons — where Georgia is 1 win from tying the major college record of 29 wins over 2 seasons.

It’s also in the way it has happened, in the middle of a seismic shift of NCAA rules determining how programs procure and retain players. In a brief stretch where uncertainty is the rule, the one unrelenting force has been Georgia.

They don’t have the talent of Miami in 2001-02, and USC 2004-05. Or even Alabama 2020-2021.

They haven’t exactly played in the roughest 2-year stretch in the best conference in college football, either. In 29 games over 2 seasons, Georgia has played 12 ranked teams at the time of the games — nearly half of those teams (5) in SEC Championship Games and Playoffs.

But there are 2 defining intangibles that make this Georgia run more impressive than either of the previous 2 programs (Alabama, Nebraska) to win back-to-back titles since 1957: Georgia did it during unprecedented player free agency, and did it with a former walk-on at the most important position on the field.

Georgia had 15 players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, including 5 in the first round. The 15 players selected were the most since the league went to 7 rounds in 1994.

Georgia also lost 14 players to the transfer portal, a handful of which were starters at Power 5 programs. That’s 29 players from the 2021 national championship team — or 34 percent of the 85 scholarship players — who weren’t around when the team began its pursuit for a second straight championship.

“That’s not only key players and backups, that’s part of the chemistry and culture of the team,” former Georgia coach Jim Donnan said. “You’re just lopping off that number and bringing in new guys that don’t yet understand the expectations and culture.”

So while every other team in the SEC was loading up on transfer players — including Alabama with 5 impact starters from the portal — Georgia didn’t sign 1.

Smart tried to land former Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams, but when Williams decided to sign with USC, Georgia was back to option 1 at quarterback: former walk-on turned 2021 national championship hero Stetson Bennett.

The same quarterback Smart and the Georgia staff tried for 3 years to keep off the field, yet couldn’t. Tried 4-star recruit D’Wan Mathis and former 5-star recruit JT Daniels, and neither stuck.

Tried to recruit blue-chip high school stars over him (Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff, Gunner Stockton), and none could get on the field.

Somehow Georgia won it all in 2021 — in an era of quarterback is everything — with a 5-11, 190-pounder (and that’s being generous) who looked more physically suited to run a frat offense than the best team in college football.

If Georgia beats TCU Monday in the National Championship Game, Bennett will have gone a full recruiting cycle — 4 years — of winning more national titles than all 14 5-star quarterback recruit combined over that span.

Think about this: In the past 4 years, 5-star quarterback recruits are 3-7 in Playoff games. If the Bulldogs beat TCU, Bennett will be 4-0 in Playoff games.

Again, in an era where quarterback is everything, where offenses have moved to vertical passing games and defenses are at a disadvantage because of rules favoring the offense and strong-armed, athletic, dual-threat throwers, Georgia is doing it with a beautiful overachiever at the most important position on the field.

If Georgia wins Monday, Bennett will be the first quarterback to win back-to-back national title since AJ McCarron of Alabama in 2011-12, and only the 3rd since 1994 (Tommie Frazier, Nebraska).

Alabama in 2011-12 is most similar to Georgia, though the Tide did it with 4-star quarterback AJ McCarron and in an environment when Tide coach Nick Saban was stockpiling 4- and 5-star recruits on the roster like game day traffic on McFarland Blvd. The Tide also didn’t have to navigate a Playoff.

Nebraska got hot in the mid-1990s when USC and UCLA were down, and the Huskers were going into Los Angeles and landing elite recruits. Nebraska also was fortunate when the best player in the talent-rich state of Florida — quarterback Tommie Frazier — couldn’t get Florida, Florida State or Miami to recruit him as a quarterback.

So he went to Nebraska and — along with an upgraded roster of speed and athleticism that Nebraska lacked for so long in big bowl games — orchestrated one of the greatest 4-year runs in college football history.

But Nebraska didn’t have to play in a conference championship game and 2 Playoff games to win it all. The road — including the early days of the Big 12 vs. the current SEC — was significantly easier.

“What they’ve done the last couple of years is rare,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said.

So rare, in fact, that 1 more win will leave Georgia all alone among the greatest back-to-back champions in the modern era of the sport.

View Comments

  • “They’re not the most talented team to reach this point, not by a long shot.”

    UGA broke NFL Draft records last year and a ton more will get drafted this spring and over the next couple of years.

    “They haven’t been through the most adversity, or navigated the toughest schedule or dealt with debilitating drama”

    Played and beat numerous Top-10 teams including beating the #1 ranked team more than once. 2 SEC Championship games and 4 CFP/NC games.

    Is it a prerequisite that one be an aass clown in order to write for SDS?

    • I’m surprised Matt pos Hayes didn’t add that none of this would have been possible had Kirby not elected to utilize players he knew were about to be charged with ra pe

    • "In 29 games over 2 seasons, Georgia has played 12 ranked teams at the time of the games — nearly half of those teams (5) in SEC Championship Games and Playoffs."

      This is saying that outside of the SEC championship game and the playoffs, UGA has only played 7 ranked teams in two years. Is it a prerequisite that UGA fans cannot read and look hard to find offense when faced with a factual statement? UGA has beaten the ranked teams when they had to, calm down Frances.

      • Name the conference that is tougher top to bottom than the SEC????

        UF beat PAC-12 Champion Utah and both UT and USCar beat ACC Champion Clemson

        • And Bama beat Big-12 Champion Kansas St.

