Loser: The College Football Playoff committee
Not all games matter. The College Football Playoff committee made that clear on Sunday with its selections. But some of the games do.
That’s why Georgia and Florida State are out, while Alabama is in the College Football Playoff.
Credit to Alabama, for going out and beating Georgia. That’s something that hadn’t happened the previous 29 times Georgia stepped on the field. But because Georgia’s loss came at the end of the season, instead of the beginning, Georgia will not be in the College Football Playoff.
Despite being one of the four best teams in the country, as Kirby Smart correctly pointed out on Saturday.
“Bill Hancock said it’s not the most deserving,” Smart said. “He said, simply, it’s the best four teams. So, if you’re going to tell me somebody sitting in that committee room and doesn’t think that Georgia team is one of the best four teams, I don’t know if they’re in the right profession because it’s a really good football team. It’s a really talented football team. It’s a really balanced football team. So, they have to make that decision, but it’s the best four teams, and that’s critical.”
Florida State has an even bigger gripe. The Seminoles won every game they played this season. Even without their starting quarterback, Florida State beat Florida and Louisville.
Yet because of Jordan Travis’ injury, Florida State wasn’t deemed one of the four best. Travis, in response to the decision by the committee, lamented that he had not broken his leg sooner.
The College Football Playoff will thankfully expand to 12 teams next season. The fates of Georgia and Florida State show that should’ve been done earlier.
“I know our players, they’re disappointed here today with the news of not getting a chance to compete for a national championship,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “We’ve had a team that’s responded throughout the course of the year. They’ve responded to adversity. They’ve had to fight through, overcome. I believe in the heart and character of this team. I know that they will respond once again.”
Winner: Nick Saban
The Alabama head coach still has it. Even with an Alabama team that didn’t seem to be as good as past iterations, Saban found a way to get the best out of the Crimson Tide when it mattered most.
After rallying against Auburn, Alabama came out and played a complete game. It got stops early and scores late.
Alabama was the better team along the lines of scrimmage and that made the difference during the game. Georgia couldn’t block Alabama’s front, leading to the Bulldogs going just 2 of 6 on third and 2 or less.
“The only thing I can say is they whipped us front,” Smart said on Saturday. “Even late during that two-minute drive, we had a third and 1 and they whipped us. We had to get it on fourth and 1 on the goaline. They have big, big humans. People always say, Georgia can run the ball, Georgia can run the ball. It’s hard to run the ball when they have good size in there. They’re a physical front. I was pleased with the run game, not the conversions. That was probably the difference in the game.”
Saban has now won 17 straight games in Atlanta. He’s 5-1 against Smart, with four of those wins coming in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Georgia clearly has a problem with Saban. The teams change, on both sides, but two national championships don’t automatically make you better than the best coach in college football history.
Loser: Mike Bobo
The Georgia offensive coordinator undid a lot of good with one bad offensive half of football.
That came after a brilliant opening script that saw Georgia cut down Alabama’s defense for a touchdown.
After Amarius Mims went down with an injury at the end of Georgia’s second drive, a three-and-out where three straight pass plays were called despite being in the shadow of its own goalpost, Georgia called six consecutive running plays. The first three led to a three-and-out. The second three started a promising Georgia drive that reached the red zone.
But upon doing so, Georgia went backward. Then after a false start penalty turned Peyton Woodring’s attempt into a 50-yarder. That attempt doinked off the upright.
Things improved in the second half, but Georgia trialed 17-7 before it next scored again in the third quarter. Georgia finally scored touchdowns again on its last two drives of the game, but by then it was too little, too late.
For the most part, Georgia’s offense was great this year under Bobo’s direction. And he was dealt a tough hand on Saturday, with Mims getting knocked out early and Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey being far less than 100 percent.
But Saturday was Georgia’s worst offensive performance of the season in terms of yardage and points. That it happened in the biggest game of the season is something the many Bobo detractors won’t soon forget.
Winner: Brock Bowers
Even with a bad ankle, Bowers still led Georgia in receiving yards. He caught 5 passes for 53 yards. If Saturday ends up being his final game as a Bulldog, he deserved better.
Bowers is so obviously a first-round pick and there’s nothing he can do in the upcoming game against Florida State to show otherwise. There’s no need for him to risk further injury.
Of course, knowing Bowers and how much he loves this program, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him out there one last time.
“Brock and Ladd, they’ll guys will go down as, those guys just battle and compete,” Smart said. “They’ve been in rehab every morning. They wanted to play so bad against Tech. and they couldn’t, they couldn’t. They were going to be close today and they’re out there limping around and they’re not 100 percent. But the game matters to them, the team matters to them. Brock Bowers, this guy is going to be a first-round pick and he’s out there just battling his tail off.”
Bowers won’t end up finishing with the individual resume of Herschel Walker, but Bowers’ impact on the Georgia program extends far beyond his statistical output. He was the best offensive player each year he played at Georgia, and two of those teams won national championships. He lost only twice in his time in college.
Georgia doesn’t know yet what Bowers will do, as it is giving players some time to rest following the grind of the season. Opt-outs and transfer decisions will be made in the coming weeks.
Smart knows what those conversations will look like.
“Yeah, really high-character team, a bunch of fun guys to coach,” Smart said. “The guys that want to play in it, they’re going to continue with us, they’re going to enjoy that. We’ll have guys go into the portal, guys looking for their future, it’s bright for them maybe at other places. That’s what the portal is for.”
Loser: Officiating
Georgia lost on Saturday for a number of reasons. It couldn’t get stops late. It couldn’t score early. It couldn’t block Alabama and the Bulldogs couldn’t get open downfield. Even though Alabama was outgained, it was the better team on Saturday.
Of course, it helps when you get a gift of a call that Alabama received on Saturday.
With 1:25 left in the half, Alabama went for it on fourth and 4 at the Georgia 37-yard line. Jalen Milroe floated a pass to Isaiah Bond. The Alabama wide receiver seemed to complete the catch.
But Alabama got to the line quickly and ran a play, a run for no yards. Then as everyone caught their breath, the replay review seemed to show that Bond did not complete the catch. Yet because there was no review, Alabama made the most of the officiating gaffe. Two plays after the blown call, Alabama scored a touchdown. Instead of Georgia getting the ball on its own 37-yard line with 1:18 to go in the half, the Bulldogs were trailing 17-7 going into halftime.
Smart acknowledged afterward he should’ve called a timeout. Lord knows it would’ve been worth it, given the results. It was a seven-point mistake in a game Alabama won by three points.
But the officials have to do their jobs. This is the SEC championship game, with a playoff berth on the line. These were supposed to be the best officials the SEC has to offer and they failed at one of the more critical areas of their job.
Georgia isn’t in the College Football Playoff because of that blown call. Not solely, but it clearly mattered. And had the committee put Florida State in, you could’ve made the argument that the call left the SEC out entirely.
Alabama deserved to win the game based on how it played. But Georgia fans absolutely have a right to be incensed that a call was so butchered in a spot like that. It’s a legitimate talking point coming out of that game, and that should never be the case in a football game. Much less one of this stature.
