Yeah, Georgia football fans, the Dawgs are still the 2021 national title winners, or is it 2022? Anyway, they won the whole shebang and took down Alabama in the process. While it still is extremely surreal, it’s real life, how sweet it is to be a Georgia Bulldog.
Forty-one long years and now the Dawgs are champions again. Former head coach Vince Dooley was there, and that made us emotional. Former head coach Mark Richt and his two sons were in Lucas Oil Stadium to watch the Dawgs do it, and so many former players were there to see this 2021 team do what so many thought would never happen again.
No one can say head coach Kirby Smart cannot develop, cannot win a national title, or any of the other senseless narratives we’ve heard since he got to Athens. None of that matters anymore because he has a ring and did it in six seasons as a first-time head coach.
Georgia football proved they could conquer the beast, and here are six exciting takeaways from the national title game.
Smart knows the heartache personally because he was a part of the Georgia football program at one of its lowest moments. Richt helped get the Dawgs back on track and elevated them, but Smart was the one who took the Dawgs over the hump.
The game was more of an old-school defensive battle than an explosive offensive one, as the recent championships have been. Smart wanted to put together a team where he reminded college football folks that defenses win championships, and this unit was a massive reason they won on Monday night.
It wasn’t just the front seven, but the secondary who stepped up and did their job by closing the season out how they started — with a pick-six.
Then starting quarterback, Stetson Bennett struggled throughout the first half of the game, flipped the switch after an alleged fumble, put the team on his back to march down the field and scored twice.
Georgia never gave up, even when the momentum tried to shift in Alabama’s favor. Instead, they stood tough and hunkered down one more time.
After rewatching the game and letting it sink in for most of this Tuesday morning and afternoon, here are our six takeaways from Monday’s night national championship.
A quarterback finally put the Georgia football team on their shoulders and won
Starting quarterback Stetson Bennett did what Jake Fromm, Matt Stafford, Aaron Murray, and so many other Dawg quarterbacks couldn’t, and that was come up clutch on the biggest stage in college football.
This statement isn’t a dig at any of those guys because they are all damn good dawgs who helped Georgia get to this point, but the Mailman wasn’t going to be why Georgia football lost to Alabama for the eighth straight time.
He got downright rattled in the opening half of the national championship. Fans once again called for him to sit on the bench and put JT Daniels in, but no one heard them that mattered. The Dawgs trusted he could get it done.
Georgia shot themselves in the foot more than Alabama did damage, and while we will give the Tide’s defense a ton of credit, the mistakes made the first half seem unbearable.
After the alleged fumble, which we won’t even talk about because it’ll raise our blood pressure, every Georgia fan could see the writing on the wall. Was this year another letdown, and were the Dawgs going to fall short again?
Usually, something like that is the final nail in the coffin, but not for this Georgia team. Instead, they busted the casket open and responded after Alabama scored.
A switch flipped in Bennett, and he took control of the offense, and his playmakers did their job as well. Everyone made it a point to catch the ball, run well, block like there was no tomorrow, and if they saw the endzone to get in that sucker.
Bennett was also wise to use the free play to score the AD Mitchell touchdown because he knew Alabama jumped offsides.
Those small things that Georgia didn’t do in the first half, after the alleged fumble, the Dawgs did those things, and look what happened. Bennett went 4-of-4 for 83 yards and two touchdowns after that terrible situation and in the entire game went 17-of-26 for 224 yards and two scores, which means he completed 65% of his passes — impressive.
He woke up and won the ballgame for Georgia. That defense helped, but that young man wanted to prove to the entire world a former walk-on could do it, and by God, he did.
Bennett silenced the haters, and if he still has any, it’s because they refuse to admit they were wrong. He didn’t have to be perfect, but he showed his grit and determination to lead Georgia over the hump with the game on the line.
The pick-six must not be overlooked for Georgia football
While what Stetson Bennett did was incredible, Georgia football fans and any college football fan must not forget about the pick-six that sealed the deal.
We’re not saying that people will, but at the same time, we all know quarterbacks get all the glory.
That pick-six came at a time that usually involves Alabama marching it down the field in their two-minute offense to either tie the game or win it. However, this time, the defense created enough pressure to make Alabama quarterback Bryce Young make his second major mistake. He threw five interceptions all year, and the Dawgs forced two on the biggest stage in football. Now that is how a defense does it.
Kelee Ringo had a tough night and got beat a few times, which isn’t like him. When the Dawgs needed him to make the play, he did and took it 79, yes, 79 yards to the house.
Miraculously there were no flags thrown, and the Dawgs put the game away. Dan Jackson took a monster hit so Ringo could get into the endzone, and when that happened, the entire Dawg nation knew winning the championship was actually going to happen.
Ringo’s pick-six needs to be something no Georgia fan ever forgets because it was the big play the defense needed when they were worn out and had to make a stop.
Larry Munson was in heaven asking for the Dawgs to hunker it down one more time, and then he broke his third chair of the evening when Ringo ran it back to the house. The crowd went nuts, and Dawg fans worldwide hit the floor with tears flowing down their faces.
That play was huge, and it was the last nail in the coffin for Alabama. Georgia got the stop the following drive and made history.
Georgia football stuffed the Tide’s rush attack
Georgia football wants to prevent teams from getting a rush attack because it usually means long drives that keep the defense on the field when that happens.