          So 4 SEC teams that didn’t even play for the SEC Championship beat 3 Power-5 Conference champions.

          The case can made that winning an SEC Championship is harder than winning the NC.

        • I think in 2026 we will see a 16 team and not a 12 team PO field?

          If such was the case in 2022, more teams from the Pac-12 would have made the field than would have teams from the SEC.

          I'm LOL at my own take here. Obviously the SEC is tops, at least at the top and it isn't that close.

          It's too bad OK/TX are coming in to drag the conference down.

      • I think the 2019 LSU team played something like 8 or 9 ranked teams in that season alone.
        Typical Hayes speaking garbage. There have been numerous teams in college football that have equaled or surpassed Georgia’s 2 year run.
        Let them do it again next year, then we can BEGIN the conversation for all time greatness.

    • Of course the talent is there in Athens and it is elite. But you have to coach up even the best recruits and Kirby and crew have done so in admirable fashion.

      I think UGA wins but I have TCU +13 to cover. My biggest concern, will the top Frogs WR go down? In last season's champ game and in this year's Peach Bowl Williamson and Harrison going down were kill shot injuries for Bama and Ohio State.

      I think it stinks that this game is being played in LA so Bill Hancock and friends can make more $.

      Alternate the champ game between Jerry's Palace and one of of the domed stadiums in the Midwest. Then perhaps UGA X could make the trip?

  • Thank you for not crediting USC with back-to-back titles. Even if they are given credit for 2003 (and I do not, every team that season was playing for the BCS trophy, which resides in Baton Rouge), their 2004 title was vacated.

    Sportswriters insist on giving USC credit for 2003, because they won the AP Poll. But the AP poll became irrelevant as of the advent of the BCS is 1998, whether sportswriters like it or not.

  • Don't forget that Kirby also lost four coaching assistants too including DC Dan Lanning. Factoring that in makes it truly amazing.

  • It's been a heck of a run the past two years. As much as I want my Cats to be able to beat them, their dominance has been fun to watch.

  • 1980 – 1982 was a very special 3 year run by any standard, 33-3 record with 1 NC and 3 SEC Championships. In 1982 UGA came within 4 points of winning the NC, lost to NC Penn State.

    First things first beat TCU, but I think Kirby is about to put together a very special 3 year run.

  • Oh, please ...

    I just keep those short by mentioning that you can't evaluate the 'all-time greatness' of a season before its complete. Never mind the recency bias, etc.

    Is it any wonder everybody's so sick of Georgia already?

    They backed into the playoffs last year and now everyone's supposed to bow down to them as GOAT?

    I just don't buy it.

    Their schedule for 2023 is tissue soft ... if they win Monday next year's version of these articles I'd going to be even worse, lol.

      • But there are many tissue soft out-of-conference schedules in the SEC.

        Hats off to Florida for scheduling Utah and traveling outside of the region to play Utah and other teams out west. The same seems to be true for many SEC teams.

        The SEC is the best. But the Pac-12 did have 6 teams ranked in the final PO CT poll.

    • So does TCU not belong? They backed in huh? Also beat the big 10 Champ and playing for a Natty.

      Also in the two years mentioned in this article UGA has beat Bama, Ohio State, Clemson, Michigan, Tennessee, LSU, and Oregon. With the first 3 being playoff regulars the past 5 or so years. Who else should they play?

    • ""these articles I’d going to be even worse, lol""

      Note the poor spelling and the lol.
      mlc0808 = gwhite

    • They didn't back into the playoffs last year dude. Who deserved to be there over uga? You sound like a jealous acc fan

      • UGA deserved (duh) to be in the 4 team field last year no doubt. But Cincinnati? Because it defeated a terrible Indiana team and won in South Bend against a so-so Notre Dame team?

        THis season? I get that Michigan at 13-0 had to be in but look at the 3 cupcakes Michigan played OOC and the 2 team competition it had in the B1G; vs PSU and tOSU.

        Michigan was fortunate to get the W at home vs Illinois.

        The B1G top to bottom sucked this season.

        SC could have been in over Ohio State that did not play a 13th game. Utah got a big time scheduling break playing totally inept CU while SC played ranked UCLA and ranked Notre Dame before the Pac-12 champ game.

        Having said that. I think UGA would have mugged SC akin to the manner in which it destroyed Oregon.

  • They have had a remarkable run. He has broken the secret of success like Saban, recruiting. You’ll get the under the radar player like Bennett, but it’s easier to coach a kid that can run a 4.4 than a 5.4. When UGA beat UT, the skill sets of the 4/5 stars UGA put out there versus the level of UT was abundantly clear. Good luck to UGA and bring home the SEC, sorry, mean National Championship Trophy.

  • This Is not to take away anything at all from UGA. It is just to Matt's point. Even without the portal, most teams lost around 25 players a season. It could vary a little with CC players or players that quit or were kicked off the team, but usually you signed around 25 players, and you lost around 25.

  • Calm down, Hayes.
    Georgia is the best in a season of mediocre teams, the greatest in a time of little greatness.
    Beat TCU and UGA is the one-eyed king of the 2022 season.
    Good enough for me without all that hyperbole, thank you very much.

    • “ Georgia is the best in a season of mediocre teams, the greatest in a time of little greatness.”

      Opposing fans said the same last year. Trend continues this year. Still not true.

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Matt Hayes