The 12-team College Football Playoff arrived just in time. We want to see Georgia vs. Alabama again. We need to see Georgia vs. Alabama again.
The more of these games, the better.
No. 4 Alabama clinched Saturday’s instant classic when a freshman — Zabien Brown — intercepted a Heisman favorite — Carson Beck — in the end zone. But if you think this is the end, then you haven’t seen one of Travis Hunter’s 120-play performances.
College football seems endless right about now. It’s that good with Kentucky upsetting Ole Miss, Oklahoma coming back to beat Auburn and Indiana off to its best start (5-0) since Sgt. Pepper’s (1967).
All Alabama did was change coaches, switching from Da GOAT (Nick Saban) to DeBoer. Didn’t matter. The new guy, Kalen DeBoer, beat the same guy, Kirby Smart, with the old guy, Nick Saban, watching.
It also doesn’t matter if Georgia’s team busses didn’t seem to arrive until halftime. The Dawgs were that sleepy in falling behind 28-0. Saturday’s result may ultimately prove you can look completely unprepared, get nuked back to the stone age, steamrolled and still survive.
And that was merely the summary of Alabama in the second half.
We need a rematch because, well, it almost can’t be helped. We told you about at least four combinations of SEC teams possibly meeting three times this season. Saturday’s Georgia vs. Alabama thriller proved that’s not a bad thing.
There’s the possibility they meet again in the SEC Championship Game. If a rematch in that game won by Alabama last year doesn’t pair these two giants, well, there’s always that expanded CFP bracket that would welcome them. It almost seem inevitable at this point.
Saturday’s was the latest classic in the series dominated by Alabama lately. But within that rivalry, Georgia is emerging as at least Bama’s equal.
That’s hard to say with Alabama now having won six of the last seven. But before Saturday, in his last 47 games, Smart’s only two losses had been to Saban. Before losing to DeBoer, Smart hadn’t lost to an active head coach in more than 5 ½ years — with the last defeat coming to former Texas coach Tom Herman.
The Dawgs rallied from four touchdowns behind to take the lead, then lost in the most soul-crushing way possible while giving notice that if they aren’t still ranked in the top three, well, something is wrong.
The Dawgs got Milroed. Then Bama almost got Becked to death. The teams exchanged touchdowns 13 seconds apart late in the fourth. The game-winning pass came from Milroe to the wonderous 17-year-old freshman Ryan Williams with 2:18 left.
Both had career games — Milroe with 491 yards in total offense and Williams with 177 receiving yards. But don’t forget Beck throwing for 339 yards in the second half. Or another freshman, Alabama defensive back Zabien Brown, picking off Beck for the third time to seal it.
Georgia almost completed its biggest comeback in history. It went for two late with a third-string center, Drew Bobo, the son of the offensive coordinator, Mike Bobo.
What a moment, if it had held up. What a night that never let up.
We need more of all of it. Rinse, wash, three-peat of this game if it comes to that. The worst thing you can say about DeBoer is that he won with Nick Saban’s players. That’s also the best thing you can say about him because what else would you expect?
Georgia will never say this, but right now, 9-3 never looked so good. The schedule is that tough with Texas, Ole Miss and Tennessee still to come, however.
The night may have ended bleak for the Dawgs, but the future should have them drooling. They know they can play with Alabama. They know they can beat anybody.
At least they should.
It works like this: Unlike the old four-team playoff, one loss doesn’t necessarily eliminate you. Two losses and you’re still right in it. Three losses and, well, CBS Sports ran the numbers this summer.
Had the 12-team playoff been in place since the beginning of the BCS era in 1998, 28 teams in 26 years with at least three losses would have made the field. Sixteen of those 26 combined would have come from the current Big Ten and SEC.
You can see where this is headed: a rematch, at least. Saturday revealed Georgia flaws. It also revealed football heroism. Veterans Arian Smith and Dillon Bell each caught passes for more than 100 yards for the Dawgs.
Remember that No. 1 Georgia ranking? A distant memory now, but who really cares? In this new play era, this is all about hanging around the top 12.
Georgia looked both unprepared and inspired. Alabama looked unbeatable and on the verge of a monster choke. They combined for the most points ever scored in the series (75). Alabama tied the series record for points by a team (41).
The world was watching. Just wait for the ratings. Alabama didn’t miss (much of) a beat with a new coach. A third championship in four years was still a possibility for Georgia.
By the first Saturday in December, the Dawgs’ tears from Saturday will have dried. That’s the date of the SEC Championship Game. That’s the rematch we have to see, we need to see.
If not, the CFP is always waiting with open arms.
