The Age of Excellence

You know what’s surreal?

The Athletic surveyed thirty of its writers and asked them to pick the winner of the Peach Bowl ($$).  The final tally was 29-1, in favor of Georgia.  One example:

Manny Navarro: Georgia

There’s no reason to start doubting the Bulldogs whatsoever. Ohio State will play better than it did against Michigan, but that’s still not good enough to beat Georgia.

And here’s more surreality (is that a word?) from Dan Wolken.

Georgia enters this College Football Playoff as arguably the most overwhelming favorite in the event’s nine-year history. Not only have the Bulldogs managed to stay unbeaten through a demanding Southeastern Conference schedule, they only even came close to losing once this season, squeaking out a 26-22 win at Missouri on Oct. 1 that seemed more like a case of boredom than a display of vulnerability.

And yet, as dominant as Georgia has been, what they’re attempting to do in winning back-to-back national championships has proven exceptionally rare in this sport. The last program to do it was Alabama in 2011-12. Before that, it was Nebraska going unbeaten through both the 1994 and 1995 seasons, a few years before the BCS even came into existence. And prior to the Cornhuskers, the last to do it was Alabama under Bear Bryant in 1978 and 1979, a bygone era where the preeminence of traditional bowl game tie-ins meant that the best teams did not always play each other in the postseason.

In other words, if Georgia were to finish off another title as they are expected to do, it would not only buck historical trends but make a strong case as the greatest accomplishment in the modern history of college football.

This shit, she freaks me out.

I mean, just a few short years ago, I’d see stuff written like that about Alabama, or maybe Clemson, and sigh, wondering why I’d never see Georgia measured like that.  Yet here we are now.  It’s amazing, no?