While Alabama starting running back Brian Robinson had 22 carries for 68 yards, starting quarterback lost 43 yards which means the Tide finished with 28 carries for 30 yards.
They averaged 1.1 yards a touch, which is about as elite as it comes when talking about rush defenses.
Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Devonte Wyatt, and the rest of the defense made it a point to prevent Alabama from getting momentum on the ground. The Tide had a little bit when Georgia started to get tired, but the Dawgs quickly shut that down from continuing.
Through 15 games, opponents averaged 78.9 rush yards a game and 2.6 yards a run. Georgia’s front seven is the most elite in college football, and they proved it in the game that matters.
This group didn’t want the sour taste of the SEC Championship Game in their mouth anymore, so they did their job to get in shape for this game and stuffed the Tide.
Whoever got their rush attack going would be the winner, and even though the Tide found a ton of success against Cincinnati in the semifinals, they didn’t see much against Georgia.
Georgia being able to shut them down and make them one-dimensional without their top two wideouts helped the Dawgs prove a point. They refused to give up, and their determination outweighed the tiredness.
Georgia football put the pressure in the game that mattered
While we could have elaborated on these three stats in the previous slide, we wanted to include tackles for loss with the pressure they put on the Alabama offense.
Georgia football recorded four sacks, nine tackles for loss and 39 quarterback hurries during Monday night’s game. The Dawgs could hardly get any pressure on Bryce Young during the SEC Championship Game, but not this time around.
The last time these two met, Georgia recorded four tackles for loss, zero sacks and just 15 quarterback hurries. However, this time around, Georgia’s defense made sure the Alabama Crimson Tide knew who they were.
Quay Walker, Channing Tindall, Nolan Smith, Lewis Cine, William Poole, Robert Beal, Travon Walker and Jordan Davis were the eight guys who recorded at least one tackle for loss.
Smith led the team with two and recorded one of the four sacks. Travon Walker, Beal and Tindall were the other three guys who got their paws on Young.
No more of this narrative that Georgia can’t pressure Alabama quarterbacks because they did more than enough in the national title game.
This defense wanted to leave a legacy, and they did. To record 39 quarterback hurries in one game means you’re doing something right, and that was a big key for the Dawgs to find success.
Those pressures put Young in odd situations, and they forced mistakes. With those 39 hurries in this game, Georgia now has 262 total on the season. They also finish this year with 99 tackles for loss and 49 sacks.
Those totals are downright impressive and should make everyone realize what kind of mark this defense is leaving on the program.
Georgia had to win the pressure battle to win this game, and they got the stops when needed. Plus, with Jalen Carter blocking one of the field goals, this front seven did what they needed to so the Dawgs could win a national championship.
Nothing could stop this group from wreaking this much havoc, and we haven’t even gotten to how good the secondary played.
The Georgia football secondary redeemed themselves in the national title game
Georgia football’s weakest position was their secondary, but that group redeemed themselves on Monday night.
The Dawgs’ secondary recorded two interceptions, including Kelee Ringo’s pick-six to win the game, and they finished with eight pass breakups.
When Georgia played Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, the Dawgs recorded five but no turnovers.
William Poole redeemed himself from getting burned repeatedly in Atlanta as he recorded two pass breakups on Monday night. Christopher Smith also earned two pass breakups in the big game. Lewis Cine, Ringo, Nakobe Dean and Jordan Davis all recorded one pass breakup.
It’s wild to see that number against an opponent like Alabama. The Dawgs didn’t let off the throttle even with their two top wideouts out with injuries. Instead, they pounced on the Tide’s inexperienced receivers and made sure to prevent big plays.
Only two passes went 40-plus yards, which is a significant improvement from the SEC Championship Game.
This group proved themselves on the biggest stage in college football, and they sealed the deal the same way they started the season with a pick-six.
Georgia needed their secondary to come up big and contain Alabama’s explosive offense to win a championship, and thankfully the Dawgs did that. This secondary group should be proud of themselves and know they helped make it happen.
Georgia football found their rush attack at the perfect moment
Georgia football recorded their fewest rushing yards of the season against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. Still, in the national title, the Dawgs found their rush attack at the right moment.
From recording 109 yards in the first meeting to 140 the second time around, the Dawgs improved in the area they needed to be successful.
If it weren’t for Stetson Bennett’s sacks that added up to -46 yards, the Dawgs would have almost recorded 200 rushing yards on the Tide Monday night.
Georgia recorded 30 rushes for 140 yards, averaging 4.7 yards a carry, which is much better than the 30 yards and 1.1-yard average that Alabama recorded.
Zamir White paced the Dawgs with 13 carries for 84 yards, and he scored the Dawgs’ first touchdown of the day. James Cook saw six carries for 77 yards and Kenny McIntosh had two carries for six yards.
This trio did what Georgia needed them to, and thankfully the offensive line personnel changes helped them get the push up front to help the running backs get something going.
Georgia couldn’t get it going in the first half, but they ran the ball successfully to let the clock run down enough in the second half. Plus, White getting in the endzone helped tremendously.
The Dawgs needed a solid rushing effort, and they got it.
Georgia football did what they had to do against the Tide to win the ballgame. While not everything worked the way fans wanted it to, and the Dawgs shot themselves in the foot a lot, they never gave up, which resulted in the first title in 41-years.