Alabama Football: Dawgs a Thousand Miles Short of Bama's Standard

The Georgia hype train needs to slow down. Comparisons to Alabama football are way off base. The Bulldogs need a national championship before mentioning a dynasty.

Alabama football is the robust gold standard of college football. The Southeastern Conference is preparing itself for another dominating run by Alabama and Georgia. Hold up, wait! Is Georgia genuinely closing the gap on the Crimson Tide?

Otherworldly Expectations for the Bulldogs

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart enters his third year in Athens. The former Alabama football defensive coordinator recorded an 8-5 record during his first season. Smart led the Bulldogs to the SEC championship and a College Football Playoff championship game appearance in his second season.

Smart received a new contract in May for seven years and $49 million tying him with Auburn’s Gus Malzahn for the fifth-highest paid coach in the FBS.

Even with the new deal, the honeymoon is officially over for Smart. Expectations are Georgia should be on par with Alabama. Winning is not everything; it is the only thing in football hotbed Georgia. Herschel Walker and Vince Dooley led the Bulldogs to a national championship in 1982 leaving the state in a 35-year drought.

Can Smart leap as Saban did in his third year?

Can Georgia excel as the hunted instead of being the hunter?

Maintaining a Program Is Pressure Packed

Nick Saban had previous head coaching stops at Toledo, Michigan State and LSU. He knows what it takes to maintain a program with a high standard. Experience is crucial.

Georgia is Kirby’s first gig, and the pressure to keep up with Saban is insurmountable. During his press conference at SEC Media Days, Smart mentioned,

"The pressure is really a privilege….Those are things we embrace at the University of Georgia. We can’t run from those things."

The pressure to stay atop of the SEC and the nation is daunting. Head coaches Urban Meyer, Dabo Swinney and Jimbo Fisher are the only three coaches to win titles during the Saban era at Alabama. Saban proteges, Muschamp and Dooley struggled mightily at their original posts.

Mark Richt had a successful fourteen-year stint at Georgia. There are multiple reasons the classy Richt was let go from not getting the job done in big games, players in trouble, and attention to detail within the program.

79 players drafted under the former Georgia head coach indicates the type of program Richt ran. He departed Athens with a record of 145-51, five SEC championship appearances with titles in 2002 and 2005.

Too many departures to keep up with Alabama Football

Georgia lost plenty of key contributors from last year’s squad including Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, and Roquan Smith. All American and Butkus Award winner Smith was the heart and soul of the defense. The defense will miss his 137 tackles and 6.5 sacks.

Last year’s SEC winning squad returned 17 starters which included 10 on defense. Only 13 starters return this season. The defense lost all four starting linebackers plus three starters in secondary.

Handling the quarterback battle between Jake Fromm and true freshman Justin Fields will prove how decisive Smart is when it comes to his locker room.

Enhanced SEC East

The improved SEC East with the emergence of South Carolina and Florida are a threat to the Bulldogs’ dominance.

Georgia has lost three of its four games to the Gators. Dan Mullen inherits a team that won back to back SEC East titles in 2015 and 2016. Florida boasts plenty of talent although the team finished 4-7 after a myriad of suspensions and injuries wrecked their season and led to Jim McElwain’s dismissal.

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Will Muschamp enters his third season in Columbia after recording a 9-4 record last season. Muschamp’s recruiting prowess has the Gamecocks in prime position to challenge Georgia in Week 2.

Tennessee is a few years away, but Jeremy Pruitt’s team will not be a pushover. His teams will be gritty, determined and mentally prepared for every contest.

Expect these teams to challenge the Bulldogs, so there is not a yellow brick road paving the way to a national title. These three teams make Kirby’s path to a dynasty herculean.

Consistency Is Key for Smart

Kirby Smart is a personable coach and placed tons of effort in hauling in the number one recruiting class this past spring. The Crimson Tide finished sixth per 247 Sports.

Nick Saban faced uncertainty with the early signing period but adapted swiftly by hiring younger coaches willing to recruit and implementing the use of social media for Alabama football. The pendulum has swung furiously, and early results are the Tide has the number one recruiting class.

The Bulldog’s path to a dynasty is not as parallel to Alabama’s as many assume. Kirby caught lightning in a bottle last year with a 13-2 record. Can he maintain the level of success needed to keep track with his former mentor?

Saban is a master at adapting to changing conditions. Whether he gets beat in recruiting, fastball offenses or run pass play option plays, he shrugs it off and bears down with a relentlessness and an openness to change.

Kirby Smart better take notice the Dawg Nation wants championships, not moral victories. Ask Ray Goff and Richt……

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The comparisons to Alabama need to stop until the Bulldogs win a national championship under Smart. Winning a recruiting title does not make Georgia a mirror image of the Crimson Tide.

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Alabama Football: Dawgs will remain short of Bama’s Gold Standard

By Ronald Moody | Jul 24, 2018