Georgia football would have won the national championship regardless of whether Alabama’s two star wideouts played.
Though this argument makes Tide fans feel better, which means no matter what we say, they will ride that train till it runs out of gas, believing this to be true.
Both schools had injuries all season long, especially the Dawgs. Georgia started the season with zero of its star-studded receivers and still went 12-0.
While it sucks, John Metchie and Jameson Williams got hurt, fans must remember injuries happen in football.
Georgia football should be petty with Alabama fans complaining about injuries because they wouldn’t have changed the outcome.
People can blame the Alabama loss on the injured receivers, but when Bryce Young overthrows the young wideouts and throws two interceptions, would those two guys really have made a difference?
Georgia’s defense stepped up and did their job against those younger wideouts. Ticked off and embarrassed from the last time these two teams met, Georgia’s defense made it a point to fix the mistakes.
It seemed like Alabama didn’t do the best job preparing those youngsters for this game. Even though no one expected Williams to get hurt, those backups should have been ready.
Aren’t there five-stars on the bench for Alabama that could step up and fill the role? What happens when Metchie and Williams graduate? But yea, Alabama lost because those two got hurt.
No, it’s called Alabama lost because Georgia made adjustments from the SEC Championship Game on both sides of the ball.
So, do we really want to ride this injury argument for the next year?
Oh, and remember folks, the Dawgs shot themselves in the foot throughout the game, and Alabama had opportunities to do something, but they didn’t. It isn’t just Alabama fans either, but talking heads like Steven A. Smith are all dying on this hill that Georgia only won because those two wideouts didn’t play.
Oh, these damn Pom Pom folks are getting on my nerves on @FirstTake. We’re just going to ignore that @AlabamaFTBL was down it’s top-2 receivers, with fill-ins dropping passes left and right. No matter. They’ll avenge this next year. And I’ll take care of everyone once I return.
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) January 11, 2022
Yes, the Dawgs had one of their healthiest teams on the field for this game, and Alabama had some of its guys banged up — both teams fielded strong teams for the national championship.
Plus, it isn’t like Georgia wasn’t dealing with injuries all season long. Here is a list of guys who were limited or out for the national title game:
5-star WR Dominick Blayock
5-star OL Tate Ratledge
5-star WR George Pickens
4-star WR Arian Smith
4-star WR Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint
4-star WR Kearis Jackson
5-star CB Tykee Smith
5-star RB Kendall Milton
5-star CB Jalen Kimber
5-star LB Rian Davis
You may say some of those guys on this list played in the championship game and contributed, but that doesn’t change the fact that they worked through injuries all season long, and the Dawgs still managed to go 12-0 in the regular season.
Georgia had the injury bug latched onto them all year long, and they overcame those adversities to win each week.
The difference between the two teams wasn’t just Young’s mistakes or how Georgia’s defense stuffed Alabama all night long. It was the fact that the Dawgs knew they could count on others outside their primary playmakers to help contribute.
Brock Bowers is a freshman, and he contributed for the Dawgs since Week 1 after a veteran went down with an injury. Ladd McConkey is another freshman who stepped up for the multiple wideouts.
Oh, and while Alabama fans also complain about how Georgia had success through the air because of backup corners, one of the main contributors for the Dawgs’ secondary is a walk-on. He did just fine in this game, and it was a freshman cornerback who took it 79-yards for a pick-six to seal the victory.
Georgia also didn’t have a Heisman trophy-winning quarterback on the field. Starting quarterback Stetson Bennett was a walk-on with no offers out of high school who had to go from being fourth-string to winning the starting role.
This whole injury argument is just a lazy argument from people who don’t want to admit they were wrong about Georgia being able to beat Alabama. The Dawgs beat the Tide, and no matter what anyone thinks or says, it would have happened injuries or not.