Georgia didn’t find much competition from TCU on Monday night. Instead, the Bulldogs were fighting for their place atop the list of greatest college football dynasties.
The College Football Playoff championship game turned into an extended victory lap for Georgia (15-0) as the Bulldogs bludgeoned TCU (13-2), 65-7.
Sometimes the final score can be deceiving, but Georgia’s 58-point margin of victory tells the entire story. The Bulldogs outgained the Horned Frogs by 401 yards (589-188) and averaged 12 yards per pass attempt and 5.8 yards per rush attempt.
On defense, Georgia forced three first-half turnovers and held TCU to 36 rushing yards on 28 attempts. Heisman Trophy finalist Max Duggan was 14-of-22 for 152 yards with two interceptions. He was also sacked five times.
When looking at the history of college football, its rare to find back-to-back national champions. It’s impressive enough that Georgia was able to do it. The fashion in which the Bulldogs dispatched the Horned Frogs puts this dynasty on another level.
Alabama was the last to do it in 2011 and 2012. USC claimed two consecutive AP titles in 2003 and 2004, with the caveat being LSU won the BCS championship game over Oklahoma in 2003.
Over the last 50 seasons, the only other repeat national champions were in 1978 and 1979 (Alabama) and 1994 and 1995 (Nebraska).
While each of those fanbases will argue for their program as the best college football empire, Georgia has as strong a case as any.
The program’s championship game win over TCU is the most dominant end to a two-year run among those two-time champions. It brings to mind Nebraska’s 62-24 thumping of Florida in the Jan. 1996 Fiesta Bowl as well as Alabama’s 42-14 win over Notre Dame in the BCS Championship game in Jan. 2013.
Nebraska outscored Florida 29-0 in the second quarter of its game as it erased an early deficit in an easy win. The Crimson Tide built a 35-0 lead before calling off the dogs against the Fighting Irish.
Georgia, on the other hand, showed no mercy.
We all saw what happened when TCU failed to bend the knee. Instead of arguing the Bulldogs didn’t just complete the greatest two-year stretch in modern college football history, it’s much wiser to bow to our new king.
