Why You Should Bet on Georgia to Win the National Championship?

Things looked grim for the Georgia Bulldogs in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. The Oklahoma Sooners led the game, 31-14, with just six seconds remaining in the first half. However, a long kickoff return and a field goal let Georgia enter the intermission down by two touchdowns. Some adjustments on both sides of the ball led to a mammoth comeback as the Bulldogs forced overtime — the first extra period in the history of the College Football Playoff. The two teams traded field goals, and then the Sooners finished their second possession with another field goal attempt — one that the Bulldogs would block. They scored a touchdown on their next possession to take the win — and earn a berth in the national championship opposite Alabama. Can the Bulldogs win their first national championship in 37 seasons? Here are some reasons why their odds to win the national championship may not be as long as you would think, even with Alabama set to fill the opposite sideline.

Why You Should Bet on Georgia to Win the National Championship?

TFW you clinch a spot in the #CFBPlayoff National Championship#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/pVqLssmCs1

— Georgia Football (@FootballUGA) January 2, 2018

Champions Win with Defense

This wasn’t strictly the case between Clemson and Alabama a year ago, as a rash of late scoring led to a wild win for the Tigers in the national championship. Also, Georgia gave up more than 500 yards of total offense and 48 points in the national semifinal this year, but the Bulldogs have relied heavily on their defense this year. Roquan Smith is the middle linebacker, and he won the Dick Butkus Award for his dominant play. He led all SEC defenders with 72 solo tackles, among 113 total tackles (including 10 ½ for loss). He was the Most Valuable Player in the SEC title game, when the Bulldogs took Auburn to the woodshed. The defense routed Mississippi State a week after they had put up 37 on LSU, and they held Auburn to seven points a few weeks after Auburn had dropped 40 on them — so they are resilient.

Georgia Can Throw the Forward Pass

Nick Chubb and Sony Michel make one of the best one-two backfield combinations in the nation, but teams who think they can jam eight or nine men into the box and make the Bulldogs panic will find that quarterback Jake Fromm is definitely a rare true freshman. He can hit that back-shoulder fade and can complete passes with a velocity and accuracy that make him look NFL-ready even at this point. He had entered the season behind Jacob Eason on the depth chart, but when Eason went down to a knee injury in Week One, Fromm had to come on, and he has led the team ever since. The offensive line can blow holes open and give Fromm time to pass in the pocket — and they’ll have all they want from that Alabama defense.

The Intangible Factors Favor Georgia Too

A lot of people like to talk about how Alabama feels inevitable. Winning four national championships in nine seasons definitely makes them the dynasty to beat in the college football scene. Georgia has built a reputation in past seasons for folding in big moments — one of which came in 2015, when Georgia took on Alabama as the 8th-ranked team in the nation (with Alabama ranked #13), only to end up on the wrong end of a 38-10 beating. However, Chubb and Michel put off a big payday from the National Football League to stay at Georgia and pursue an SEC title and a national championship. They already accomplished the first goal, and the leadership from those seniors could just push Georgia past Alabama to its first national championship since the days when Herschel Walker was still a student on campus. A lot of people are talking about the fact that Nick Saban has never lost a game against one of his former assistants and has, in fact, won those 11 matchups by an average of more than 28 points. Kirby Smart appears to have his team on the right track — and all winning streaks come to an end.