Back-to-back Bulldogs: Georgia tops TCU for second consecutive title
Dan Wolken looks at how the Georgia Bulldogs won back-to-back national championships.
USA TODAY
Georgia’s emphatic 65-7 win against TCU in the national championship game and 15-0 record places the Bulldogs in the conversation for the best team of the College Football Playoff era.
There’s plenty of competition. That includes the 2021 Bulldogs, who did lose once but might’ve been even stronger overall than this year’s version.
But while a dominant bunch, Georgia doesn’t quite meet the standard set by 2019 LSU and 2020 Alabama, two teams with rock-solid cases for being included among the best in the broader history of the sport.
There’s also 2018 Clemson, which went 15-0 and won its two playoff games (Notre Dame and Alabama) by a combined 55 points.
The Bulldogs’ place in Bowl Subdivision history is secure after claiming back-to-back national championships. But where do they rank against the other playoff champs? From Ohio State to 2014 to the Bulldogs on Monday night, here’s how they fall:
2019 LSU (15-0)
At the very least, the 2019 Tigers are at or near the top of the list of the great offenses in FBS history. Behind Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow, who tossed a ridiculous 60 touchdowns, LSU led the nation in scoring (48.4 points per game) and scored at least 36 points in every game but one. The Tigers sealed the deal with the most dominant two-game run of any playoff-era champion: 63-28 against Oklahoma in the semifinals and 42-25 against Clemson for the title.
2020 Alabama (13-0)
That Alabama won 11 SEC games during the COVID season speaks for itself. Despite the tough circumstances of that abbreviated year, the Crimson Tide managed to put together an incredible run to rank as the best of Nick Saban’s six national champions with the program. The Tide were loaded with NFL talent, including quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Heisman-winning receiver DeVonta Smith. LSU gets the nod as the playoff era’s best, but only by a hair.
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2018 Clemson (15-0)
College football’s first 15-0 team in more than a century, Clemson put an exclamation point on its second crown in three years by trouncing Alabama in the title game. That night was the coming-out party for true freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who grabbed the starting role in late September and put together a rookie year for the ages. While 2016 Clemson was special, the 2018 version is the best team in program history.
2022 Georgia (15-0)
It’s very hard to separate the second Georgia national championship from the first, but the 2022 squad earns the nod by a whisper — or by a win, to be exact. The unbeaten record trumps last year’s 14-1 and gives this year’s team the edge over the 2021 Bulldogs, even if that group played a tougher schedule and avenged its only regular-season loss by beating Alabama in the championship game.
2021 Georgia (14-1)
The program’s first title since 1980 came via a dominant defense overloaded with NFL talent. There were some issues on offense during the year, most revolving around the question of whether Kirby Smart would stick with Stetson Bennett or work to get former starter JT Daniels back into the lineup. In the end, though, the Bulldogs were the undisputed class of the FBS and made a huge statement with that win against Alabama, even if the Tide were scraping the bottom of the barrel at wide receiver.
2016 Clemson (14-1)
The Tigers’ first championship under Dabo Swinney came at Alabama’s expense in a legendary title game won on a short touchdown pass with a second left. Clemson played eight games decided by single digits, losing once (43-42 to Pittsburgh). But the Tigers were motivated by that defeat and played their best football from that point forward, culminating with wins against Virginia Tech in the ACC championship game, Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl and the Tide.
2015 Alabama (14-1)
Alabama beat eight ranked teams to snap a two-year dry spell with a national championship. After giving up 43 points in a September loss to Ole Miss, the Tide would allow just 10.7 points per game in the next 11 matchups before winning a 45-40 classic against Clemson for the title. The offense continued to evolve under second-year coordinator Lane Kiffin even as running back Derrick Henry (2,219 yards) stole the show in winning the Heisman.
2014 Ohio State (14-1)
Knocked from No. 7 to No. 18 in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll after losing to Virginia Tech on Sept. 6, OSU backed into the playoff after destroying Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game. While that brought huge controversy to the first year of playoff format, the Buckeyes made doubters eat their words with wins against Alabama (42-35) and Oregon (42-20). That they beat this pair with backup quarterback Cardale Jones in place of an injured J.T. Barrett makes it even more impressive.
2017 Alabama (13-1)
Alabama didn’t win its own division, let alone the SEC. But that was forgotten amid a fantastic playoff run capped by an overtime win against Georgia. After sticking with Jalen Hurts all season, Saban made the gutsy call to switch to Tua Tagovailoa at halftime against the Bulldogs to ignite the comeback victory. While this may be the weakest of Saban’s title teams with the Tide, that’s more a statement to the dynasty he’s established in Tuscaloosa.
