The 25 best college football teams to not win a national championship
Best college football teams without a national championship: 2017 Georgia Bulldogs
Kirby Smart’s first Georgia team in 2016 didn’t quite live up to expectations, but he had a breakthrough in 2017 in Athens in year two. From the very beginning of the year, though, it looked like Georgia’s season might go off the rails after promising sophomore quarterback Jacob Eason suffered an injury in the season opener against Appalachian State, thrusting true freshman Jake Fromm into action.
Fortunately for Fromm, he had a dominant defense at his disposal led by star linebacker Roquan Smith, and a devastating ground game led by the tandem of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. Fromm proved his mettle in his first start, with the Bulldogs coming out victorious in South Bend by a score of 20-19 in one of the most impressive non-conference road wins for any team that season.
Georgia’s defense held Notre Dame to just 55 yards rushing. Fromm made several clutch plays to put the Dawgs in a position to get the win. Rodrigo Blankenship booted through a 30-yard field goal with less than four minutes remaining that proved to be the game-winner.
Georgia added an impressive 31-3 win over a ranked Mississippi State team in September and was dominant in wins over Tennessee, Missouri, and Florida that led to it being the No. 1 ranked team in the initial College Football Playoff rankings.
It didn’t last long, though, as Georgia was ambushed by Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium to the tune of a 40-17 defeat. Smart’s squad rebounded and still captured the SEC East crown, setting up a rematch in Atlanta against rival Auburn looking for redemption and its first berth in the College Football Playoff.
The Bulldogs left little doubt, physically dominating the Tigers in the rematch and rolling to a 28-7 win that clinched a Rose Bowl appearance as a part of the playoff.
In one of the best Rose Bowl games in history, Georgia overcame a 31-14 second-quarter deficit to an Oklahoma team led by Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield. A back-and-forth fourth quarter led us to overtime after the Dawgs tied the game on a Chubb touchdown with under a minute to play.
After the teams traded field goals in the first overtime, a missed kick by Oklahoma led to Michel’s game-winning 27-yard scamper to send Georgia to the national title game against Alabama in Atlanta.
Against the Crimson Tide, everything went in Georgia’s favor in the first half with the Bulldogs racing out to a 13-0 halftime lead that prompted a quarterback change for usually unflappable Nick Saban.
Led by true freshman Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama outscored Georgia 20-7 in the second half and forced overtime. Tagovailoa ultimately ripped Georgia’s hearts out with a 41-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Devonta Smith to rob the Bulldogs of their first national title since 1980.