Did a Georgia National Title Run Begin Against Clemson?

This Clemson game was one of the biggest wins for Georgia in the Mark Richt era.

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Don’t believe me? Analyze the psychological aspect of it based on what has happened in Athens the past few years.

Recently, it seems lke Georgia Bulldogs have been the trendy pick to win the national title every year. But each time, they came up small in the first big game they had.

That finally changed this year with a blowout win against Clemson. Mark Richt could be leading a Georgia national title run that has long been coming.

In 2011, the Dawgs were hyped up as a potential title team but lost their first two games to Boise State and South Carolina. In 2012, the hype increased, and they lost to South Carolina again and blew a second chance at the title in the SEC championship game against Alabama. Then came last year, with the expectations as high as ever, and Georgia fell flat on its face against Clemson in the opener before stumbling to a mediocre season thanks to the injury bug.

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South Bound & Down

With all of that in mind, who cares that Clemson was supposed to have a drop-off? Who cares that we question how good they are? Dabo Swinney has recruited some good talent there, despite the loss of Tajh Boyd and Sammie Watkins. This group will be fine.

And as they took a lead against Georgia 21-14 in the first half, Dawgs fans had to be thinking, “Here we go again.” Except it didn’t happen this time. Richt, who has been under way too much fire as a head coach when you look at his track record, kept his team calm and poised, and they simply took over the second half.

The Dawgs didn’t give up another point after going down 21-14, and in the second half they outscored Clemson 24-0.

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With the First Pick

Todd Gurley looked like a Heisman player after 198 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns along with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Think that was impressive? How about freshman Nick Chubbs’s 70 yards and a touchdown on only 4 carries? Richt could have a two-headed monster brewing in the backfield.

Senior quarterback Hutson Mason didn’t get a chance to shine his first game as a starter after waiting four years for his chance, but he didn’t mess anything up. Going 18 of 26 and a rushing touchdown is efficient no matter what, even if it does only go for 131 yards.

So everything that you would have wanted to see from the Dawgs, you saw. This is by no means a finished product, and with a road game against South Carolina in two weeks, these guys can’t relax. But at least one huge mental block that might have kept the Bulldogs out of the national title the past few years has been overcome.

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Rubbing the Rock

Clemson, meanwhile, might be in bigger trouble than we initially thought. Sure, Boyd and Watkins were going to be missed, but we didn’t think we’d see a quarterback controversy on our hands. Swinney’s alternating of Cole Stoudt and freshman Deshaun Watson is very questionable, especially when you consider the veteran leadership Stoudt has and the actual production he showed on the field. So Watson had the touchdown pass. Stoudt engineered touchdown drives.

Keeping this routine up could be as damaging as Lloyd Carr’s decision in 1999 to alternate between Tom Brady and Drew Henson at Michigan. Had he stuck with Brady, the Wolverines would have won the Big Ten and might have played for a national title.

That wouldn’t happen at Clemson this year, but turning away from the veteran this early seems like a mistake.